There seems to have been an increase in the number of articles about podcasting in print publications over the last two weeks. As I read the articles, I noticed something common — they have failed to do a complete job in the online editions of the report. They have done so in one of two ways:

• They have failed to provide typewritten URLs to websites, blogs, podcasts and events that were mentioned in the article; and,

• They have failed to provide clickable links to websites, blogs, podcasts and events that were mentioned in the article, whether or not the URL was mentioned.

Hyperlinking is the foundation of The Web. Indeed, it’s part of the user experience and has become an expectation of everyone using the Internet. Any site that does not offer this core functionality is not just missing the point, it’s doing a disservice to the readers/visitors of that site — fee-based subscribers or the general public.

It’s time for newspapers and other media organizations to update their style guides and reporting policies to require clickable links to all sites mentioned in their articles.