CNN vs BBC

Television gives us a ton of valuable information, depending on what channel is on. Even better, we can now have access to this information online! Two triple-letter organizations that pop into mind: CNN and BBC. Both are dedicated to reporting the news, but each chooses a unique layout for their website.

Both include their names on the upper left corner and advertisements on the right, with stories and blurbs mingling in between. The CNN page focuses more on Latest News, which takes up a large part of their front page, and only later are small categories such as Sports and Travel. The BBC page, however, headlines one large feature and then separates other news blurbs into boxes with headings, photos, and blurbs. This highlights the main story under each topic. Farther down, they too have one-line headings for other stories that are relevant to certain topics, displayed as links with main ideas. The CNN site puts more of a focus on videos, keeping them at the top of the page and making them visible with thumbnail images, while the BBC site has links to videos further down on the page.

The CNN site has a lot more content on its front page, including quick stock market information and a poll for users. The BBC site keeps it simple, but offers links to information for other places, as it is a worldly news source. BBC also allows you to Customize your Homepage at the top, while the CNN site features "Hot Topics" and tabs with major topics at the top. Because CNN is more geared toward the US than the globe, it also features a little box about the election, granting quick access to specific topics that users may be looking to read about.

Overall, each site design is geared toward a specific purpose, which is, in turn, revealed by the design. It's possible to determine a news outlet's goal simply by looking at the website. CNN is more geared toward the US; it has "hot" topics right at your fingertips, such as the election, and features videos; it is a television station, after all. BBC is more of a global news source, giving users the option to customize their homepage based on location as well as topics they may be interested in, while also offering general topics on their front page to users who may just be looking to keep up with big news. They choose what is generally newsworthy, but also let their users decide for themselves, since they are coming from all parts of the world. Like anything else, your experience depends upon what the news source is.