*The Integrated Newsroom

1.2 The Research Scope and Methodology

This comparative case study thesis examines how two news organisations and major media players, John Fairfax Holdings and The Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), have managed the implementation of online news services and the effects on journalists' practice. The online newspapers examined were The Age Online (John Fairfax) and The Straits Times (SPH) respectively. The two newspapers were launched on the WWW in 1995, making them pioneers in this new medium at a time when the commercial use of the Internet was in its infancy. The Age Online was the first Australian paper to go online while The Straits Times Interactive one of the first in South-East Asia. It should be noted that both online newspapers were essentially spin-offs from their print editions.

This topic was chosen because limited research had been conducted in this specific field and it is in the author's personal interest and related industry experience. Given this background, permission was granted by the organisations for the author to conduct the research project.

The methodology falls under the broad umbrella of ethnographic research (Bouma 1996, p.178). A mixed or multi-methods, triangulated (Denscombe 1998, p.83 - 86) approach was employed to develop in-depth case studies (Jorgensen 1989, p.19). This case study focused on the product (the publications - both print and online), the producer (journalists and editors) and the publishers' policies. Within this framework, a particular focus of the case study was the changing work practices within the 'integrated newsroom' environment.

Due to temporal and other constraints, the scope of the research project was limited to two newspapers for the period of the researcher's field-work - SPH's The Straits Times Interactive (Singapore) from 19 - 31 July 1999 and with John Fairfax's The Age Online (Melbourne) from 27 August - 10 September 1999.

The following methodological tools were employed:

An audit of the macro environment (Singapore and Australia) of the two news organisations;

Participant observation;
A content analysis comparing the print and online versions of the newspapers for the period 19 - 31 July 1999;
In-depth interviews with staff including editors, journalists and web content producers;
Email follow-up interviews;
A Reference Group.

Research Approach

The Straits Times Interactive was chosen because of the author's Singaporean background and upbringing, pre-established contacts within the organisation and its print counterpart is Singapore's only mainstream English-language broadsheet daily. In the case of Australia, online versions of two metropolitan broadsheets were contacted: The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. The Age Online granted permission for research, however the Sydney Morning Herald Online was unable to do so for various reasons including work pressures and a major reshuffle within the newsroom.

A literature review revealed that there is presently limited research available looking at specific online newspapers from Australia or Singapore. Examples of current research in this area include; an examination of online news usage trends (Aikat 1998), audience gratification (Mings 1998), Asian online newspapers and their reliance on wire services (Elliot 1998), journalists perceptions of their role in the new media environment, the diffusion of innovation (Singer 1997; 1998), a study of the new skills used by journalism educators and students (Pearson 1999), the diffusion of the Internet at Australian daily newspapers (Quinn 1999) and the differences between traditional and online journalism (Deuze 1999).

The research project involved a comparative case study that employed an outside-in approach beginning with an examination of the macro-environment in which these papers are situated, ie. the Australia and Singapore technological climates respectively. It then examines the specific news organisation and how they are embracing digital technology. This sets up the context of the study and is followed by an examination of the journalism practitioners working on the online newspaper, and a comparison of their print and online news products.