The website of U.K.-based newspaper The Telegraph has just turned 15 and in a column looking back at the beginnings of the site, former editor of the site Derek Bishton notes that the newspapers that once needed Internet sites for brand transformation are now needed for for reputation reasons.

Bishton writes:

“And the longer time goes on, the more convinced I am that that the internet needs newspapers. The reason is simple: people like reading, and whilst reading from a screen is bearable for short items, it gets tedious for anything more than a few hundred words.”

He later concludes:

“So, in a curious way, things have come full circle. Fifteen years ago, the Telegraph newspapers needed an internet site to help transform the brand image of the paper, to make it seem more modern and relevant. Now, I think, when our internet presence has made us a global brand, we need the newspaper even more to remind those readers why they value what they are reading.”