Monday, March 12, 2007
FINAL PROJECT!!
This is mine and Megan's final project, "The Obama Phenomenon." Enjoy! And don't forget to check the "reporters" button at the end.
Monday, March 5, 2007
good design, bad design
One news Web site with good design is the Boston Globe. It might not be the best-designed site, but I enjoy think it has several good features worth mentioning. The Page-One stories are front-and-center of the Web site, and right next to that is a scaled-down version of the front page. I think this is a great part of the design of the page because it lets viewers see the news in the same format that it was delivered to subscribers that morning. I think it’s helpful to readers of the Web site to see the photos and stories in that format even if they don’t have time to pick up the paper. It also has easy-to-navigate menus with “Special Reports” and weekly section inserts. It also has guides to regional editions for people living in the suburbs. The site is colorful without being overwhelming, and a useful link at the top to www.boston.com, a site with general information about the city, including weather updates, special exhibits, and more features on the city. The Globe’s site is not perfect, but I think it has a good layout and design and is easy to navigate for people looking for news updates and features.
I also like the Web site for Haaretz, the leading newspaper of Israel. This is the English-language Web site, which I read fairly regularly. I think it has a great design and layout. There is a scrolling newsbar at the top with updating headlines, and new stories at the top with timestamps next to them, so that readers know when the latest stories have come in. The rest of the site is well-organized with by section, i.e. “diplomacy,” “defense,” “opinion” and “national.” I also like the colors the Web site uses, and the use of photos and visuals is appealing. I enjoy reading the stories on the site because I find it interesting, something that is not always the case with news Web sites.
I have two Web sites with bad design. The first is on a national level, and it is the Miami Herald. I will be doing my TM there this spring, so I have been reading the Web site to catch up on news of the area. It is not well organized, and it is not too user-friendly. There is only one graphic, and all multimedia features are hidden at the bottom, listed as a series of videos – but they are small and difficult to find. The layout is uninteresting; nothing about the design or layout makes me want to stay on the site and keep reading. I normally read the New York Times, and Web sites like that one and MSNBC and CNN have colors, interesting Web content, and plenty of easily-navigable sidebars and menus. The Miami Herald’s Web site also features most of the paper’s stories under other menu titles on the left side; overall, it is not easy to find stories that one might be looking for. It is not an effective design for a Web site and needs a major overhaul. The main fault is that it’s boring and difficult to find things in, and I think it could entice more online readers if the Web site was improved.
On a more personal level is the Web site for Daily Northwestern. I have been working for this newspaper in some capacity ever since I started at Northwestern in Fall 2004. Since that time, the Web site has certainly improved, but it is still in need of some work. The Daily’s blog only updates for ASG elections and Dance Marathon, and is otherwise largely ignored. The Most E-mailed/Commented/Popular stories feature on the right is a good step in the right direction, as is the archive search available on the left. On the other hand, while the headlines are big, the lead-ins for the stories that appear under the headlines are tough to read. The Web site would benefit from being better-organized and having more updated content and web-only content.
I also like the Web site for Haaretz, the leading newspaper of Israel. This is the English-language Web site, which I read fairly regularly. I think it has a great design and layout. There is a scrolling newsbar at the top with updating headlines, and new stories at the top with timestamps next to them, so that readers know when the latest stories have come in. The rest of the site is well-organized with by section, i.e. “diplomacy,” “defense,” “opinion” and “national.” I also like the colors the Web site uses, and the use of photos and visuals is appealing. I enjoy reading the stories on the site because I find it interesting, something that is not always the case with news Web sites.
I have two Web sites with bad design. The first is on a national level, and it is the Miami Herald. I will be doing my TM there this spring, so I have been reading the Web site to catch up on news of the area. It is not well organized, and it is not too user-friendly. There is only one graphic, and all multimedia features are hidden at the bottom, listed as a series of videos – but they are small and difficult to find. The layout is uninteresting; nothing about the design or layout makes me want to stay on the site and keep reading. I normally read the New York Times, and Web sites like that one and MSNBC and CNN have colors, interesting Web content, and plenty of easily-navigable sidebars and menus. The Miami Herald’s Web site also features most of the paper’s stories under other menu titles on the left side; overall, it is not easy to find stories that one might be looking for. It is not an effective design for a Web site and needs a major overhaul. The main fault is that it’s boring and difficult to find things in, and I think it could entice more online readers if the Web site was improved.
On a more personal level is the Web site for Daily Northwestern. I have been working for this newspaper in some capacity ever since I started at Northwestern in Fall 2004. Since that time, the Web site has certainly improved, but it is still in need of some work. The Daily’s blog only updates for ASG elections and Dance Marathon, and is otherwise largely ignored. The Most E-mailed/Commented/Popular stories feature on the right is a good step in the right direction, as is the archive search available on the left. On the other hand, while the headlines are big, the lead-ins for the stories that appear under the headlines are tough to read. The Web site would benefit from being better-organized and having more updated content and web-only content.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
movies now with sound
This flash movie has audio!
It is of me interviewing my roommate, Communications junior Andi Braunstein, about a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert she just attended. She is pictured in the movie on the right, and I am on the left.
It is of me interviewing my roommate, Communications junior Andi Braunstein, about a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert she just attended. She is pictured in the movie on the right, and I am on the left.
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