The level of writing and reporting not the same in electronic as opposed to print versions. The on-line version covers only some selected articles. The articles are summarized in short paragraphs. If readers are interested in full version, they need to subscribe to the Mercury Center.

This on-line newspaper is totally different when appearing on the web as in printed version. I don't have full access to the fully online version so I don't exactly know how they look.

There is no fee to view selected article in summary. You need to register with fee to view the full contain of  the San Jose Mercury News on-line version. I think the fully online version cover as much as the printed one. For more information about subscrition please click here.

In what ways do these websites offer more than just an electronic republishing of the print versions? The Mercury Center gives readers the chance to search for special subjects by keywords, link to many different resources, and to view the previous versions (if subscribed).

Use of advertisements
Are they effective in creating interest in the product? Yes because the pictures are displayed in full color.
Do ads interfere with the main focus of the page? Yes. They slow down the page loaded to the readers' system.
Can ads compliment the page? Yes. They make the page look colorful and very abstractive.
Are banner ads (target ads) effective in leading to destination or other ads? Yes. This is very good idea in web advertisement.

Focus and length of stories on the web
Are shorter or longer stories more effective? short stories.
What types of stories and features seem most appropriate? sports, business, life, weather and classified ads.
Is in-depth reporting effective? Yes. Briefly summary the story and link to the whole story.
Can the web support types of journalism other than entertainment? Yes. But not as good as two traditional versions.

How is color used? Please discuss effective uses and potential uses.
To make the website colorful to attract attention to readers and make them to stay in longer. The color is also used to highlight the titles of the articles to attention the readers.

How are graphics used? Please discuss effective uses and potential uses.
In what ways do graphics enhance and in what ways do they detract or interfere with the page? The graphics are really helped the page to attract readers. However, if the readers have slow connection such as home PC users, they will loose their patience to load the full pictures. In this case, the pictures are useless.
How can and do graphics enhance the stories and how can this enhancement be maximized? Use small size of graphics - less than 50 Kb is very good.

Does web journalism seem to be closer in nature and usage of traditional broadcast journalism or to print journalism? No. The traditional broadcast journalism or print journalism give the readers more entertainment than the web version. The web version is only, in my point of view, for researching and studying cases. It is just a huge database on the connected internet.

Does the web need to be represented by a new synthesis of the two traditional forms? If so what forms might it evolve into? - (Please give some thoughts on the subject as there are currently no definitive answers to the question.) The web should be as a database with searching enable and its own look. It does not need to be like the two traditional forms.