Original Research Article: (2021), «EUREKA: Social and Humanities» full paper Number 3 THE DEVELOPMENT TRENDS AND FEATURES OF ONLINE NEWS WEBSITES IN BANGLADESH Abdul Kabil Khan Department of Media Studies and Journalism University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh House 56, Rd, 4/A Satmasjid Road, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1209
[email protected] Anna Shnaider Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management Baltic International Academy 4 Lomonosova str., Riga, Latvia, LV-1003
[email protected] Abstract This article refers to the brief history of the development of online media in Bangladesh starting from the beginnings of the Internet to the contemporary stage. Since 2006 Bangladeshi news organizations have been reshaping their strategy towards being a digital-only news outlet. News organizations are now using different features of mobile devices and social media to tell stories and engage with their target audiences. Today both the digital-only news outlets and mainstream media use QR codes, messengers, social media platforms, which enable them to reach a wider area of audiences. By using yet inexpensive digital tools journalists can easily create and distribute content for digital-only platforms. We consider digital-only platforms as new media, social media, and convergence media platforms. Social media platforms have provided the opportunity for traditional journalists to share news quickly, get feedback from the audience, and have two-way communication with the reader. Previous studies have looked at the genres of online journalism from a western perspective. Little has been done on the topic from the context of Bangladesh. In this article, we analyze the basic features of online news media that exist in contemporary Bangladesh and provide an ac- count of the development trends.