It hasn’t been 48 hours since a gunman opened fire on soldiers perparing for deployment on Fort Hood and I’m not sure where Thursday turned into Friday.
By my calculations I’ve spent 36 hours at work since 8:00 a.m. Thursday. I was out Wednesday with a nasty sore throat/headache/fever.
I hope to eventually share a blow by blow of what happened in the newsroom that lead to our web coverage. But, I need sleep and need to reflect upon the events of the last 48 hours.
I’d like to thank everyone for the kind, encouraging words about how we covered the news as it unfolded on KXXV.com.
Just as I prepared to launch my new weather block, I got word that the folks over at CNN.com were in the final stages of a redesign. I hate being upstaged!
Now that the dust has settled, its time to take a look at what CNN.com has offered and how we can implement it in local news websites.
Tri-colored nav
Using a different color to highlight specific sections on a site is not a new idea overall but, CNN.com is one of the first news sites to implement this practice.
On first glance, we notice Home, Video and NewsPulse; then we see U.S., World, etc. I don’t think it is any coinsidence that Video and NewsPulse are the two most changed sections on the website. These categories represent two of the features that make up a modern news website successful: non-text content and interactivity/connectivity.
The single-color tabs indicate a steadfastness to the design. That is to say nothing dramatic has been done with the visitors’ usual destinations on the site.
So if you were to redesign tomorrow, how could you implement a 3-color nav?
- Large nav- You’ll need to make your navigation is at least 30px tall (that’s about half an inch), if you try to squeeze in too much gradient in a smaller space your multicolored nav will be hard to read.
- Use similar colors- If you have a super colorful header image you’ll want to pick a bland nav scheme. Stay inside the same color family; but make sure to distinguish the colors. In the example below you can see I’ve used two gradients and a solid color for the main color. There is not quite enough difference between the inactive tab on the left and the one on the right.
- Choose the sections you’re going to highlight with care. You’ll send the wrong idea about your site if you flag your classifieds tab over news or weather. I realize that the GSM may want to highlight your coupon category, but that’s what house ads are for.
What News Director doesn’t want hyperlocal/extended/interactive content on their website? It looks great when done well and it also provides visitors with a way to get better information from your site. We all know simply posting a text version of a newscast script is easy but, it doesn’t count as “good web content.” I”ve developed this list of easy ways to beef up your web content; even the smallest details can make a boring story look important.
- Make it Immediate:
Tell the reader what is going on now, why the story was posted now and what impact it has on them. EXAMPLE: Boring:An 8-year-old boy was hit by a car in the 300 block of Main Street Sunday. Immediate: An 8-year-old Nolanville boy is recovering Monday morning after he was struck on Main Street by a speeding car - Avoid long comma strings; use lists:
People read web stories differently than a newspaper; they scan for chunks of information. Your job is to break it into easily digestible chunks. The easiest way to break up a story is to use a list. EXAMPLE: Boring: Edwards was charged with aggravated assault, assault, evading arrest and a parole violation.Chunkified:Police have charged Edwards with:
- Aggravated Assault
- Assault
- Evading Arrest
- Parole Violation.
- Key Facts: Tell the reader what they need to know. Consultants always say readers want to pick and choose the information they want, but they also say readers want their information as fast as possible. You can bold main ideas or “nut graphs” to get a reader’s attention. Some sites will even give you a bullet list of key facts inside of a story.
- Allow Readers to comment on stories:
Web2.0 is all about interactivity and sharing of information. Let readers weigh in on stories using comment systems like JS-KIT. Present the reader with facts in a story and allow the marketplace of ideas to prosper in your comments section. Comments are even an excellent source for leads on stories. Just the other day we got a comment on a story about a missing person that actually allowed us to help police locate the man. - Link to backrounders
This is quite possibly the easiest, most helpful addition you can make to your web stories. Everyone knows how to make a link right? Here’s a refresher just in case.
Most CMS platforms have a link button, like this
. Typically you use the mouse to select the word you want to become clickable then click the link button. A small window will appear asking for the link’s URL, how you would like the link to open (generally you want to choose _BLANK or “New Window.”If you don’t have a fancy button you can always use good ole HTML.
Now you can make links- but what should you link? Some folks thing you’re entire article should have blue-underlined words. I personally subscribe to the “when it’s relevant” school of thought. I like to link organizations, people and past articles. The latter is especially easy because you can simply use your web site’s search box (or if you’re missing this crucial element you can use a google search with the “SITE:” function.) Say you’re following up on a murder case- type the suspect’s name into the search box and find the story about his arrest. Link his arrest to your new story. Use verbs as link text for any subsequent links your search may find.
Example:
The Central Texas pastor accused of killing his wife entered a not guilty plea in 54th District Court Monday. Matt Baker is accused of murdering his wife Kari Baker and attempting to make it look like suicide. Baker has maintained his innocence amd has since been arrested and released only to be indicted a year later by a grand jury. - MAPS: Every DMA has a handful of small towns – bearing names no one can pronounce – much less locate on a map. That’s where a good map finds a place in a good story. Google makes it easy to incorporate maps into your story by offering an embed link on every map. Simply log on to maps.google.com, search for your location, click the link tab and you’re ready to embed!EXAMPLE:This map went along with a story involving an evacuationView Untitled in a larger map
Everyone knows how important “the brand” is for a product; it’s the same way for the TV station. You’ve got to tell people what they need to remember about you by telling them what you’re going to give them.
Well, as I gear up for some life changes, I felt it necessary to create my brand. In the coming weeks and days I’ll be shaking up patricktolbert.com and this blog as well as my résumé.
So stay tuned for exciting images
Migrating files to new servers at work got me thinking about my own files. I am now in the process of migrating servers for the domains I control.
UPDATE: It took all weekend, but I have it sorted out. I ran into a crazy wordpress bug with uploads but managed to fix it.
I will keep your status here:
- STRATEGICDEMOGRAPHICS.COM – COMPLETE
- RICKVELACLOTHING.COM – COMPLETE
- PATRICKTOLBERT.COM – COMPLETE
- PATRICKTOLBERT.NET – Redesign in progress
- BELLECRAVATE.COM – parked
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