National vs. Local

For this blog piece, I’m comparing the websites of a national TV news station and a local TV station.

CNN’s homepage (cnn.com) has lots of options on it. The different options appeal to many different demographics, which is key. There are lots of graphics and nearly 30 stories I can link to. The page also has a really nice layout and the design makes it not feel cluttered; it is very simple and user friendly.

Newschannel21’s homepage (newschannel21.com) is not nearly as wonderful as CNN’s, as it feels very cluttered and has several ads that distract the reader from the news. Although I love the color blue, this homepage is so saturated in it that it is just way too busy. Also, the website displays two different names – Newschannel21 and KTVZ. The site also displays the name “z21”, which is what the news channel was called three years ago before it was changed to Newschannel21. But anyway, the page has too many graphics and I feel that it detracts from the page overall.

When you go to an article on CNN, you immediately see the headline of the story and a few story highlights. The highlights are a great feature because you can just get the facts and go. On the pages with articles, CNN also has a list of the 10 most viewed stories at any given time, which is nice because the average reader will probably only read what others feel is important. These attributes make the page more user friendly.

Even on the pages with stories in them, Newschannel21’s pages are saturated with ads. The page layout is very simple and not impressive. But, I do really like that at the bottom of each story; you have the option to rate the story and comment about it. I find that it is usually very interesting what locals have to say about hometown issues.

It is difficult to compare the content of the two websites as the both have a very different niche in the news world. Newschannel21 is great when I want to see highlights of my sister’s last soccer game or when I feel the need to catch up on news at home. But CNN is great for getting information about world and national events.

Overall, CNN is the better website because of it’s layout and user friendly options and Newschannel21 would be better off if they made their website simpler and more logical.