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.