Differences between the quality of the printed version and online editions of the European reference press

Abstract

This article deals with a key question for the future of journalism: the repercussion which new technologies are having on news quality. The authors compared digital and printed versions of five major European reference newspapers, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Financial Times, Le Monde, Corriere della Sera and El País throughout the first 3 months of 2013. The study provides specific data about the quality indices of each of these versions and confirms that there is a deterioration in news quality online. The average index obtained by the printed version is 6.06 out of 10, against 5.66 for the digital version, a difference of 40 hundredths. Finally, the work compares the 2013 results with those registered in the period 2001–2012 by these newspapers in their printed versions. Printed news quality shows greater stability.