Online news 'must be good quality'

Category: Internet Trends

January 31st 08, 08:41

As media organisations pump investment into their online news sources, one union official has emphasised the importance of good quality output.

Lawrence Shaw, assistant organiser for new media at the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), has commented that content is crucial in the drive to attract web users.

Although a "single system for comparing visits to news websites" does not exist, high-calibre journalism was claimed by Mr Shaw to be an obvious factor attracting visitors.

People still primarily look to leading media organisations for "professionally produced journalism", he said.

"That isn't because people don't know about other sites, it's because those organisations have the backing of quality journalism produced by trained and experienced professionals," the NUJ member added.

The Newspaper Association of America announced last week that a record number of visits were recorded by US news websites in 2007, with the year witnessing a six per cent rise in the number of unique users turning to these sources for their current affairs information.

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