Link journalism is linking to reporting or sources on the web to enhance, complement, or add more context to original reporting. Link journalism can also take the form of a standalone topical news aggregation, with links to interesting and important stories on a specific topic.

Links are the most powerful distribution mechanism on the web. Links determine what ranks high in search results. People navigate the web through links. Linking is essential to the practice of journalism on the web.

Here are some examples of link journalism:

• “Links to What Were Reading” on NYTimes.com Ideas Blog
• “Breaking on the Web” on Pro Publica

Here are some examples of link journalism powered by Publish2, a free web application for journalists, editors, and newsrooms.

• “Links Used to Report This Blog Post” on Budget Travel blog
• “What We’re Reading” on D3football.com
• “Hot Off the Presses” on Triple Crankset
• “The Fixture’s Reading” on The International Fixture

Here is Jay Rosen of PressThink on the “ethic of the link”: