Making stories relevant to an online audience.

As more and more people access up to date news through the internet, journalists must adapt their stories to maintain the interest of a global audience. This audience is aware that there are many other news sources available to them, so online stories must both attract and keep the audience's attention.

Lieb (2009, p127-8) says that "the online reader has virtually no investment in most news sites and may move to another site in an instant."

One way to keep a reader interested is to allow interaction with the article - this allows the reader to have an investment in the page, whether it be through comments, polls or other interactive mediums. Some leading news sites, such as the Courier Mail, allow reader comments which often lead to continued reader interaction and debate with other readers.

Short, easy to navigate stories are also an important part of maintaining reader interest. Some websites limit their websites to 250-500 words and help readers navigate longer stories using appropriate headlines, blurbs and subheads according to Lieb (2009, 129).

References

Lieb, T 2009, All the news: writing and reporting for convergent media, Pearson Education Inc, New York, US. Chapter 7: 'Writing the Basic Online Story', p.127-129