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The progression from print based media to online newspapers is fundamental in this advancing technologically driven society. Computers are allowing audiences to not only consume information on the world wide web, but also to become producers of it. According to Chris Lapham "As people all over the world begin to produce and then share information, they naturally depend less and less on the information that flows from more traditional sources." Therefore print newspapers become vulnerable, so it is up to online newspapers to provide current up to date information that is user-friendly and follows various print and online newspaper conventions.

Since the inception of print-based newspapers, their job has been to collect, record and distribute information to different areas around the world. With this new digital era, an influx of information has become apparent and people all over the world are receiving information at a much more rapid pace. As what Lapham calls "computer-mediated communication" becomes more involved in our daily lives, "defining what is news is now more critical than ever. And it is their ability to do this within the context of new technology that is the key to newspapers survival"(Lapham).

The evolution of online newspapers has caused as Lapham suggests "A New Hybrid Model" to appear. This model greatly appeals to the user through hypertext by not only allowing the reader to choose his/her own path, but also opens up an unlimited amount of space to present various information. Therefore, "the computer is a perfect complement to the newspaper....[it] enables the existing news industry to deliver its product in real time. It hugely increases the quantity of information that can be made available...It opens the way to upgrading the news with full screen photography and videos, while hugely enhancing the richness and timeliness of the news. The computer empowers readers to use the "paper" in the same way they do today--to browse and select stories and advertisements at their own time and place"(Lapham).

Finally, the evolution of "A New Hybrid Model" has caused the development of a new Web News Genre to appear. This new Web News Genre occurred through findings of a study called, "Evolution of the Web News Genre-The Slow Move Beyond the Print Metaphor" conducted by Lars Bo Eriksen and Carina Ihlstrom of 3 Scandinavian newspaper organizations. This study suggests that online newspaper sites are "evolving towards a "live" scheme of news reporting. The conceptual structure and presentation elements remain relatively fixed, while news stories in the form of articles "float" through the site"(Eriksen and Ihlstrom).

References
http://www.ibiblio.org/cmc/mag/1995/jul/lapham.html
http://www.sentex.net/~mmcadams/mmedia/hypertext.html
http://www.viktoria.informatik.gu.se/results/result_files/104.pdf