Introduction: Impacts of the Internet on Newspapers in Europe

Abstract

This special issue of Gazette brings together articles that discuss the impact of the internet on printed media, and in particular newspapers, in different countries in Europe. The articles are written by scholars from five different European countries. They are the result of discussions and research carried out within the framework of COST Action A20 on ‘The Impact of the Internet on Mass Media’, chaired by Colin Sparks from Westminster University, UK. The emergence of the internet as a news medium has at least two effects on the availability of news and information, on opportunities for citizens to discuss current affairs and on the vitality of the public sphere. On the one hand, online news services expand the available supply of news, information and discussion forums; on the other hand, they force traditional news media to reorient themselves and adapt their roles in information markets to a new competitive situation. The articles in this special issue discuss both effects, focusing primarily on online and offline newspapers. They support their arguments with evidence from different European countries, adding a welcome European flavour to the ongoing international debate on the impact of internet on mass media.