Since we've been talking about the importance of the "art" of newspaper layout design, I decided this week to investigate the websites of several cable news outlets and newspapers.

I don't have that much experience with web layout design, but from what I've learned in my multimedia production, web communication, and the introductory SMAD classes, I think I get the gist of it. As a constant visitor of such sites, I know what turns me on and turns me off.

First up...FOXnews.com
This site had one main photo of an Islamic woman on the right side of the page which immediately grabbed my attention. From there, my eye was directed in a clockwise fashion to the right and I was hit by an advertisement exactly the same size as the first photo. An immediate turn-off. I could barely tell which one was the story and which one was the ad. Then I began my neverending scroll down the page. Thumbnail photos were everywhere under the different categories found in a traditional newspaper. More ads could be found on the right hand side of the page as well. Fox is known for the "Fox Effect" on television which is in your face moving, loud, and large images and sounds. I could see this clearly reflected in their web page.

Second up...NYTimes.com
I don't have a subscription to the NYTimes, so I'm not sure if their web page is a direct replica of their newspaper layout design. However, it is undoubtedly of the same importance considering so many who do not live in or near New York access one of the nation's greatest newspapers online. Immediately, my eye was drawn to a photo of Afghans standing over and looking down at several coffins adorned with flowers and photos of those lost. From there, my eye didn't really have a clear path to follow. On the right hand side, below the main photo there was an automobile ad proportional to the Afghan photo similar to the layout reflected on FOXnews. Unfortunately, when I rolled my mouse over it, it became even larger, almost taking up the width of the page. The page also included several thumbnail photos, but they were contained to the middle of the page, and the links to the other areas of interest where listed neatly at the bottom of the page. I did not have to do nearly as much scrolling.

Lastly...CNN.com
Definitely my least favorite. Honestly, it looks like that our class could design a page like this ourselves. Nothing on the entire page drew me in or made me want to explore any of the stories. The main photo they had on the page was on the left top hand side. It was bland and boring and almost looked pixelated. My eye had nowhere to go, thumbnail photos were scattered everywhere, and it was extremely text, or should I say link, heavy.

So what I got from critiquing some of the largest news sources out there was this...they are trying to cram as much information as they possibly can on their home page so you can choose what you want to read at it and go directly there .I believe the term we learned for these sites in Web Communication was "non-linear structure." Basically, it's a free-for-all. Perhaps a little chaotic, but I don't really see a way to get away from that. However, what I was most surprised was the lack of the use of compelling photographs. Most were just thumbnail shots of recognizable faces.