For the online news source critique, first source that popped up in my head was USA Today. Since it’s my favorite newspaper, it was a no-brainer for me to critique it. USA Today strikes me differently than other newspapers because I appreciate the style of the writing and the fact that there is a section for everyone’s interest. Also, the articles always have interesting topics and always are appealing to me.
The website is designed in the same way that the paper is—everything is laid out in front of you. As soon as you get to the website, there are several stories that you can click on to read, videos, and pictures. Basically, the things that will immediately grab your attention. While, I understand their method of design, it is a little overwhelming to have so much jumping out at you. Even though it is constructed this way to gain your attention, it actually is distracting and makes it difficult to decide what to click on first. Because, there are videos, picture galleries and articles all existing in the same place, it is too much and makes it difficult to focus.
I noticed that the website included some of the features that we have discussed in class in the past couple of weeks. For example, the structure makes it a priority to integrate the opinions and voices of readers. On every article, there is space for readers to leave comments and “communities” where readers can join a group that focuses on a specific thing (for example, there are fantasy football, gossip and travel communities). Another feature from class is the fact that there are several blogs that USA Today sponsors and supports. This is significant because blogs are one of the biggest phenomenon online at the moment and to have this feature on the website will only increase their readership and popularity. Also, there are photo galleries and videos which are two mediums that represent a useful, current type of normality on websites today.
While, the content of the website is still informative and well-written, it’s the design I have a major issue with. I like the community ideas and blogs as well as the separating of section, like, travel, sports, money and entertainment. The content is some of the best out there—but how will people know if they cannot get through a messy, disorganized website?
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