*The Integrated Newsroom - Age Online Findings*

4.1.2 Online Consumer's Expectations

The expectations of readers or the online consumer have increased over time but Riekert said it would not remove the role of news organisations.

There is so much information on the Net that there will always be a role for the news organisation to sift through and pick up information. There are heaps of papers but people just buy one because they like the feel and attitude of the newspaper and how it is presented

(Riekert pers comm, 7 September 1999)

Morison (pers comm, 31 Aug 1999) agreed and said it is crucial to form a good impression in the minds of readers and establish their liking for an online product in the early stages. He explained that,

Most users go through half a dozen sites, and it is important to understand their needs and capture attention early on while they are forming their online news habits. A reasonable portion of our readers are young and what we provide is a slicker, sports-car style version of our paper with the highlights so that our print readership is not compromised.

Riekert (pers comm, 7 September 1999) said that keeping their target readership in mind when developing their sites has always been a priority.

We need to keep our readers in mind and sometimes this becomes a handicap.Readers use different systems and software to browse so we target for the middle 50 per cent in terms of user capabilities. The top 25 per cent normally use the latest software whereas the bottom 25 per cent are slightly behind. This way we get maximum reach. We do use Alt tags for accommodate the visually impaired and we tend to steer away from Java. But certain functions like our cricket scoreboard, require it [Java enabled browsers] and new developments force you to keep updated. So these days we design for version 4 browsers

She added that audiences are getting more sophisticated and more demanding leaving the onus on the publisher to cater to the needs of its readers.

As audiences are accustomed to the web, a section of early adopters want and begin to expect more. They want news on their Palm Pilots and through WAP [wireless application protocol which allows content delivery via mobile phones]. As a information company we have to keep up.In fact, the technology in which information will be delivered in 2005 hasn't even been developed yet

(ibid)

Morison (pers comm, 31 August 1999) explains it is important to understand the information needs of readers. Compared to the print edition, the Internet's immediate nature provides a distinct advantage when it comes to news coverage and is definitely not restricted by geography. Readers who are interested in a local event, can access important news even though they are stationed in any other part of the world. He cites two recent examples of such news events here:

We had two key spikes [online readership surge] recently, one was the Tsunami in Papua New Guinea where we became the authoritative news source with our coverage and were listed very high on search engines. The other was when it was speculated that UN Troops were going into East Timor and we experienced a two-fold increase in hits. Events like these occasionally put us on the global map and it helps when we provide more than the basics with special sections and indexes.

Accessibility is a key factor that has changed with the Internet. "Journalists are more exposed to their readers and it is definitely a lot easier to get online and have your say to journalists and tell them what you think of their article. Our policy now is to include the writer's e-mail address where appropriate especially in our features section" (Riekert pers comm, 7 September 1999).