Though online news media is relatively new in Bangladesh, it emerged a few decades ago in developed countries like the USA, the UK, and some other parts of the world in the early 1970s and 1990s.
An online newspaper is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical.
Attempting to define online journalism, media scholar Barnhurst in his book ‘Deuze’ gave a statement about online media and online journalism, “The phenomenon of ‘Online Journalism’ can be defined as ‘the use of digital technologies to research, produce and delivering news and information to an increasingly computer literate audience (Barnhurst; cited in, 1999: 378).
An early example of an "online only" newspaper or magazine is "News Report", an online newspaper created by Bruce Parrello in 1974 on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois.
Beginning in 1987, the Brazilian newspaper Jornaldodia ran on the state-owned Embratel network (moving to the Internet in the 1990s). By the late 1990s, hundreds of U.S. newspapers were publishing online versions but did not yet offer much interactivity.
One example is Britain`s Weekend City Press Review, which began providing a weekly news summary online in 1995.
From its beginning in the 70s, online media has been running in full swing and it has flourished day by day and now it knows no borders.
Online newspapers are much like hard-copy newspapers and have the same legal boundaries, such as laws regarding libel, privacy and copyright, which also apply to online publications in most countries.
This media is becoming popular throughout our country alongside the world despite it is being faced many challenges.
Censoring media
Also in the UK, the Data Protection Act applies to online newspapers and news pages, as well as the PCC rules in the UK. However, the distinction was not very clear to the public in the UK as to what a blog or forum site was and what an online newspaper was.
In 2007, a ruling was passed to formally regulate UK-based online newspapers, news audio, and news video websites covering the responsibilities expected of them and clearing up what is, and what isn`t, an online publication.
Going online created more opportunities for newspapers, such as competing with broadcast journalism in presenting breaking news in a timelier manner. The credibility and strong brand recognition of well-established newspapers, and the close relationships they have with advertisers, are also seen by many in the newspaper industry as strengthening their chances of survival. The movement away from the printing process can also help decrease costs.
Online newspapers are much like hard-copy newspapers and have the same legal boundaries, such as laws regarding libel, privacy and copyright, which also apply to online publications in most countries, like the UK.
In Australia, some newspaper corporations offer an online version to let their readers read the news online, such as The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald.
The Santiago Times operates out of Santiago, Chile and is 100% online, editions are published in English covering Chilean current events daily Monday through Friday.
In the US, technology news websites such as CNET, TechCrunch, and ZDNet started as web publications and enjoy comparable readership to conventional newspapers. Also, with the ever-rising popularity of online media, veteran publications like the U.S. News & World Report are abandoning print and going online only.
Hybrid newspapers
There are some newspapers which are predominantly online but also provide limited hard-copy publishing. An example is annarbor.com, which replaced the Ann Arbor News in the summer of 2009. It is primarily an online newspaper but publishes a hard copy twice a week.
Bangladesh Perspective
In Bangladesh, online newspapers are growing day by day in the country. It has gained great popularity among readers and viewers especially it has attracted the young generations of the country.
Decades after online news media emerged in Western and European countries, some of the new media also emerged in Bangladesh as well.
bdnew24.com is the pioneer of this kind of new media in Bangladesh. It is the first internet-based newspaper in the country.
bdnews24.com opened a new era in the country’s journalism sector. Bangladesh has now seen hundreds of online newspapers over the recent years.
Some of the mainstream online news media are as follows: bdnews24.com, banglanews24.com, risingbd.com, banglamail24.com, natunbarta.com, justnewsbd.com, Barta24.Net etc.
Challenges of Internet newspapers in Bangladesh
Despite the bright future of computer-mediated communication in Bangladesh, expensive internet costs, lack of suitable laws and lack of skilled persons are creating hindrances for these media.
Lack of internet access for mass people and Lack of literacy are some of the main obstacles for these kind media. The cost of the internet should be reduced to a large extent to ensure the participation of the optimum level of Bangladeshi citizens. To ensure the progress of online journalism, professional management, effective policy and legal protection are imperative.
Another thing is that some internet news media (news portals) in Bangladesh are strictly violating the copyright law when they make news and views for their sites.
So in the circumstances, the quality (in reporting and editing) must be maintained in this news media. Otherwise, the media could not create a centre of attention for the mass people.
The writer is a media activist and he can be reached at mahfuzjnu21@yahoo.com.
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