Neither newspaper Web site farms out production to a third-party company. This helps brand the site with the paper and provides style and content consistency.
For example, the same bylines appear on stories in print and online, helping readers and viewers know who’s going to provide them with crime, education or political news.
The downside of this dual platform is that Web site standards tend to be more lack than those for print. Photo galleries of such things as cheerleaders, lifeguards and “porn stars in the mainstream” are common on the homepage of SunSentinel.com, meaning reporters names become branded with this too.
Each site also has a slot for user-generated content, where unique viewers can post their own photos, videos and in some cases stories. Where does that fall under the production question?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
What is the content?
The last of our evaluating questions is pretty easy to answer: News.
But to peal back a layer of the onion, so to speak, a large segment of the content tend to be shovel ware—stories shoveled from the newspaper to the news site.
This has changed some with both papers writing for online first. But a viewer who clicks on either site first thing in the morning is liable to see the same story they just read over coffee and cereal.
True if that same viewer were to click on MiamiHerald.com at 8:30 a.m. the site should be updated. Also, if that viewer logged on right before rushing out the door, he or she is liable to see a traffic watch, something not done for print. It would be outdated.
But if he or she took the time to the read the stories, particularly the meaty, enterprise stories, they’d be much the same.
But to peal back a layer of the onion, so to speak, a large segment of the content tend to be shovel ware—stories shoveled from the newspaper to the news site.
This has changed some with both papers writing for online first. But a viewer who clicks on either site first thing in the morning is liable to see the same story they just read over coffee and cereal.
True if that same viewer were to click on MiamiHerald.com at 8:30 a.m. the site should be updated. Also, if that viewer logged on right before rushing out the door, he or she is liable to see a traffic watch, something not done for print. It would be outdated.
But if he or she took the time to the read the stories, particularly the meaty, enterprise stories, they’d be much the same.
Is the info accurate?
Both SunSentinel.com and MiamiHerald.com are trusted sources of information in South Florida.
In the spirit of online writing, it would help if both papers put the attribution at the beginning of summary sentences on the homepage. While this is not typically done in print, online it helps boost reader confidence in the information.
Although to be fair, SunSentinel.com has far fewer summary sentences on the homepage, so it might help to work the attribution in to the headline.
It did with this one, BSO: Man hit teen with cinderblock after Halloween prank. Since homepages aren’t good for SEO, would it really hurt all that much?
In the spirit of online writing, it would help if both papers put the attribution at the beginning of summary sentences on the homepage. While this is not typically done in print, online it helps boost reader confidence in the information.
Although to be fair, SunSentinel.com has far fewer summary sentences on the homepage, so it might help to work the attribution in to the headline.
It did with this one, BSO: Man hit teen with cinderblock after Halloween prank. Since homepages aren’t good for SEO, would it really hurt all that much?
What does the site look like?
Much like MiamiHerald.com did recently, SunSentinel.com has opted for a more horizontal than vertical layout.
This allows unique viewers to scan (sorry, that’s what the do) more of the page without scrolling for more news. The PC way of saying, I think, is that viewers can now spend more time on or with the page.
Not sure how many viewers want to spend time looking at that blue background on SunSentinel.com. It creates a distracting sense of negative space, which is supposed to help direct the eye to important elements on the page. The blue makes the page feel claustrophobic and kitschy. Sorry.
MiamiHerald.com, in contrast, has a more appropriate use of negative space on the page in nice neutral colors—white in a light gray boarder. The headlines pop and the layout just seems more sophisticated.
Sorry. SS this assignment requires evaluation and criticism. On a positive note, the site seems to be updated more.
This allows unique viewers to scan (sorry, that’s what the do) more of the page without scrolling for more news. The PC way of saying, I think, is that viewers can now spend more time on or with the page.
Not sure how many viewers want to spend time looking at that blue background on SunSentinel.com. It creates a distracting sense of negative space, which is supposed to help direct the eye to important elements on the page. The blue makes the page feel claustrophobic and kitschy. Sorry.
MiamiHerald.com, in contrast, has a more appropriate use of negative space on the page in nice neutral colors—white in a light gray boarder. The headlines pop and the layout just seems more sophisticated.
Sorry. SS this assignment requires evaluation and criticism. On a positive note, the site seems to be updated more.
Monday, November 3, 2008
How often is the info updated?
As part of a class assignment, the next five posts are dedicated soley to evaluating two online news sites: SunSentinel.com and MiamiHerald.com. Enjoy.
SunSentinel.com lets viewers know right off the bat the freshness of the site. Right, now, for example, there’s a big red “Last Updated: 9:21 p.m.” just above the main story.
Problem is, viewers won’t know what was updated. Was it a photo gallery, a story, a story gallery, a video? And if so, which photo gallery, story or video?
The only real way to know which stories were updated and when is by looking for the little, red time-stamp underneath headlines, which seven out of ten times are the same on the homepage and story.
One frustrating thing is that the “main story” mentioned three graphs up is not a story at all but a multimedia candidate comparison based on the unique’s address. While this will be extremely helpful at the poll, it could be a bit annoying to a viewer who thought he or she was getting an actual story that didn’t require action on their part.
Sigh. I guess what they say is true: You can’t please everybody.
SunSentinel.com lets viewers know right off the bat the freshness of the site. Right, now, for example, there’s a big red “Last Updated: 9:21 p.m.” just above the main story.
Problem is, viewers won’t know what was updated. Was it a photo gallery, a story, a story gallery, a video? And if so, which photo gallery, story or video?
The only real way to know which stories were updated and when is by looking for the little, red time-stamp underneath headlines, which seven out of ten times are the same on the homepage and story.
One frustrating thing is that the “main story” mentioned three graphs up is not a story at all but a multimedia candidate comparison based on the unique’s address. While this will be extremely helpful at the poll, it could be a bit annoying to a viewer who thought he or she was getting an actual story that didn’t require action on their part.
Sigh. I guess what they say is true: You can’t please everybody.
Web Traffic Zooming
OK. We know newspaper circulation is down and Web traffic is booming. But seeing the numbers in black-and-white makes the whole situation just seem all the more real.
For example, Sunday circulation of the New York Times dropped 188,514 readers according to Editor & Publisher (see previous post). The paper’s Web Site, saw 20,068, 000 unique page views in September, E&P said.
Most news Web sites have ginormous numbers of unique page views. Just look at the top five newspaper sites for September:
NYTimes.com -- 20,068,000
washingtonpost.com -- 12,956,000
USATODAY.com -- 11,439,000
LA Times -- 10,022,000
Wall Street Journal Online -- 9,047,000
Something Rick Hirsch said during our class trip to the Miami Herald just jumped off my computer screen and hit me in the face: (And, I’m paraphrasing here.)
We have more people than ever using our product, but they don’t want to pay for it.
For example, Sunday circulation of the New York Times dropped 188,514 readers according to Editor & Publisher (see previous post). The paper’s Web Site, saw 20,068, 000 unique page views in September, E&P said.
Most news Web sites have ginormous numbers of unique page views. Just look at the top five newspaper sites for September:
NYTimes.com -- 20,068,000
washingtonpost.com -- 12,956,000
USATODAY.com -- 11,439,000
LA Times -- 10,022,000
Wall Street Journal Online -- 9,047,000
Something Rick Hirsch said during our class trip to the Miami Herald just jumped off my computer screen and hit me in the face: (And, I’m paraphrasing here.)
We have more people than ever using our product, but they don’t want to pay for it.
Newspapers combine. Well, sort of.
There might be a need to add yet another tag onto the Sun-Herald-Post now that the Miami Herald and St. Pete Times will combine their Tallahassee bureau.
South Florida’s three dailies have joined online operations—sort of. Each can pull stories from the others’ Web sites then publish them in the paper.
Now this.
South Florida’s three dailies have joined online operations—sort of. Each can pull stories from the others’ Web sites then publish them in the paper.
Now this.
Newpaper Circulation: 25 years later; 200,000 readers lighter.
A quick comparison of the nation’s top 25 newspapers in 1998 and 2008 tells of an industry trying to right itself in the midst of a down turn. The top four papers are the same, but each has lost about 200,000 readers.
In fact, just about all of the papers have lost thousands of readers. Some of lost a bit of their cachet thanks to layoffs and buyouts that gutted mastheads.
If you keep up with industry news, the D.C. bureau of a top-tiered paper is getting decimated. Translation: About eight staffers will be laid-off.
Sigh.
In fact, just about all of the papers have lost thousands of readers. Some of lost a bit of their cachet thanks to layoffs and buyouts that gutted mastheads.
If you keep up with industry news, the D.C. bureau of a top-tiered paper is getting decimated. Translation: About eight staffers will be laid-off.
Sigh.
Presidential Campaign Contributions
As we round third and enter the home stretch of the presidential election, one can’t help but ask: should media CEOs contribute to political campaigns?
Giving money to one candidate or another is a big journalist no-no for reporters and editors. What about the men who own the companies? And yes, I said men because, well, the CEOs are mostly male.
Editor & Publisher said Sam Zell, the man at the helm of the Tribune Co., gave at least $40,000 to Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
The money didn’t seem to influence presidential endorsements by Tribune newspapers, including The LA Times and Chicago Tribune. Both endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Zell wasn’t alone in his campaign generosity. Rupert Murdoch, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, gave $2,300 to McCain, according to E & P.
Still, it makes you wonder just how far up the media, food chain do those pesky journalistic standards stretch. Apparently, not to the man signing the checks.
Giving money to one candidate or another is a big journalist no-no for reporters and editors. What about the men who own the companies? And yes, I said men because, well, the CEOs are mostly male.
Editor & Publisher said Sam Zell, the man at the helm of the Tribune Co., gave at least $40,000 to Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
The money didn’t seem to influence presidential endorsements by Tribune newspapers, including The LA Times and Chicago Tribune. Both endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Zell wasn’t alone in his campaign generosity. Rupert Murdoch, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, gave $2,300 to McCain, according to E & P.
Still, it makes you wonder just how far up the media, food chain do those pesky journalistic standards stretch. Apparently, not to the man signing the checks.
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