Web writing expert J.D. Lasica of the Online Journalism Review (OJR), said: "Most of the experts we contacted underlined the diverse, deep-seated journalism traditions that infuse new media in each European country.
"American news professionals could well pick up some pointers from across the pond, where online publications are experimenting with different content models, offering playful games pages and embracing weblogs."
The OJR review looked at sites in the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Austria, The Netherlands, Italy and Sweden.
One interviewee, Mark Deuze of the Amsterdam School of Communications Research, said there were cultural differences between northern and southern European approaches to journalism on the web.
"In northern Europe, new media investments and multimedia platforms seem to be much more of a concerted effort, while southern European training programs and some newsrooms depend much more on inspired groups of individuals. Southern European journalism training emphasises the role of the journalist as a writer and artist much more than the northern European tradition, which is more vocational and professional but much less fun."
The research also showed that many European countries had been badly affected by the worldwide recession and the dot com crash, with many jobs being lost in the rush to cut online reporting teams or replace web content with copy from print publications.
Belgium and Germany were generally seen as offering the brightest future for web journalists. In Denmark the web had not really taken off to the same extent, while in Sweden and Austria - despite high levels of computer ownership - the recession had hit hard.
In the UK the only serious international web presences were seen as The Guardian and the BBC. Spain and Italy had also been hit hard economically, but Italy's La Republicca offered an innovative solution by charging for print content republished on the web, while original online content remains free.
See also: www.ojr.org/ojr/lasica/1017820504.php
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