Online News Writing Exercise #1

CNN.com
a) Do the news items reflect immediacy?
Yes, they do a good job of updating their main page with breaking news

b) Does the site try to help readers save time?
Yes, they have informative headlines and a long list of the day's headlines.

c) Is it quick and easy to get information?
Yes
d) Does it provide both visual and verbal information?
Yes, the lead story usually contains a picture. Yes, many of the stories have videos that you can watch.

e) Do the stories contain lists and bullets to make them easier to scan?
Yes, in fact each story has a "Story Highlights" that contain the main information of the article.

f) Are the stories broken into "chunks"?
The main page has a letest news list that contains all the headlines. If you want to see stories on sports or politics you will have to click on the link for that page

g) Do stories provide hyperlinks to additional information?
Yes, some do.

h) Are there opportunities for readers to "talk back"?
Yes

i) Does the site use multimedia to enhance understanding and add appeal?
Yes, many of the stories have videos that you can watch.