USA Today hides the substance
November 25, 2007
Wow, USA Today is trendy. If journalism was like fashion, then USA Today would be mod. The Web site is littered with user comments and recommendations- anyone can tell they are striving to create a communal feeling. You can comment on everything- Holiday Travel, Sports, Online Shopping, Movies, or, surprise, National News.
In case you haven’t noticed- they’ve strayed from giving normal, or expected, titles to their coverage areas, choosing instead to prominently feature things like “In the Cafeteria,” “Going Green,” and “People” (which, naturally, features celebrity news).
The top toolbar is designated “The Essentials.” And what exactly are the essentials, you ask? Well, for USA Today they are: Markets, Scores, Politics, Games, Lotteries, Video, Photos, Subscribe, Reader Services, Blogs, Site index. Well, as a reader, I’m glad to know I should consider the lotto scores essential to my daily news intake but not the war in Iraq or the genocide in Darfur.
USA Today loves its community. In addition to user comments, recommendations and blogs there is a prominent dynamic lead of reader comments on the top right. . And they definitely encourage the online membership option
This could all be considered creative and innovative, or, for the cynics out there, another case of dumbing down the news.
December 3, 2007 at 7:56 pm
USA Today is so colorful as well. Its various sections are more like color coded tabs you’d stick on the sides of a book for class rather than the traditional sectional divides of a newspaper. While it may be annoying, they’re pretty much the only large national paper doing what they do and I imagine it’s successful.