A prime example is that online editors are now closely connected to the business side as well as the editorial side, said Bill Grueskin, managing editor of the Wall Street Journal Online. He oversees a staff of more than 60 editors, reporters and graphic artists who keep the web site updated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“From my experience at the Wall Street Journal Online, I have changed my idea about what editors do and what is expected of us,” said Grueskin.

There are three main differences between the role of an editor now and prior to the “online boom,” he said. First, editors now have the knowledge and control of knowing what readers are reading. Secondly, editors today have to be involved in the business side of journalism as online journalism struggles to find a business model.

“In 15 years on the print side I met with the advertising department how many times? Exactly zero,” Grueskin told the participants.

Lastly, because of an increase in revenue, websites are gaining credibility within their own media corporations.

ISOJ 2004: Online News financial Independence, from Knight Center on Vimeo.