About

The changing nature of news media has meant that the manner in which journalists report, file and publish their stories has also kept evolving. This project is devoted to chronicling a young journalist’s independent study of how people navigate the Internet, and what that means for us journalists.

As of December 2010, 41 percent of people use the Internet as the medium in which they consumed the most news regarding national and international issues, which was an increase of 17 percent from the previous year (Pew Center, 2011). When it came to news in general, 46 percent said they get news online at least three times a week, which was higher than newspapers (40 percent) for the first time. More people today are on the Internet than ever before – and they are consuming news content.

And how are they consuming? According to comScore, there were more then 100 billion Internet searches per month in 2009, and that number is undoubtedly higher today. Indexed search engines are central to everyday navigation of Internet content – including online news media.

If you need more convincing, consider this: If someone needed to learn more about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), what would one do? The answer is clear: “Google it.” As people are more and more present and dependent on the Internet, understanding their consumption habits and this significant entity that is the search engine network will allow journalists to be more prevalent and accessible to those looking for online content.

Follow along this site as a trained print journalist looks to get his hands dirty by evaluating best web practices for journalists, as well as analyzing what aspects of SEO and web metrics are the most essential for journalists to understand and apply.