Neste1al's Blog

Freep.com

neste1al — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:47:35 +0000

The Detroit Free Press’s website, freep.com is attractive and easy to look at. The font is easy to read. There are links at the top of the page for all of the different categories of news. There are pictures featured to assist the main stories on the main page. Some of the main stories include Teen flight club in a Troy school, GOP candidates trade barbs during first debate, and a pictures of Red Wing’s season highlights.

Ads on the page include McDonald’s, Facebook, Twitter, and even has a featured ads section. The ads are not distracting from the main content on the page.

I liked this website. It is easy to navigate and attractive to look at. The stories are written in a formal style and features original reporting.

Washingtonpost.com

neste1al — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:13:03 +0000

This site is organized. I don’t think it is as attractive as other news sites. There are not as many pictures, and the pictures are small on the main page. The font is easy to read. It is easy to navigate with the categories of news listed at the top of the page. There is a lot of text on the main page and does not draw me in as much.

Stories include financial regulatory overhaul, a story on Chesapeake crabs, and Stanley Cup story. I could not read any of the stories because I wasn’t a member and could not log in to read the stories. There were blogs and an opinion section.

There were ads for twitter, Facebook and Verizon. There were not any pop-ups. The ads were distracting because there was a large Verizon ad on the right side then a lot of white space underneath the ad, the ad was being featured and not the news stories.

I did not like the site because I would have to subscribe to the site to read the content, and it was not attractive looking.

NYtimes.com

neste1al — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:56:09 +0000

This site is well-organized and easy to read. There are main stories with pictures on the first half of the page, then a list of stories by category on the second half of the page. The font is easy to read.

The main story is live coverage of the men’s championship basketball game. There is a slide show of pictures from the game to accompany the story. Other stories have major news from around the world. The site uses original reporting and it is written in a formal style. There are opinion pieces and there is an opinion tab that readers can click on to read all of the opinion pieces. There are blogs, podcasts, and videos. Readers can do crosswords and play games on the site, so there is interactivity with the readers.

There are a few small ads throughout the site. Some included a tv show on PBS and Intel. The ads did not detract from the content on the site.

I liked the site. It was easy to navigate and had many different topics of stories featured.

E! Online

neste1al — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:21:56 +0000

This site is well-organized and easy to navigate. Major stories are shown throughout the page with the different subjects at the top. The use of a lot of photos draws the reader in. The font is easy to read.

Content on the site includes information from E!’s tv shows. It has other celebrity news as well. The site features original reporting and uses a formal style. There is not a section for opinion pieces, but readers can comment on the stories. There are videos and podcasts, but no blogs. There is some reader interactivity on the site. Readers can post discussions and comments on the message boards.

There were some ads. They were mostly on the right side of the page. Ads included twitter, Sprint, and JCPenny. There were also ads for some of E!’s tv shows. They were not distracting from the other content on the page.

The site was inviting and offered a lot of celebrity gossip and information about E!’s tv shows.

peoplemagazine.com

neste1al — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:13:47 +0000

The site is attractive and easy to read. There are photos and graphics to accompany most of the stories. The site is well-organized with headings of different topics in the media today. Story content is mostly on celebrities. The site has original reporting and is written in a formal style. Some of the style stories seem to be more opinionated. There are blogs and videos on the site. Readers can have interactivity on the site by playing games and following celebrities in twitter.

There are ads for people magazine and for other celebrity websites. Some ads at the bottom of the sites included diet pills and teeth whitening products. There were not any roll overs or pop ups. The ads were not distracting.

The site was attractive and organized. For one who is interested in the affairs of celebrities and style, this is a good website to check out. It is geared more towards women.

Yahoosports.com

neste1al — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:43:18 +0000

The site is visually attractive and easy to navigate. There are a lot of links to click on, which is a little overwhelming. There are a lot of pictures and graphics to draw the reader in. The font is easy to read. Right now the site has a lot of content focused on March Madness basketball. It also has stories on other major news in sports, such as a story on Tiger Woods. However at the top of the site, there are different links dedicated to certain sports, like soccer, tennis, and boxing.

The site does have original reporting and a formal style of writing is used. Some of the stories seem to have some opinion attached to them. Readers can comment on the stories and leave their own opinions. There are blogs and videos. Readers can have interactivity by playing different fantasy games, like fantasy basketball.

Ads are for March Madness and tournament paraphernalia. There are also advertisements to watch games online. Most of the ads are placed on the right side of the page. There were not any roll over or pop up ads. The ads did not distract from the other content on the site.

The site was very informative regarding to sports, and sports only.

ESNP.com

neste1al — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:47:38 +0000

ESPN.com has news all about sports. All of the stories are related to sports. The text is easy to read. There are blogs and opinion posts on the site. Readers can comment on stories. Advertisements were sports related. There were pictures and videos on the site. The site did have original reporting. The site was well-organized and very informative in the field of sports.

Huffingtonpost.com

neste1al — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:17:57 +0000

The site looks interesting and inviting. One thing that was different about this as opposed to other news sites have that there was a huge photo at the top of the page with a story about college students in debt. There were a lot of photos to accompany other stories, and the pictures on the front page were larger than other news sites to really grab attention. The stories are well-organized with the topics at the top of the page with major stories throughout the rest of the front page. The font is easy to read.

Front page news coverage ranged from political news, pop culture news, and the Olympics. The site did have original reporting and it was formal. At the top of the page one can click in blogs and videos. Readers could leave their comments after a story. Some comments were made via Twitter.

There were only a few ads, one for eBay, and others encouraging readers to follow the site on Facebook and Twitter. There were not any pop ups or roll overs. Since there were not a lot of ads on the front page, they were not distracting.

The site was interesting and I enjoyed looking at some of the stories.

Foxnews.com

neste1al — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:54:29 +0000

Foxnews.com is very organized. The tabs for different sections of the news are easy to find at the top of the page. The font is easy to read. Main stories featured are bolded running down the page.

Ads are located at the top, to the right side, and bottom of the page. Ads included medication for high cholesterol, tv shows, and magazines.

Authors were from associated press with original reporting. There were pictures to go with most stories. Topics of main stories included Iran, Bill Clinton being hospitalized, and Haiti. The style of writing was formal. There is an opinion tab at the top of the page. There were videos and slide shows, but I did not see a place for blogs.

The website did not seem to have as many features as other news sites that I have been to. I probably would not use this site.

USAToday evaluation

neste1al — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:19:36 +0000

USAtoday.com looks very nice and is well-organized. The use of photos helps to draw the reader in to the stories. The stories displayed look interesting. The font is easy to read. The use of headings of the different areas of news help the reader to navigate to the stories they are looking for.

The content does play to reader interest. The Life section includes pop culture stories on Oprah, Survivor, and Avatar. The sports section mentions football signing day, and there is even a travel and tech section for readers to view. The site has original reporting from USAToday reporters and the style is formal. There are blogs, pictures, and videos. There is a games section for readers where they can do crosswords and Sudoku. There is also an opinion section.

There are several ads throughout the site. There are ads for Alltel, UFC wrestling, 100 best colleges, a wine club, and there is a banner at the bottom of the page for USAToday offers, which advertise different products. There aren’t any pop ups or roll overs. The UFC ad had a large picture and also switched to a moving commercial.

I liked the site. It was easy to navigate and had clearly marked headings for the different sections. I also liked the travel and tech sections, those aren’t seen in every news site.