Anchor's away

Per the request of our fearless leader (translation: the professor), my online journalism class has scoured the Internet for examples of chunking, layering and anchoring links. Sounds like a nifty haircut, doesn't it?

Not really. They are the various ways that news Web sites structure stories and compile information for readers/viewers/unique visitors, i.e. all of you who type w-w-w-dot then click on a story link.

An example of anchoring, if I have my definitions correct, is the LA Times Web site. I love The Times, even worked there for a while as a reporting fellow, but they tend to anchor photo, video and story galleries about three graphs into the article.

The page layout takes a little getting used to. As one classmate said last week, she tends to think the story is finished when she comes across this design.

But if the content is compelling enough--like the discovery of multimillionaire, adventurer Steve Fossett's plane--you'll keep reading. You might even go back and click on a link or two. I did.