I am a frequent visitor of CNN.com; it is where I get most of my news from and when I saw its relaunch I was mostly unimpressed. I say mostly because I do like the new header and everything from “editor’s choice” down, because it is broken up and categorized much better than the original site, but the main content section is annoying. I think this section is too busy and highlights the incorrect things. For example, there is no way that an advertisement (top of right column) should be the same size as the top story (top of left column). CNN better be getting big bucks for those ads because when you first log on to the site, it seems like it should be a story and then you realize it’s just an ad and you try to ignore it, but it’s right there all the time.
I noticed even before the site switched over that CNN has been trying to incorporate more video into their site. This observation of mine is now confirmed by the article. I am torn about this issue. For one, CNN did start on television, and is still very strong in that medium, so it makes sense that video should be a big part of their website. However, one of the reasons more and more people are turning to the web for their daily dose of news is because it is much quicker than television. Personally, I log on, read the headlines, click on the articles that intrigue me and then move on. Occasionally I will watch a video, but only if the story is dependent on this. Also, I hope CNN is collecting good money from the advertisers who get their 30 second commercial played before the video, because it really annoys me that I have to sit through a 30 second commercial to then watch 13 seconds of video (I am not against ads before video I just think the ad shouldn’t be longer than the main video).
I also think it is interesting that the article mentioned CNN’s move toward more entertainment news. Does CNN realize that those who have a real interest in keeping up with celebrity gossip are going to go to places like PerezHilton.com and not CNN.com? CNN is known for its hard breaking news, which is not a bad reputation. They should not be throwing that down the drain so they get a few more visitors on their site who want see Bradgelina’s newest child. Overall, I am interested to see how the site continues to change in the coming weeks as visitors respond to its new look.
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I agree with the fact that many people aren't entertainment-driven. But They said their research showed that a majority of people were sending most of their time on the entertainment section of their site. So although these people are CNN users that want entertainment news- even though they might also go to Perez. It could be risky to move away form direct hard news, but I think they are taking into account the fact that most people would rather watch a video than read an article first- and the articles are still there, just not stressed.
ReplyDeleteI really like your point about not watching video on the site. I think that the videos are good to supplement the articles with but i too am uncertain as to how much time people will spend watching them. It's an interesting trend with news sites.
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