Lesson 5 - Comparing Newspapers and the Internet

There are many benefits to online news. Most notably, online news is free! The Internet serves as a means of instant access to news for anyone with a computer and Internet access. Most news websites keep archives of past articles, which are extremely useful for research, or simply to read back to past news on current affairs, perhaps to gain a better understanding. Generally, news websites also categorise their articles, providing easier navigation. For example the news websites listed below categorise their articles as follows:

BBC

Telegraph

Guardian

Online news is also more up-to-date, as it can be constantly edited and updated. Newspapers are printed daily, which means that often news is not delivered until the next day. Online news is also able to provide more detail, as there is no printing limit on the length of articles. Similarly, articles for more niche audiences would not always be printed in newspapers, but can be published online and made available for those who are interested in them, without boring everyone else!

However, many people, particularly of older generations, are not comfortable with using the Internet and so would prefer a hard copy of their news. The newspaper industry continues to provide this in various publications suited to a range of audiences.