Comparative analysis of two news websites.

INTRODUCTION:

News web designing has particular characteristics which demand certain considerations needed to “...enhance readability and usability of the site” (Stovall). The main focus should be on news dissemination which provides interactive features for the public. Multimedia and interactive features make a distinction between online and print media. Clarity and usability make the difference between news websites and other web designs. Dr Abel Ugba outlined “readability, simplicity, variety, consistency and purpose” (Ugba, 2009) as the five major design considerations on news web designing. This essay will focus on those considerations and their application in British broadcasting corporation (www.bbc.co.uk) and an Arab news network (http://english.aljazeera.net).

HISTORICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BBC AND ALJAZEERA:

BBC and ALJAZEERA are technically the most influential online media in different and culturally opposed continents and countries in the world. Both are mainstream media with global projection, focussing on worldwide events, cultural, political issues and social injustices. They are both biased on political, value and cultural questions.BBC is a British public media which according to John Herbert, “launched world service television on a very limited basis in March 1991 and began a 24 hours service in November of that year through partnership with Hong kong´s STAR TV” (HERBERT, 2001, pág. 23). However, it´s online media was according to Stokes and Reading founded “between 1/3/98 to 31/3/98” (Jane C. Stoke, 1999, pág. 120). The Times magazine of 5, Nov. 1997 quoted the BBC president as saying that “we have to be there because the web audience is increasing by 10 percent every month” (Cited in STUART, 2006, pág. 35). On the other hand, ALJAZEERA according to Mamoun Fandy, “ was founded by a Qatari royal decree on February 8, 1996” (FANDY, 2007, pág. 47). It conveys messages from the Arab world to the rest of the world, creating a balance in western media hegemony on war reporting and information dissemination in the Arab world and beyond.

READABILITY: Clarity and elements employed to achieve it.

Online media is so vulnerable to chaotic display of contents because “for the first time, it was possible to put headlines, photos, captions, and text together on a single page in a way that closely represents the classic look of a newspaper” (Kawamoto, 2003, pág. 50). However, the contents, typeface on BBC and ALJAZEERA websites enhance readability. BBC site applied good colour choice and proximity style of layout grouping to create good and acceptable link between an article written in a different layout and it’s continuation in another layout. The text layout parameters are also good and allow quick eye connection to the next line of the article you are reading. Rolnicki, Tate and Taylor said that “type chosen for the website should be easily read. Readability should be a primary concern” (Thomas Rolnicki, 2007, pág. 312). Also speaking on how to write for online media, Barbara Alysen said that “the experience of the BBC is instructive” (Alysen, 2000, 2002, 2006, pág. 156). Two columns grid are used in a very flexible and effective way to organize elements on the page. Graphics devices such as white space, images and layout are also employed to help users understand the content of the pages. According to Lon Barfield “as you read text, your eye skips between groups of words and skips on line to the next and this skipping from one line to the next is also highly influenced by the text layout parameters” (Barfield, 2004, p. 73). On the contrary, ALJAZEERA has chaotic layout grouping, proximity is not properly projected and colour application used indiscriminately. Layout buttons are displayed on the left corner of the page and page header in slide show images, displayed alongside date and regional time. ALJAZEERA has the same text parameter measure standard, white space, image and layout graphics device application as the BBC. Both site designs do not provide or display alternative font to their users, however, while BBC typeface is uniformed, ALJAZEERA displayed different fonts that presented chaotic typeface. Typeface uniformity can undermine style and variety that are also needed to convey the message in the website. However, it can also guarantee less chaos in the design presentation.

SIMPLICITY: Designer’s focus on content.

Online media observe the same writing rules and presentation format as in print media. Janet Kolodzy said that “text organisation follows the rules of simplicity that guide print” (Kolodzy, 2006, pág. 194). But most news web designs ignore this simple principle which prompted Lon Barfield to say that “...designers are painfully aware of what they cannot make, but they often dash out complex designs with little thought to what the end-user can actually perceive of their designs” (Barfield, 2004, p. 32). However, the BBC and ALJAZEERA web designers seem to have the end users in mind by making sure that the texts are well organised, designs are not too flashy and pages fit in the browser window. Jennifer Niederst asserted that “some designers opt to centre the page, splitting the extra space over the left and right margins....centring the page make it feel as though the page better fills the browser window” (NIEDERST, 2006, 2001, 1999, pág. 33). This page centring style adds to simplicity and easy browsing for users. Scrolling the pages from left to right is no longer required since the contents fit on the page window. Although, BBC site is saturated with links and contents however; the design is equipped with an editing button that allows users to choose and select the embedded links in the layout without altering its content. The embedded link design helps decongests the content on the pages and creates simplicity. Different links to different contents are posted on the same layout yet; they preserve the entire colour uniformity. Those editing buttons can be found on each layout. James Stovall said that “designers should have specific reasons for doing everything they do, and those reasons should have both short-term and long-term goals...they should enhance readability and usability of the site” (Stovall, p. 173). The texts, styles and designs rhyme with Lon Barfield´s assertion that “the emphasis...is not on flashy visual design, but on the functional positioning and grouping of information to make the user interface of a new media simpler and easier to use” (Barfield, 2004, p. 71)

VARIETY: Buttons, links and repetition.

Emphasis has been made in the previous paragraph about the inclusion of editing button to access embedded links on some layout of the BBC website as an indication of focus on simplicity, but also as an element of variety. Lon Barfield refereed to this question saying that “multimedia systems are dynamic, that is , they change with time; the images we see on the screen and the sound we hear change...this change can be initiated by the system itself or it can be changed in response to some action that the user performs” (Barfield, 2004, p. 007). ALJAZEERA site design accommodates this design consideration with various layouts which contain interactive links such as “interact and live station link”. The flickr powered slide show page header allows flexibility for the publication of breaking news and live events. ALJAZEERA “special report links” are repeated on different layouts to accommodate different focus on human rights and climate change issue. On the other hand, BBC design contains “add more to this page” button which opens more links to additional features like blog, business & money, history, entertainment, radio, iplayer, etc and the “set your location” button which changes all localised modules of the page when a post code is entered and confirmed. Layout buttons on the BBC site are colored differently and placed on different positions while ALJAZEERA design has uniformed colour and dispersed interface arrangement. Pictures published on ALJAZEERA do not contain cutlines while BBC includes embedded cutlines that appear on the screen as soon as you place your cursor on the image. Kawamoto asserted that “text, photos, video, sound, graphics, maps, satellite images, slide shows, discussion groups, interactive quizzes, and so forth would all be part of the presentation” (Kawamoto, 2003, pág. 169).

CONSISTENCY: Sustainability of graphics devices and typeface presentation.

All design elements on both sites are not frequently changed, giving the impression of stability and credibility. The headline logos are created in cascade style sheets (CSS) web design element which according to K.Anderson, “CSS..is a web language...used to standardise the layout” (K.Anderson, 2007, pág. 96). The templates of both BBC and ALJAZEERA presents a standard design that enhances “the same colours, fonts, layouts and picture sizes...making all the pages behave in a similar way (Moore, 2005, pág. 106)”. Borders on BBC website are applied to frame information and draw attention to the tables of content, multimedia, calendars etc, while ALJAZEERA use graphics border and images to separate articles. Graphics colour and typeface application on both sites are consistent with the informational purpose of a news web design. James Stovall said that “ good sites have specific design rules that are followed for stories, headlines, pictures, cutlines, graphics, and all of the other elements that are used” (Stovall, p. 172). BBC and ALJAZEERA website designs observe this design rule that “helps the visitor move through the site” (Moore, 2005, pág. 106).

PURPOSE: Communication and interactivity.

BBC and ALJAZEERA websites share the same purpose of reaching the public, addressing the audience and conveying information to every corner of the earth. Their public seem slightly different because ALJAZEERA was founded to become “the Arabic CNN...Aljazeera and CNN share common characteristics: an international audience” (M. de Jong, 2002, pág. 1). They inform and admit reaction from their audience through carefully designed interactive features, conspicuously placed in different layouts. Lon Barfield said that “the key factor in new media design is not really the fact that everything is digital, but the fact that because it is all digital and stored on a computer it is also malleable....things can be made to react the user; in other words, the system is interactive” (Barfield, 2004, p. 008). Although the designs of the two websites are slightly different, they however, share regional political and ethnic biases projected by the enormous public subscribers to their interactive links. According to Dr Abel Ugba, “a design that does not advance the purpose of the site is wasted” (Ugba, 2009). BBC does not provide multi-lingual feature that allows interaction and usage in other languages other than English but ALJAZEERA has English and Arabic pages, reaching the Arab world and beyond (www.aljazeera.net). According to Jennifer Niederst, “if the web is to reach a truly worldwide audience, it needs to be able to support the display of all the languages of the world” (NIEDERST, 2006, 2001, 1999, pág. 72) . With this assertion, the global goal of BBC website is somehow compromised since it can only interact with English speaking audience only.

CONCLUSION:

ALJAZEERA has successfully absorbed the impact of the western media in the Arab world by establishing a competitive online media site. The English website which is the focus of this analysis, was designed and presented in a format that attracts readers/users from across the world; abiding by the principles of news web designing. BBC is designed to serve readers/users from across the world. It has simple, strong multimedia features such as the iplayer, Democracy live etc. The site is packed full of links and contents but the editing buttons on virtually every layout provides simplicity. Both sites can boast of consolidating their public and audience. Diaspora Arabs in the western nations can rely on ALJAZEERA to get properly informed and the same is applicable to the English men and women overseas.

Bibliography:

Alysen, B. (2000, 2002, 2006). The Electronic reporter: Broadcast journalism in Australia. Sydney: UNSW Press book.

Barfield, L. (2004). Design for new media. England: Pearson Education Limited.

FANDY, M. (2007). (UN) CIVIL WAR OF WORDS: MEDIA AND POLITICS OF THE ARAB WORLD. CONNECTICUT, USA: GREENWOOD PUBLISHING GROUP, INC.

HERBERT, J. (2001). PRACTICING GLOBAL JOURNALISM: EXPLORING REPORTING ISSUES WORLDWIDE. OXFORD, UK: REED EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING LTD.

Jane C. Stoke, A. R. (1999). The media in Britain: Current debates and developments. London: MacMillan Press LTD.

K.Anderson. (2007). BTEC National IT Practitioners. Essex, UK: Heinemann.

Kawamoto, K. (2003). Digital Journalism. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Inc.

Kolodzy, J. (2006). Convergence journalism: writing and reporting across the news media. Lanham, MD, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

KRANZ, A. (2003). NEW-WEBSITES: DESIGN & JOURNALISM. Germany.

M. de Jong, K. L. (2002). The theory and practice of institutional transplantation: experience with the transfer of Policy and Institutions. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publisher.

Moore, M. (2005). The Photographer´s guide to setting up a web site. UK: David & Charles Book.

NIEDERST, J. (2006, 2001, 1999). WEB DESIGN IN A NUTSHELL. CALIFORNIA: O´REILLY MEDIA INC.

STOVALL, J. (2004). WEB JOURNALISM: PRACTIE AND PROMISE OF A NEW MEDUIM.

STUART, A. (2006). ONLINE NEWS: JOURNALISM AND THE INTERNET. ENGLAND: OPEN UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Thomas Rolnicki, C. D. (2007). Scholastic Journalism. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

Ugba, D. A. (2009). Design concepts. Online journalism (p. 7). Docklands, London: UEL Plus.