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Using both the print based conventions and online conventions of newspapers, an analysis of the Toronto Star will be compared to The Toronto Star.com in order to demonstrate how most print conventions are still preserved in the dissemination of news stories online. However, differences are apparent due to the evolution of new digital technology, such as the World Wide Web.

The layout is crucial to both The Toronto Star and The Toronto Star.com. However, while print conventions such as masthead which is the name of the paper and dateline are apparent, they are not as prominent online as they are in print. Important stories are still featured on the front page of both print and the online home site, however, there is more stories available on The Toronto Star.com then on the printed version. Additionally, the entire story is not available on either the front page of The Toronto Star or The Toronto Star.com, but links to the full story online make it much easier and faster for the reader to obtain the information instead of flipping through pages and pages. Furthermore, bold typography, headlines and Blurbs/Puffs which are colour bands that aim to attract the reader are used in both print and online newspapers in order to demonstrate clean, clear, and concise text.

Indexes are extremely important to the online newspaper then they are to print. Indexes function as the guide to all areas within The Toronto Star.com by listing headings as links to current topics, affiliated websites and different sections of the newspaper/site such as, business, sports, entertainment and so on. Additionally, search engines and archives are available on The Toronto Star.com which allow readers to search for specific information or past editions.

The placement of text is also influential in aiding the reader through The Toronto Star pages or The Toronto Star.com. Text within The Toronto Star.com occurs in manageable chunks in which the content of the story always eludes to the full story by a link. Whereas in The Toronto Star, text is placed in single to double row columns and the content on the front page is part of the entire story. Additionally, updates online occur regularly, whereas the printed version is confined to 24 hour increments. Furthermore, captions (the words under images explaining the image) and the pointer (see page A12 or continued on A12) are only available in The Toronto Star, not The Toronto Star.com. Lastly, print conventions in terms of style of content such as the 5W's and H (who did what, when, where, why and how) and the inverted pyramid, remain the same for both The Toronto Star and The Toronto Star.com news reporting.

Finally, The Toronto Star.com encourages skimming and scanning such as Hunting, Browsing and Grazing, whereas The Toronto Star entails concentration and focus by constantly having to turn the pages in order to absorb the information.

Although differences are apparent within this analysis, Jakob Nielsen's article entitled "Differences Between Print Design and Web Design" located at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html is relevant for additional information.

References
http://www.thetorontostar.com
http://www.well.com/user/mmcadams/online.newspapers.html#skim
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html