Taking Advantage of the "New" Medium Though web publishing is in its infancy when compared to other media such as print journalism and broadcasting, the internet and web-based technology have revolutionized how information is gathered and presented to the public. Consider CNN, if you would... Where do you get your news? How many of you can remember when CNN was just a news anchor sitting in front of a camera reciting the day's events? How many of you can remember when there was no CNN? When President John F. Kennedy was assasinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963, only three television networks existed; ABC, NBC and CBS. Most school children did not hear about the incident until after the president was pronounced dead. Today, internet news sites are the first stop for many looking for updates on breaking news. On the morning of September 11, 2001, most news sites were not able to handle the amount of internet traffic generated by people looking for information on the terrorist attacks that occurred as they were just about to start their work day. Similar to print but with different needs News is news, whether printed on a paper or broadcast over the airwaves, and the ideas behind presenting information on a computer screen are similar to those for print journalism. The irony of the internet is that, though a great resource for getting information to the public, it provides a nest of distractions that can easily lead a reader astray. That is why web developers and writers need to carefully consider how they're going to keep their readers interested. Take a minute or two to study CNN's news website and think about how it is structured.
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