Latin American newspapers sticking to traditional formats

 

Based on an extensive analysis of 19 newspaper websites in Latin America (some 2,300 articles), UT Austin doctoral students Summer Harlow and Ingrid Bachmann honed in on the multimedia features of each site, the interactivity options and engagements, and the promotion of participatory journalism.

They found that less than a fifth of the stories contained links to other information and few sites offered citizen engagement beyond reader comments or contact information.

“These newspapers are still thinking too much like print media,” Bachmann said. “They’re sticking with old practices…But what are they going to do in the future?”

ISOJ 2011: Ingrid Bachmann and Summer Harlow presentation, from Knight Center on Vimeo.