I had to consider that a user could come into Star Tribune Online from just about any single document in the service. They may never see the front page. Our task was to take a lot of large pages that are covered with printed text arranged almost haphazardly and that are worthless twenty-four hours after they appear, and translate them into a medium where their contents will have value indefinitely, be a part of a much larger collection of data, be read on a small screen in a scrolling format, and be searchable ways. Journalists are facing a rapidly changing environment. New media mean new roles within the industry.
Online publication has the capability to integrate sound and video clips into stories.
A journalist with little online experience tends to think in terms of stories, news value, public service, and things that are good to read. These are the staples of a one-way medium. Aside from a new venue for their work, journalists are finding the Internet a valuable resource for information and communication. The study of computer-assisted research has become a hot topic, and several new investigative reporting sites have appeared with a wealth of resources for journalists. The Internet's advantages for journalists range from the cooperation that it fosters between journalists worldwide to the quick access to global television, radio and newspapers, Sher said.