online media today

I like getting my International news from BBC News because of the distinct difference in bias and self-censoring. International sources generally cover news events very differently than American sources.

The BBC News site is set up for an 800x600 screen, which is a good thing, since it is still used by just under 40% of web users. I think that fact sometimes escapes web designers when they have resolutions of 1400x1050 or higher.

The search bar is in the upper right hand side, the title bar is simple and not overpowering and the navigation bar is very concise, all nice features on a news site.

Perhaps the best part of the BBC News site is that it is completely devoid of advertisements. Now I know this is not possible on American commercial news sites, but I still love it. At least if those sites could get rid of the annoying flashing ads, that would be a step in the right direction.

Another nice feature of the BBC News site is the availability of a low graphics version. Again, this is something web developers also forget in designing sites: not everyone has access to DSL, cable modem or a T1. Users on dial-up connections can switch from the graphics version to the low-graphics version quite easily.

The BBC News site is also great to get a different perspective on news than we are used to in the United States, as I mentioned before. I would encourage you to check out their site and compare how they are covering stories as compared to how they are covered by American press. See where you get your international news from then.

The only student newspaper worth mentioning at the University of Florida is the Alligator. It is a pretty decent paper for being student-run and runs daily Monday-Friday.

As a part of the Keg Party, I have been the subject of many stories written by the Alligator staff. I also wrote an article for the paper a few years ago, just so you know my connection.

The Alligator Online has a few things on its site that larger media outlets could stand to take a look at.

• There are only seven sections linked to on the front page. Now I know larger news organizations will have more content, but they can still limit what is thrown to the user on the front page.


• The pages don't scroll down ridiculously far. Again I understand that this is easier on a small site, but it is still very refreshing to see.


• There is only one flashing ad. I hate flashing ads because they distract the user greatly, especially when more than one appears on a page.

The Alligator site also leaves much to be desired. The archives are sketchy at best, often not loading the correct page or a page at all. The search feature needs to offer advanced features, especially searching by date.

Another way the Alligator could distinguish itself from other college newspapers would be to offer more web-only or at least web-specific content. There should be more external links on the stories and even more importantly, internal links to other stories on the same or a similar topic.

Overall the Alligator needs to work a lot on its site to make it more than just an online version of the print paper.