With the increasing number of people who are online, and the popularity of World Wide Web (WWW), the Internet has become the fifth mass media, after the Newspaper, Radio, magazine, and TV. Consequently, Internet promotes the development of online news. Many traditional media corporations have established online news sites step by step to put their news online. Besides, many Internet companies also have established online news sites whose news only publishes online.
The biggest difference between online news sites and traditional media is the “ interactivity”. Users on the Internet can decide the order of navigation by themselves, and online news sites can offer many interactive functions, such as database searching, forums, and E-mail box in which users can express their opinions to the webmaster. In addition, online news sites can offer personal news for different users based on their personal preferences. Meanwhile, online news sites are more interactive than traditional news media.
The purpose of this study is to define the concept of “interactivity” and its applied functions. This study use content analysis to analyze twenty-three online news sites in Taiwan to evaluate the interactive functions of these sites. The result indicated that most online news sites don ’t provide many interactive functions, except “udn news”, “China Times”, and “IT Home”. Discussions and suggestions are also provided.