Online Newspapers (Exhibit A)
Posted by ptobin on February 19, 2008
The Huffington Post
As an online newspaper the Huffington Post is quite extensive. It is an american “publication” so obviously the focus is rather US orientated although there are some international stories. It still feels a bit dirty referring to something as a newspaper if you can’t physically hold it but the extensive options an online paper has outweighs the personal preference.
The stories are updated continually throughout the day which is a major advantage and gives the news a sense of immediacy which your copy of the Irish Examiner (obviously) simply can’t compete with. The layout is similar to a traditional paper in the breakdown of categories such as politics, entertainment, opinion etc. This is something The Huffington Post puts an emphasis on, opinion. There tag-line is ‘Breaking news and Opinion’ and they have a large list of blogs on their “front page”.
They are by no means pointless nobodies either. Every blogger has a bio you can read and they all are well-educated, succesful people with extensive backgrounds in various aspects of the media.
One of the most striking things about this online newspaper is the self-awareness it has of its own ‘media-ness’. It has sections and a well populated list of articles dealing with media issues such as appropriate coverage of various school shootings which have taken place across the US of late and the phenomenon of blogging. There is also a high level of interactivity on the website as people can comment on the various blog posts and on the news stories themselves.
