Cost is one key factor. Every column-inch on a newspaper page, every minute of broadcast time, costs significant amounts of money. While it also would cost money to assemble and publish an online news context section, that option certainly wouldn't cost as much as printing it in the paper or putting together a broadcast segment. But perhaps more importantly, the concept of news context concerns trends and relationships . Currently, the biggest potential drawback of using the Web to present news context is access.
Fewer people have access to the Web than to newspapers or broadcast media.
Or it may not. If economic inequality continues to grow at its current pace, it's likely that many of the people who need news context the most might never have a realistic chance of gaining access to it. However, I don't think that should necessarily get in the way of giving this strategy a chance. Conclusion Making a concept like news context work would be a pretty big deal, since it involves redefining what news is supposed to be. Getting journalists and editors to change how they view the news is a tall enough order.