University of North Texas Department of Journalism Online Journalism 3340 Sept. 17, 2009 Early Days of The Web

Today’s class Website of the Day Cool online tool of the day Types of convergence READ for next week: Teens Know What They Want From Online News: Do You? http://www.naafoundation.org/Research/Foundation/Youth-Content/Teens-Know-What-They-Want-From-Online-News.aspx

Website of the Day

Cool online tool of the day

Types of convergence

READ for next week:

Teens Know What They Want From Online News: Do You?

http://www.naafoundation.org/Research/Foundation/Youth-Content/Teens-Know-What-They-Want-From-Online-News.aspx

The Early Days – News Websites The Evolution Mainly straight text, no graphics Bulletin boards (BBS), forums ruled Minimal investment Late 70s/early 80s: VideoText Miami Herald: Viewtron Belo: BISON – Belo Information Systems On-line Progidy: Cowboys Content Knight Ridder, Tribune: $30 million Regurgitation: What was in print showed up online No staffs – Gungho geeks who become mavericks of their time

The Evolution

Mainly straight text, no graphics

Bulletin boards (BBS), forums ruled

Minimal investment

Late 70s/early 80s: VideoText

Miami Herald: Viewtron

Belo: BISON – Belo Information Systems On-line

Progidy: Cowboys Content

Knight Ridder, Tribune: $30 million

Regurgitation: What was in print showed up online

No staffs – Gungho geeks who become mavericks of their time

Dedicated keyboard/terminal that could only be used for the videotext service. This equipment cost $600 to $900; later, as personal computing caught on,Viewtron would try to sell its services via IBM, Apple, or Commodore PCs. A television set to display the color images, which took time to load or paint A monthly subscription fee of $12 (the first month was free) A phone line to send information back to a central computer, for which the consumer initially paid $1 an hour Source: Poynter.org: “Before there was the Internet, There was Viewtron”, by Howard Finberg, http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=52769 The Miami Herald, then owned by Knight-Ridder, invested $17mm in 1984

Dedicated keyboard/terminal that could only be used for the videotext service. This equipment cost $600 to $900; later, as personal computing caught on,Viewtron would try to sell its services via IBM, Apple, or Commodore PCs.

A television set to display the color images, which took time to load or paint

A monthly subscription fee of $12 (the first month was free)

A phone line to send information back to a central computer, for which the consumer initially paid $1 an hour

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/carlson/history/ScreenShots/Fred_the_computer.jpg 1993: September 2: Middlesex (Mass.) News launches first Internet gopher-based online newspaper .

January 1994: Salt Lake Tribune opens a BBS called Utah Online. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/carlson/history/ScreenShots/utah_online.jpg

Interactive tools Web polls Discussion forums Blogs Personalization Yahoo, Google

Web polls

Discussion forums

Blogs

Personalization

Yahoo, Google