Despite the prevalence of Internet use, the prospect of turning it into a primary medium remains doubtful as the public reading habits are not easily changed, according to a media watcher.
"With regard to ways to obtain information, readers are much more comfortable when reading newspapers or books in print, rather than staring at a computer monitor," said He Te-feng (
He attributed the closing down of the Tomorrow Times (明日報), an online newspaper in Taiwan, to its lack of competitiveness against more traditional media forms. Jan Hung-Tze (詹宏志), president of the Tomorrow Times yesterday announced the closing down of the online newspaper due to protracted financial difficulties.
Tomorrow Times was the world's first online Chinese-language newspaper. It was launched on Feb 15 last year. Source said that the venture had been losing an average of about NT$20 million a month since its inauguration.
He said she questioned the perspective of online newspapers when Tomorrow Times was first introduced on account of the predictably limited readership.
"The time is not yet ripe to develop an online journal in Taiwan because, after all, online users are mostly from the younger generation. In addition, how many people are so interested in current events that they need to be informed by a quick-download news source which is updated every hour?" she said.
Other media scholars said that Internet papers were often condemned for reacting to quickly to news before establishing the facts, thereby making frequent mistakes. Accuracy problems dogged Tomorrow Times.
"The credibility of online papers is not on a par with that of traditional counterparts because speed is their pivotal concern and reporters usually have no time to confirm information," said Weng Hsiu-chi (
Sharing Weng's view, Yang Chi-heng (楊志弘), dean of the school of communications in Ming Chuan University, said the credibility of online media needed to be improved if readership was to expand.
"Traditional media, such as magazines, books, and newspapers, are still of significant value due to their relative accuracy in contrast with online papers," Yang said, adding that a lack of support from strategic partners and the market shrinkage of the global Internet industry were factors leading to the failure of Tomorrow Times.
Peng Yun (彭芸), a journalism professor at National Chengchi University noted that the failing of the Tomorrow Times did not mean there was no future for online papers.
"Tomorrow Times focused on news occurring in the Chinese community ... But its failure is not tantamount to the end of the online newspaper business, provided entrepreneurs can find more lucrative selling points," she said.
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