7
Writing for the Web
This chapter takes the students beyond some of the basic concepts of writing for the Web to try
to view the Web in a broader contest. As we emphasized in the previous chapter, the Web is a
word medium with special characteristics that make it a completely different medium from print
or broadcasting (capacity, immediacy, flexibility, permanence and interactivity), and it would
probably be helpful if instructors reviewed these characteristics with students as they entered this
chapter.
This chapter takes into account the accelerated
world of journalism that the Web has wrought.
It’s not just that journalism can be accomplished
and distributed in a speedier fashion. And it’s
not just that audiences are demanding more
information at a faster rate.
The need for people with this array of skills will not diminish. It will only grow.
Key terms and concepts
The following are key terms or concepts that the student should understand.
Lateral reporting — The concept of lateral reporting begins with a story that is reported or
written in a traditional way; that is, with a traditional print or broadcast story structure. The
reporter then considers the tools at hand and the skills he or she may possess — as well as the
time and resources for the story — to see how the story may be expanded.
Web packages — A Web package is a general term for the way in which the parts of a story are
presented. Web journalists must learn to think in terms of the “parts” of a story — those produced
by good lateral reporting — and how to present those part as a unified who to the audience.
Links and resources
Chapter notes
Communities of interest. The idea sounds great: a group of people who share an interest in a
topic are able to exchange information and ideas about it over the Internet. Time and geography
are overcome. Such communities of interest would be informative, respectful and self-regulating.
That was what I described in Web Journalism: Practice and Promise of a New Medium several years
Journalists and bloggers. Some bloggers are journalists. Some journalists are bloggers. By and
large, however, the groups don’t overlap that much. Yet each group is doing much the same
thing – disseminating information, ideas, opinions, etc. Steve Outing, a columnist for Editor and
Publisher and former editor of E-Media Tidbits for Poynter.org, has written a pair of articles on the
Question bank
The major news event that established the Web as a premier news medium was
The immediacy characteristic of the Web means that
For journalists probably the most important characteristic of the Web is its
Despite the Web, deadlines in journalism function pretty much like they always did.
Web journalists can specialize in learning their skills; for example, someone who is interested in
photojournalism doesn’t have to worry about learning how to write.
Users often go to the Web seeking
Writing well is just as important on the Web as it is in any other medium.
The concept of lateral reporting means that a reporter is confined to thinking about a story with a
single means of information presentation.
The use of a variety of means to tell parts of a story on the Web is called a
Audiences expect news on the Web to be
The Web has had the effect of increasing the time a writer can devote to editing his or her copy.
A Web journalist must know how to operate a variety of equipment.
Expanding a story to include information in various forms is called
Web audiences are most likely to be attracted to websites with
The concept of “visual logic” means that a visitor to a website
The tool on a Web page that allow the user to get from one page to another within the site is
called
Almost all sites need to present new and updated information.
One of the most valued characteristics of writing on the Web is
In general, the Web is a place where anything goes and any language is appropriate.
The term “backpack journalism” denotes the variety of tools available to the journalist in
reporting today’s news.
Of all the tools the Web reporter has to present information, the most important is
One use of graphics is to help readers picture what cannot be photographed.
A good Web packages needs