"Web news organisations must think of their fundamental product as the story, and not the site. A website is not experienced as a coherent product, but rather as individual pages, each of which serves as an entry point. Also, far too few web news publishers have adopted the emerging "grammar of connectedness" that will drive growth on the web in the next five years," said ," said JupiterResearch analyst Barry Parr.

The popularity of web content over offline newspapers means newspapers must adapt to meet the needs of their changing audiences. Newspapers are advised to look to the web not just to retain their older, offline user base, but to attract a younger - and in many cases, entirely different - group of users as well. Taking a predominantly local approach is another necessity for newspapers, since television and cable TV news sites already attract the most national and international news seekers.

"It is no surprise that newspaper circulation is declining. The internet has been eating away at the time consumers spend with other media. And now it is actually dictating an entirely new set of news habits and expectations," said JupiterResearch senior vice president of research David Schatsky.