Newspapers and the internet revolution

Abstract

Since the early 1990's, Internet has become increasingly accessible to the vast majority of (National Statistics Office -Media Release 3rd August 2004). It has become an essential medium in business, and more services have increasingly gone online, especially with e-shopping and the introduction of e-govemment. The developments in Internet technology have changed our lives. With Internet making information easily at hand and with broadband developments that have sharply accelerated access to such information, we seem to be moving within a faster world, where we cannot afford to lose time in waiting. Immediacy has become the order of the day. Internet has also brought about a change in our perception of space. That "the world has become a global village" has become increasingly more so, since - especially with e-mail facility - instant communication has become possible, irrespective of distances. Within this setup, the news industry has flourished. People have become increasingly aware that what happens around them directly affects their lives - and business. They want to know, and they want to know immediately - especially if they live within the hub of multinational business. Within an hour a person's fortune could change dramatically and this as a consequence of events that happen thousands of miles away - stock exchanges have seen princes literally becoming paupers. Newspapers in the past, had already suffered to radio, and then television. An essentially nineteenth century medium, newspapers had to adapt to the coming changes. Radio and television became household essentials especially since the late 70's. News bulletins gave their audiences fresh news of the day, something newspapers could scarcely do, baring evening papers. The style adopted by broadcast journalists was also simpler to understand and thus more accessible to the masses. Newspaper sales thus began to go down.