Abstract

The traditional media have moved at enormous speeds to present news and information online and have certainly changed the way information is presented to the reader. News and information on the Web is not up-to-date but up-to-the-minute. Readers are able to access news stories that have not been published on the printed page or aired on television or radio, yet they are on the Web. Geography is no longer an issue; readers’ have access to local news stories as well as news stories from around the world. While the most of these changes are inevitable, there are some in the industry that believe traditional media are repurposing content from their traditional counterpart more commonly referred to as shovelware; and others believe the convergence of media has lead to a homogeny of news and information. This research examines traditional media’s response to the web as an outlet of news and information to determine if online news today is generated from more than one news source. A content analysis of traditional media websites—newspaper, television, and radio—in the United States was conducted to explore convergence of news and information presented online.