External factors and structural features characterizing the development of digital mass media in the Americas

Abstract

This article analysed 111 digital mass media sites from 25 countries throughout the Americas, with the purpose of characterising and comparing the development of cyber-media there, and of identifying the socio-economic and technological aspects which distinguish these Web sites in each country and region in the continent. The data analysed in this article were taken from the project «The development of the digital media in the American continent, Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom», undertaken by the Universidad del Norte, and also from different indicators available from the World Bank database for each country. These provide information on the development process of the digital media in the Americas, weaknesses regarding penetration, tools for interaction, and personalization of the information published in these media. The data also reveal the segmentation of this development, according to region, with substantial differences among the countries analysed in such aspects as demographic concentration, Internet connectivity, number of users, and percentage of rural population. One important external factor identifi ed was the density of users connected to the Internet.