I actually find it frustrating reading mainstream media online. Why is it that they don’t hyperlink? I understand the whole walled garden strategy, but surely they could at least link to their own material or make links open in a new browser window.
The reason why I think mainstream media stories should include links to other website in their online editions is because it gives the reader a much richer experience. For example, if reporting on an ongoing saga, a reporter could link back to previous stories he has written on the subject rather than just providing a recap.
The real reason why journalists should hyperlink in articles though is it allows them to escape the constraints of their profession. Why try to cram a story into a thousand words when you could provide links to paint a much better story for the reader?
Technorati Tags: Media, Piaras Kelly
8 Responses to “Why don’t the media hyperlink?”
- 1 Pingback on May 26th, 2006 at 10:34 pm
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You bring up a great point. It seems that the only thing they link to are sales sites like eBay when you scan across a keyword.
It’s very simple, news sites are the antithesis of google – who’s sole purpose is to send people to other sites
Content sites WANT to be walled gardens.
Here’s your answer…
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/
Ok, admittedly Guardian Unlimited’s news blog is an exception not the standard
My two cents? I think it’s a combination of unwillingness to send readers away from their site, and a fear of transparency. As soon as media give readers access to the full material, say a survey that’s being discussed, the risks increase that mistakes will be identified or that journalists will be accused of bias (why did you draw this conclusion and not that?). Luckily with the rise of blogs, there’s no point in hiding anymore.
Another reason I can think of is rewrites. If media link to a source on another site it may become obvious how little “journalism” there sometime is in journalism.
You’re right. Links are just part of good writing for the Web. Journos should lobby their subs and get this sorted.
Reminds me of that BBC Backstage project where they mashed up BBC News and Wikipedia: http://wikiproxy.whitelabel.org/
Once you’re used to an improved version of something, the old one always starts to seem irritating. Like when you got broadband access at work and then had to go hope to dial-up. Drove me mad.
Yeah – except it doesn’t work anymore…
Given the premise of this item, a mainstream media operative might wonder where the hyperlinks are in this blog posting or whether you have a link roll set up somewhere in keeping with the link-friendly blogging community.