New Media and the Slow Death of the Written Word
by Mark Zeltner, Ph.D.
abstract by Samantha Reinhart
Written by a lover of the newspaper, this article responds to the question "Will the Internet drive the newspaper into extinction?" Mark Zeltner decided to ask one of his News Writing classes what they thought about the future of newspapers or, more specifically, what the future of news on paper would be. The students' response was that it was not a question of if the newspaper would disappear, but when.

Zeltner realized that he would have to embrace this new technology, and soon became excited about the possibilities of the new-media. One aspect of the new-media that particularly strikes Zeltner is the ability to use hypertext links to break down the traditional narrative styles. For example, a journalist can tell a story using hyperlinks to provide background information, use audio for impact, and use pictures that have amazing resolution and color to tell a story that words can't. An author can even use video to supplement his written text.

However, Zeltner notes that many critics are appalled at what computer-mediated texts will do to our ability to appreciate traditional narrative strategies and books in general. Critics ague that this technology could not only lead to the death of print media, but to the death of our ability to comprehend this type of narrative.

Zeltner isn't worried about death of print. He argues that the Internet provides a new form of media that will supplement, not kill, the previous technology. He notes that the TV did not put an end to the radio or the movie, as many critics feared. Zeltner says that the medium and how we consume it is not going to change- reading an article on the web is not the same as reading it in a print newspaper or a traditional magazine. Novels still make no sense on the web, and there is no risk of the novel dying out any time soon!

The gist of the article is this: that "there is still a place for the printed newspaper in our society. There will always be an audience for a well-written novel delivered the traditional way--on paper. But the new-media opens an untold number of new methods of reaching and communicating with an audience."

According to Zeltner, there is only one "wonderful and terrible" problem. There are no rules for writing for the new-media and the ones that exist for traditional print media simply don't work. Thus Zeltner steps in and provides the solution to his "terrible" problem. Here they are, folks, pay attention- the top ten rules for writers on the web.
The Ten Rules
1. Just the facts ma'am or keep your writing tight, tight, tight
On the Internet, less is more. Words are precious. Use them sparingly and effectively.

2. Anything over a screenful is wasted or click vs. scroll
How you decide to cut up your information to fit on the screen is imperative. How can you do this in a way that will entice your writers to keep reading?

3. No page is and island or think in modules not chapters
"Digestible chunks." Make sure that each page can stand on its own and teach something to the reader.

4. A picture is worth a couple thousand words or when to embed images and when to just write
Use a picture if it says it better than words can. Don't use pictures that will distract or detract from your main point.

5. Did you hear that? or when a sound is more is more important than words
Use audio when it portrays something better than you can in words.

6. Did you see that? or when a video clip is more important than words
Video clips are small on the screen. Pick wisely and make sure that the small size will not impact the power of the message.

7. Huh, what's this? or when to use descriptions and definitions
Use hyperlinks to define or describe confusing words or concepts.

8. Ever take a trip without a roadmap? or why hypertext links are wonderful, dangerous things
Don't send people away from your page! If you do, make it easy for them to come back!...

9. Want some fries with that or sidebars are an important part of every document
Sidebars are a great way to provide supplemental information. They basically take the place of the footnote.

10. Sometimes you can tell a book by its cover or why content and form are both important
The medium is the message! Good writing simply doesn't do it anymore. You have to make it look pretty and exciting!!!

This does not mean that we don't have to worry about what we write anymore. The written word is as important as ever. "The difference is that we can no longer depend on words alone to carry our messages to the new technically sophisticated audiences of the twenty-first century."