The Bivings Report had a cool blog entry on the top 10 newspaper designs in all of the land. I’ve gotta say, the list looks pretty spot on. It gives props to the New York Times, Washington Post, USAT (I disagree on this one. It’s got a lot of social networking, but have you ever tried using the archive? Blah) and a number of smaller circ papers in major cities. Conspicuously absent: The Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times (I like the Bright One’s design), as well as the AJC, Miami Herald, and LAT. Wouldn’t you think these power players would be on the forefront of excellent design?
Many moons ago, I was inspired to start a blog all about newspaper Web design, something I know absolutely nothing about (it didn’t happen). But I know what looks good to me, and I know what I like as a reader. This was after a shooter went on a rampage in Kansas City, but I could hardly find any content on the Kansas City Star’s site. There was a quick write up, but no pictures or video; the TV sites did a pretty good job of providing updates, and Aaron Barnhardt, TV critic at the Star, was very complimentary of his news rivals. (NOTE: I can’t even find the story in a quick archive search)
I was flabbergasted that a paper like the Star was falling down on breaking the biggest story that had hit the area in years. Admittedly, the coverage in the following days was fantastic and will probably win some awards around here. But still, it confounded the problem of getting to content on the Star’s page (NOTE: MT has rolled out a new service, so maybe I can embed images…stay tuned). If you want to find what’s going in today’s paper, you’ve got to scroll about 3/4 down the page.
The top of the page is cluttered with ads and other content, including breaking news and blogs. But it’s not separated. It’s a blur of stuff, and it’s totally confusing. I know they could do much better job with the site, which has hardly changed since I started reading it online in 1999.
Now the Tribune’s new design is a step in the wrong direction, says the reader in me. Others wiser than I have blogged about this already. It’s got more interactive content, which is cool, but I think it’s hard to navigate. It’s a mirror image of the Orlando Sentinel’s site (and maybe other Tribune company papers?); I think it’s a step back from the stately, signature site that the Tribune formerly called its own. I still can’t stop reading it though.
Now that I’m fully entrenched in Lawrence, I’ve got to give props to the local Journal-World,
which has a great looking site that’s easy to navigate. The University Daily Kansan has a good site too, and one that trumps my beloved Miami Student (potential new topic: College media?). The paper is a quality one too. I picked up first copy today and was impressed at the breadth of stories in the 100-plus page edition. Nicely done for a college paper.
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