JOUR 61: Online Writing Exercise 1

For this exercise I used the BBC News website.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/

a) Do the news items reflect immediacy?

They certainly do. Every page, home page and articles, have the exact time and date that the page was last updated. This allows the user to appreciate the immediacy of the news they are receiving.

b) Does the site try to help readers save time?

Yes. The home page is structured nicely in to different sections; such as sport, features and the major stories from different parts of the world.

c) Is it quick and easy to get information?

As mentioned, the home page is structured in such a way that getting the content you want is fairly simple. Furthermore, the link bars down the left of the screen also enable the user to easily navigate to the content that they desire.

d) Does it provide both visual and verbal information?

The main stories on the home page are accompanied by a small image and each individual story has at least one image – often more – accompanying the text.

e) Do the stories contain lists and bullets to make them easier to scan?

Only a small minority of stories contain lists and bullets to accompany their stories.

f) Are the stories broken into “chunks”?

Yes. There is a clear beginning “chunk” to each story which encompasses the essential information to the story. If the user were just to read this first “chunk”, then they would gain a basic understanding of the story. The remainder of an article’s content is also divided into “chunks”, separated by emboldened subheadings.

g) Do stories provide hyperlinks to additional information?

This is one of the best features of the BBC News website. Every story is accompanied by links to the most recent related stories on the right side of the article. Through this, the user is able to trace back through the entire history of a story as reported by the BBC. Furthermore, articles are also accompanied by links to relevant external sites.

h) Are there opportunities for readers to "talk back"?

There is a “have your say” link accessible from any page. From here the user can comment on certain stories. Some stories also have a section at the end where users with personal experience of the story can send in their opinions and also their own pictures and videos as well. The best use of user feedback though comes with sports stories, where there is an active forum for debate on many of the articles.

i) Does the site use multimedia to enhance understanding and add appeal?

This is another area where I think the BBC News website excels. Recently the website has begun including video links with many of their stories. The videos – showing news reports, interviews, or simply footage of the event that the text is describing – are included in the heart of the text of an article and simply need to be clicked to view. There are also video and audio links to the BBC’s news bulletins.