At first glance, I don't care for it:
Too busy, strange inconsistencies with colors, the user registration requires passage of two different captcha tests, and it's not clear what the benefits of registration actually are.
Strange organization - why are "opinions" listed under "community?"
Supposedly columns were going to be included online, and if they are, I can't find them.
Of course, I'm the guy who's been working on a redesign and upgrade of IP.com for more than twelve months, so I have no room to talk.
What do you think?
All the old links are dead, and stories as recent as this weekend are absent from the search engine. Hooray.
They removed content, made it a disorganized mess, navigation links change and disappear, and to tempt you into buying the e-edition for the whole paper, this is their sample link result:
Now if you want to sell e-subscriptions that just screams quality. Why bother making sure people who might even be curious about paying for the stuff you once offered for free don't end up with a blatant example of how fubar'd you just made your on-line content, with a disorganized mess sample and all!
Brilliant! Did the have their nephew "who knows a lot about computers" design this for them from his high school computer lab? Here's what I think: Crapple: the crappiest newspaper site in CU just got crappier.
--
Glock21 Op/Ed
The News-Gazette says broken links to old stories will not be fixed.
That's an inexcusably awful design oversight. I hope nobody made that decision consciously. I mean, the number of links just from IP.com alone to NG stories over the past five years must number in the thousands.
Guess what happens if you want to see a sample of their e-paper, the online edition to which I subscibe and which is also supposed to be getting an upgrade?
Page Not Found:
This is not pretty.
I never thought they could make it worse, but they succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams at that. I used to hate how I had to wade through national headlines to read local stories. But now I have to click through page after page just to see today's headlines? And I have to wade through sports stories to read local news?
They still don't know how to post an image without destroying it.
Breaking old links is utterly inexcusable. I've never heard of anyone redesigning and breaking their old links.
The search engine appears to only report stories from 2005 or earlier. Can anyone else find a way to bring up newer ones?
The auto-moving things in the 'what's hot', 'most commented', etc. thing is quite annoying and hard to use.
And I haven't even started on critiquing the design elements of the site, such as typography.
Oh, and where are the letters to the editor?
Wow. I never thought I'd say this, but bring back the old site!!
Give 'em some time. A switchover like this is a complicated thing when you've got that much material. Give 'em a little time to iron out the bugs. I think they've made a good start.
Maybe that's why they severed them? ;)
As far as the colors, it would be consistent if they left out the ad graphics.
I do hope they intend to include letters to the editor under 'opinions' and not just their own editorials.
No comment on the design for now (not really explored it yet) but if they've made the fundamental ground breaking change to actually update stories during the day, that WOULD be a huge improvement.
The old paper was a frozen morning edition and that's it. Something exploded during the day? Rumors of a big accident on the Interstate? Crazy weather? Power outage? You wouldn't hear it from the N-G, you had better luck checking the Pantagraph or just coming to this site and asking if anyone knows anything.
"Brilliant! Did the have their nephew 'who knows a lot about computers' design this for them from his high school computer lab?"
I assume they put The Reluctant Townie in charge of it. So, basically.
"Give 'em some time. A switchover like this is a complicated thing when you've got that much material. Give 'em a little time to iron out the bugs. I think they've made a good start."
They've said on twitter that the broken links to old stories will not be fixed. And, as someone who's personally done a number of site upgrades, redesigns, and migrations, links are either maintained throughout or broken, but once broken en masse they're very difficult to fix.
"Maybe that's why they severed them? ;)"
That may be, but for a site that charges $2 or $3 to access old articles, I would think they'd bend over backwards to make sure people could get to them, espcially if they're clicking over from a link that specifically references the old story. They've got a captive reader that wants their old content, and they're telling them to go away. That's terrible in a business facing such revenue challenges.
"The old paper was a frozen morning edition and that's it. Something exploded during the day? Rumors of a big accident on the Interstate? Crazy weather? Power outage? You wouldn't hear it from the N-G, you had better luck checking the Pantagraph or just coming to this site and asking if anyone knows anything.'
That's not been the case for a while - the NG has for some time (a year?) been updating their website with new stories throughout the day.
Apparently they're using Drupal as their CMS. Just another way in which the NG is following the lead of IlliniPundit.com! ;-)
(and also UCIMC, I should add.)
As Illini Pundit is increasingly the better news source, perhaps your advertising revenue will pick up. I can see fewer people putting ads in the online edition of The News Gazette. Sad when eras pass.
"As Illini Pundit is increasingly the better news source, perhaps your advertising revenue will pick up."
Maybe, but I'm going to have to refocus on providing more content. They still kick my butt there, but they have a staff of very good reporters, too. It's a shame their online efforts are doing such damage to their efforts.
Clearly there is something seriously wrong with their new site. I visited it, and there wasn't one single ad for a Chief Illiniwek product. That must be fixed immediately.
You must have missed the link to the NG store: go to Shop --> NG Store
:-)
Anyone know what's going on with the RSS feeds? I subscribe at my office, but enjoyed getting the news earlier in the morning on my iphone. If I recall correctly, Tom Ramage from Parkland was quoted in advertising and enjoying the same.
I found the RSS feeds on the Site Map.
On February 8th, 2010 at 02:00 PM, Jay (not verified) said:
Clearly there is something seriously wrong with their new site. I visited it, and there wasn't one single ad for a Chief Illiniwek product. That must be fixed immediately.
Oh, Jay. Always finding a way to work the basis for your 15 minutes of fame into the plotline. You guys won remember? You "free speech" advocates made the University safe for everyone to express themselves (as long as they tow the PC mandated line).
In the words of Grand Moff Tarkin..."Charming, to the last."
The new web site is a joke, isn't it? They were going to put a new one up, then held off to correct it or tune it up just right, and then they put this one up. They are joking, right? They are going to put a real one up soon I hope.
Saul's contribution reminded me of this definition that still makes me smile. It was the winning entry from an annual contest at Texas A&M University calling for the most appropriate defiition of a contemporary term. The year's term: "Political Correctness." The winner wrote:
"Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."
My apologies if I have shared that before.
Here's a better solution- ditch the News-Gazette. WDWS does a much better job providing timely news...and they do it every thirty minutes.
I don't want to put up with Turpin, either. But to get the news I need, that's exactly where I want to go.
It's disappointing. The News-Gazette insists on being behind the times in their business model as well as editorially. How could they possibly make the website LESS useful, LESS attractive and LESS functional?
How does Maclean County get the Pantagraph and we get stuck with the News-Gazette? You would think the N-G would want to at least keep up with the Pantagraph - basic "sister city" competition - but no. It seems hell bent on staying lesser.
Maybe the poster here who suggested it could get better with time will be right. I hope so.
"Here's a better solution- ditch the News-Gazette. WDWS does a much better job providing timely news...and they do it every thirty minutes."
My beef with WDWS is that even when they break a story and have news that nobody else does, they don't put any of that information online. Not even a headline to link. And then they (sometimes) grouse when I link to a later NG story covering that same story, claiming they had it first. Well, sure WDWS had it first, but if the story doesn't exist online, it's very difficult or impossible to link and to cite.
WDWS acts as if the entire online conversation about sports, politics and news doesn't exist except for when they want it to exist to give them credit for something.
Their reporters are excellent, and they're most often first on a local breaking story, but they are indifferent about providing content online and so are often left out of the conversation. I know there are technical issues and such, but I hate when they complain about not getting credit for something when they ignore online news so thoroughly.
"How does Maclean County get the Pantagraph and we get stuck with the News-Gazette? You would think the N-G would want to at least keep up with the Pantagraph - basic "sister city" competition - but no. It seems hell bent on staying lesser."
I've often said that I want the NG to do well. Obviously, this site feeds off what they do and that's part of it, but a strong locally-owned media company is good for the community. But it often seems as if the NG doesn't have any sort of online strategy, and isn't interested in developing one. I know it's difficult to generate revenue online (trust me, I KNOW). I appreciate that.
But this website redesign appears to be incredibly poorly planned and executed, and I don't know if they asked anyone for any input whatsoever. We have lots of local Drupal resources that could have helped, for example. I know I've offered multiple times to help (for free). I know there are robust Drupal support communities online that would have been happy to help with, for example, maintaining the integrity of links to old stories. I'm incredibly frustrated by it, and I wonder if I should just stop caring about the NG and their online efforts so much.
My 15 minutes of fame has now lasted for 13 years and counting. You "Saul", on the other hand, are a cowardly loser who has to hide behind a fake name and has never accomplished anything in your life. Hey "Saul", that's your mom calling you in for dinner.
On February 8th, 2010 at 04:41 PM, Jay (not verified) said:
My 15 minutes of fame has now lasted for 13 years and counting.
I guess you can look at it that way.
However, the "anti-chief, white suburban kid in a fake outfit, critical theory, white privilege" types, sure do pontificate about how the other side should just move on and let it go. It seems, though, that the PC gadflies are the ones who can't let it go.
Is it to help the plight of those maligned? Or, is it to stretch their 15 minutes into 13 years (and counting)?
I can assure you that I'm not the one sitting in my basement with SpaghettiO's dripping down my chin as I post to this blog.
Sorry to get off the topic of the thread. Yet, Jay, you off all people--a journalism "professor"--should be able to professionally discuss the NG website without the red herrings.
A blog is not journalism. I can say whatever I want.
Enough, everybody. Please return to the topic at hand or take it to IlliniBoard. And don't feed the trolls.
Here's what I want to know: where's the news?
Where is Illiniboard? What's the link? Does it censor or does it allow the free flow of ideas?
"Where is Illiniboard? What's the link? Does it censor or does it allow the free flow of ideas?"
Illiniboard is here. I think on "The Deuce" anything goes, so you can call names to your heart's content.
What to know why the NG site is so weak? Check out the average of the NG's editors, managing editors, executive editors and publisher. All at, near or over 60. You figure it out.
oops. average AGE
I agree the new N-G website is disappointing. I'm hoping the glitches are temporary, but one has to wonder whether you can call the typography a glitch or just done by someone who doesn't know what she is doing. Same for the broken links. Also, it looks like they're going to start charging for Illini HQ, although I was still able to get in for free today. That's going to go over big. I'm surprised that I haven't seen any squawks about the fact that they're now charging extra for the TV guide. I paid my subscription a year in advance, and it seems to me they've breached my contract by wanting me to pay extra for something I was getting included when I signed up for a year. But, I don't really care because I never read it anyway.
...doesn't know what she is doing.
The web site was designed someone who did not know what he was doing.
Michael Fuerst
I will say this again:
The News-Gazette is NOT a newspaper. It is a private foundation that does not care if it makes a profit.
It does not compete in the marketplace.
In fact, the smaller and less complicated it is as a foundation and newspaper, the easier it is to manage and
keep receiving foundation checks.
"A blog is not journalism. I can say whatever I want."
You and I have greatly differing definitions of journalism.
Freaking terrible, but not surprising based on the team that led the "redesign".
using drupal for commercial purposes is ridiculous...extermely limiting for graphics, content management, user-friendliness, etc.
shows a shallow understanding of internet-based tools and clearly demonstrates no strategic thinking for the business model in a digital world
"using drupal for commercial purposes is ridiculous...extermely limiting for graphics, content management, user-friendliness, etc. "
I don't know about that. I do 90 percent of my sites on WordPress, but I subscribe to a lot of Drupal-related news and development stuff because I run this site on it. The variety of sites that are run with Drupal is astonishing - everything from Dave Matthews Band to the White House.
The NG's implementation of Drupal just happens to be particularly awful. Don't blame the clay for the potter's mistakes, so to speak.
(Again, I'm a year overdue for an upgrade/redesign here at IP.com, so I'm definitely in a glass house.)
News Gazette: Welcome to our new website
No more Letters to the Editor online. That's disappointing. I get weekend delivery and it was handy to read the Letters online during the week.
More clicks and/or scrolling are now needed to navigate the site.
But this could be forgiven if the next day's Horoscopes could be posted by 7pm each evening--thus providing readers guidance on what aspects of their lives to concentrate on the next day.
Taking away the readers' letters is very disappointing.
Go to the DI website. Now that is a clear, concise easy to navigate website. When did Naomi become a blonde anyway? ( if you go to the article that the NG didnt carry on campus crime thats the lead story on the DI)
Kinda seems like a no brainer to me. Community = people. Opinions = people sharing their opinions with one another.
A test of the extent of influence of IP will be the implementation of suggested changes to the N-G web site. :-)
Pattsi Petrie
"Kinda seems like a no brainer to me. Community = people. Opinions = people sharing their opinions with one another."
Oh. See, I thought Community = Readers & Non-Staff Contributors. Editorials are most definitely not "Community." Comments, Letters to the Editor, user-submitted photos, columns from locals, guest articles, etc. that would all be Community to me.
"A test of the extent of influence of IP will be the implementation of suggested changes to the N-G web site. :-)"
I have been making suggestions and offering to help with their online efforts for four or five years. I want them to succeed, and I want to help them succeed.
I should be their über-user. I not only pay for their content, I promote it for them, for free. I may spend more time on their website on a daily basis than anyone else in the community that doesn't work for them. However, as you can see from their high regard for my offers and my suggestions, my influence is precisely zero.
What to know why the NG site is so weak? Check out the average age of the NG's editors, managing editors, executive editors and publisher. All at, near or over 60.
Add: "and not one a progressive thinker" and there's the reason the on-line site is so inexplicably bad for a university community that helped give the world "online." Now before someone starts yelling politics at me because I used the word "progressive", I use it just for what it means: "favoring or promoting change or innovation." There is nothing about the N-G which does that. Never have I felt a generation gap like I do when it comes to the News-Gazette and ANY part of the modern world. It's like they all live in "Father Knows Best" and dernit, Mother, none of this newfangled gizmo stuff for them!
They probably all walked to school four miles in the snow. Uphill.
"They probably all walked to school four miles in the snow. Uphill."
Both ways. :-)
Anon 12:59 makes a good point, and it is telling about why the NG is losing readership. It is the reduction of newspaper readership overall, but it is also the NG reliance on the old ways. They seem to forget that the demographics in CU changes. The old townie types, of whom I am one, are being quickly supplanted by newcomers. This town, CU that is, is growing and not just from people staying here like their parents did, it is also growing from newcomers. The newcomers do not have the loyalties to the NG we all have, or had anyway, and look for a decent paper in a town this size. Not being able to find one, they look elsewhere for their news, and the NG continues is slow downward spiral.
The NG thinks loyalty will keep them afloat, but forget that those who are old standing citizens of CU, those who are loyal, are literally a dying breed. Your grandpa read the NG and stood by it, but your grandkids won't, unless the NG keeps up with the times, which it steadfastly refuses to do.
Like any entrenched figure, the NG would rather go down without yielding to change, head high but pockets low, than change with market conditions. The buggy whip maker went out in style, but he went out. There are plenty of examples of quality newspapers, large and small, that have adapted, that have figured out how to have print and electronic content and to make money at both, but alas, our NG is not one of them.
The small businessman, the backbone of the political philosophy of the News Gazette, would quickly die following the NG business example of "damn the torpedos, full speed ahead". To succeed, one must adapt to changing market conditions, to changing demographics. The NG refuses to adapt, and is doomed, as the dinosaur it has become.
A shame, because it still has potential, with some very talented writers, to rise like a Phoenix, and succeed even better than ever. It won't happen, because as has been pointed out, the editorial staff is far from "progressive", that is, is the antithesis of progress, now reduced to flailing about in the last throes of existence.
"They probably all walked to school four miles in the snow. Uphill."
Both ways. :-)
Damn right we did! And we read a REAL newspaper - The Courier!
Three Score and Ten Plus One
Keith Hays
The good news is that Mr.Foreman :"tweets" so we can read all about his outrage that the city plows were taking their meal break at 7am this morning after being out all night plowing the streets. When I drove my wife to work at 745, the streets were slushy, the plows had been by several times, and Turnberry had been plowed out. Frankly, I think he needs to spend less time "tweeting" and more time fixiing his website.
"There are plenty of examples of quality newspapers, large and small, that have adapted, that have figured out how to have print and electronic content and to make money at both, but alas, our NG is not one of them."
Really, can you name some of those papers making money at both? WSJ I've heard.
It's dreadful.
I've never been a huge fan of the News-Gazette – never liked their predictable and uninventive kneejerk right wing politics (and never thought it truly reflected this community), and never thought they measured up too well compared to the Pantagraph and the State Journal-Register, but I value a source for local news and opinions on local issues.
Every incarnation of the News-Gazette's web site has been slightly better than the last, though each has felt as if it were five years behind the appearance and capabilities of similar news sites.
Until this time. This redesign is such a step backward, and makes keeping up with the local news difficult enough that I may just resort to the RSS feed exclusively – if they haven't destroyed that entirely too.
What is incredibly tragic is that the new site design makes it painfully clear that the News-Gazette just doesn't get it, and that they have no clue how to thrive (much less survive) in the modern era. Bit by bit, they are positioning themselves into irrelevance.
This is a major loss for all of us.
Is this the strategy of the NG?
If the e-edition is their hope for online revenue, then why don't they advertise it
moreat all? And why do calls to the NG asking about it go unreturned?If the e-edition is their hope for online revenue, then why don't they advertise it more at all? And why do calls to the NG asking about go unreturned?
Because it is the New-Gazette, and that's why!
Three Score and Ten Plus One
Keith Hays
"Really, can you name some of those papers making money at both? WSJ I've heard."
NYTimes announced yesterday they had a profitable quarter.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell
WSJ makes money on-line because so many subscribers write it off as a business expense.
I've been trying to interact with the NG about their e-edition since last summer. The first time, it took three weeks (and some personal contacts with non-subscription staff) to get any response at all to my request to purchase access. I have repeatedly asked whether there's any way to get metered access given my travel schedule and the chance there are others like me in this town. Say you could buy a block of e-edition views at a time, and then use them on days when out of town to keep up with what's going on. No one who is a paper subscriber needs the e-edition when at home, because the paper copy is delivered. It sounds like the NG wants to keep their paper subscribers, or at least that's the impression they are emitting. Given how much content is no longer available on line, it would be nice to be able to see the entire paper when away, to keep up. This model makes sense in a lot of ways, especially given how many people travel for business. Right now, it appears that the only choices are to pay for the e-edition all the time or never. Of course, it's a little hard to tell, since no one in their subscription office ever responds to email or telephone queries.
This is purely untrue.