Comparative analysis of newspaper online sites

NAME: AKINRINADE OLUKUNLE .Y
DEPT: MASS COMMUNICATION
MATRIC NO: 106072023
COURSE: ONLINE JOURNALISM


Comparative analysis of newspapers online sites: A case study of The Sun, The Nation, Nigeria and The Sun, London.

The Sun, London (www.thesun.co.uk)

The stories appeared in big, bold and screaming headlines with riders on the left while their colourful photographs are displayed on the right.

There are different interesting sections on the website with short, crisp intros: example, “David Cameron wants to introduce US-style Drunk tanks to combat drunks on the street. Is it a good idea?

The website is also child-friendly as it offers a link to its children website for kids to learn about history, sport and science. And it also has audio-video version.

All the stories in the print version were displayed on the website with interesting headlines to arrest the attention of readers. The cover of the print version, accompanying photographs and adverts are featured in slide view; same with the leading stories and photographs.

Interestingly, an exclusive video of the page 3girl and some stories can also be viewed online.
Additional stories are featured in a section called “other features”.
The web design was clean, tidy and well structured. Colour, space and type are meshed to produce a visual delight; the site was navigable.
Some of the stories are however not devoid of typographical errors.

The Sun, Nigeria (www.sunnewsonline.com)
The paper fashioned after its British tabloid counterpart (The Sun,London) in terms of stories and style lacks similarity in online contents.
The stories are not well displayed and not easily navigable. They are briefly introduced with the same headlines used on its print version.
The cover of the print edition was not displayed on the website and the website is crowded with stories thereby making the site uninviting.
There is no child –friendly link or section on the websites while the photographs and adverts are motionless.

The Nation (www.thenationonlineng.com)
Stories on the paper’s website are far from being panoramic as the stories are crowded on the site.
The photographs and adverts are displayed motionless.
The cover of the print version is also conspicuously missing on the website while some sections and links either lacked contents or cannot be accessed at all.
The site retained the same contents of its print version with the same headlines.
In all, there is a need for Nigerian newspapers to repackage their online sites if they are to measure up to standards obtained in developed climes, in order to make their sites reader-friendly.

Comparisons of story in print and online sites

NAME: AKINRINADE OLUKUNLE.Y
MATRIC NO: 106072023
COURSE: ONLINE JOURNALISM
COURSE CODE: MAC 435



The Radio Lagos/Eko FM on Friday February 10, 2012 published on its website the comments of former Super Eagles Coach, Amodu Shuaibu, during a visit to the Super Eagles camp.
The story was published in a language similar to that of the print media; it was a four-paragraph story with the headline “Amodu gives Keshi success tips.”
The first paragraph of the story reads: “A former Super Eagles Coach, Shuaibu Amodu was the August visitor to the team’s camp on Thursday morning. Amodu who was sacked from his post on the way to the World Cup was full of advice for the current national coach, Stephen Keshi and his crew…
However, the news broadcast version of the report as monitored on Radio Lagos employed the language of immediacy typical of the broadcast gamut. The report went thus with this opening paragraph: “Former Super Eagles Coach, Amodu Shuaibu says current Super Eagles Coach Stephen Keshi would perform well if he develops thick skin towards critics.”
The above style was also obvious in a broadcast monitored on the Africa Independent Television (AIT) which says:” Former Super Eagles Coach, Amodu Shuaibu says the best way for Coach Stephen Keshi to excel is to shun cynics.”
The station did not however feature the story on its website.
Meanwhile, the same story was published in The Nation of Friday February 10, 2012 on page 62 with the headline “Amodu storms Eagles’ camp” with a bullet-rider, “As players battle for shirts”. It was a nine-paragraph story that captured in details the visit of the former national coach and the remarks he made during the visit.
The intro reads:”Former Super Eagles sweat merchant Shuaibu Amodu was the August visitor on Thursday morning ostensibly to encourage the players and particularly the technical crew.”
It was published in the same format on the paper’s online site, www.thenationonlineng.net.