Internet trivia time: how many newspapers are on the worldwide web?
An Illinois research and consulting firm called NewsLink Associates announced a month ago that more than 3,600 newspapers are now online in the world. NewsLink estimated more than 4,000 would be online by the end of the year.
However, that number may already be reached. While the review by NewsLink was an ambitious and admirable project, the number appears flawed.
Just glancing at newspapers for Saskatchewan reveals a few have been missed, ranging from the Saskatoon Free Press to the online paper published by the University of Regina’s School of Journalism and Communications.
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However, NewsLink’s website (www.newslink.org) does indicate an impressive number of newspapers in Western Canada have opened their papers to a global audience.
In Saskatchewan, four daily and three non-daily papers are listed; Alberta has seven daily and 27 non-daily papers; Manitoba has three dailies, seven non-dailies; and British Columbia supports 18 dailies, 18 non-dailies. This doesn’t include business, alternative or specialty papers (such as The Western Producer, which is online at www.producer.com).
How quickly is this area growing on the web? NewsLink said in the last six months 1,700 newspapers have started publishing on the internet.
In the previous six months, almost 600 papers went online.
This indicates a massive increase particularly in newspapers outside the United States, said NewsLink in its press release: “A year ago, only 29 percent of online newspapers were located abroad. Rapid growth, primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, Norway, Brazil and Germany, has pushed the total number of non-U.S. online newspapers to 1,563.”
