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SCMP Reporter

It contains little of the wit normally associated with its English sister.

  It is not shackled by monopolistic ownership as with its brash Australian brother, and its peculiar political conservatism is almost naive when compared with the montage of views proclaimed by its noisy European cousins.

  The press in the United States is perhaps the most intriguing of all media magnets. Nowhere else in the world have newspapers embraced the computer age with such gusto.

  The Palo Alto Weekly in California was the first American paper to post its editorial content in the dense undergrowth of the Internet, the global network of computer networks with some 20 million users worldwide.

  Yet in spite of this futuristic vision and impressive foresight, the US press is endowed with an antique parochialism that seldom ventures to peer beyond its own backyard.

  There can be no doubt of the zeal for technological progress within the American press.

  Newspapers are launching themselves into cyberspace with the enthusiasm they once had following the invention of the Linotype machine.

  Publications such as The State and Atlanta Journal Constitution already have their electronic newspapers on-line.

  Readers of these computerised papers do not see the familiar display of headlines and stories.

  For example, The State newspaper presents a screen of small graphical boxes, each with labels like Headline News, Entertainment, Sports and even personal services such as Friend Link.

  Selecting any box pulls out that material on-screen.

  The opportunity for extensive browsing was a key feature of a computerised newspaper, said Harry Logan, deputy managing editor of The State newspaper in South Carolina.

  'We're trying to create a newspaper with more dimensions, with in-depth material linked to the stories in the paper, thus better serving our readers,' Mr Logan said.

  Readers can print out articles, retrieve photos and search through back issues of the paper without having to rummage through the garbage.

  The ability to direct readers to vast amounts of information was what most distinguished electronic newspapers from the traditional models, Mr Logan said.

  Paper newspapers are limited by space and publishing costs. However, material that would not fit on paper can be tucked into a corner of cyberspace at minimal cost, available to readers at a keystroke.

  Mr Logan said one feature of electronic newspapers would be customised 'news filters' that would deliver specialised information for readers interested in everything from local news to consumer products.

  Electronic newspapers are also involving readers in two-way communications, a historic departure from the traditional one-way flow.

  The Atlanta Journal Constitution, with its Access Atlanta on Prodigy, even expects to use its readers as volunteer reporters to gather community news and other local information.

  Although news organisations are relishing the trend towards global hi-tech, the information being fed has anything but a global outlook.

  The American press has always had a local, rather than a regional or national, character. Although new technology has broadened this horizon considerably, the US media still concentrates to a large degree on the needs and interests of viewers, listeners, and readers in the immediate neighbourhood.

  Mr Logan said there were strong economic reasons for this, but it was also a reflection of American provincialism.

  'The history of the US is streaked with isolationism, and the press has often reflected this inwardness,' he said.

  A common observation from visitors to the country is the lack of international news relative to America's strong presence around the world.

  In fact, a great deal of international news reaches America, but only a small portion of it is carried by the community-focused mass media.

  As a general rule, the American press covers the 'big story' overseas, after tailoring it for an American audience. But it gives little attention to the day-to-day news abroad, and does not cater to a foreign audience.

  More than 90 per cent of America's daily newspapers depend on news agencies (wire services) for news outside their own regions.

  William Rogers, executive director of the South Carolina Press Association,said only a handful of the largest newspapers had their own national and foreign staffs.

  Mr Rogers said the daily newspaper industry was playing catch-up with the electronic media and seemed to have suffered most.

  Whatever happens, it will be the public that decides the future of the US news industry.



Electronic news on the rise in the American press