The Chronicle website
Jim Watt
1. What changes would you like to it?
2. Name an online news site that the chronicle should
look like.
Its not a site I maintain. Indeed apart from adding
stories nobody is specifically tasked with looking
after it.
The BBC can chuck millions of the licence payers fees
at their site, and employ some very able people to
develop it, funds at the Chronicle are spent on new
printing machines and not its online presence.
--
Jim Watt
http://www.gibnet.com
zii kell
darius
The first changes I'd love to see are simply techniclal:
1. Get rid of the frames.
2. Don't make stories appear in popups (wrap them into the the same
template - header, sidemenu, footer etc, that the stories on the front
page are wrapped into.)
3. Loose the out of date banner at the top. Create a microsites
section in the menu, but the tercentenery section in there, also put a
trafalgar 200 section in there and that other section they had - about
the chronicles aniversary and history.
4. The search feature should tidied up and be far more prominent. Now
that stories woouldn't be opening in popups, I think it could get far
more usage as people often want to return to old stores to see what
happened/was said.
Ok, time for additions:
1. It does need *some* pictures. (I.e. at least the odd one).
I don't know what blogging platform they are using - but a blog is
essentially the end result at present. The need to upload pictures.
I'd suggest they need the ability to add a photo to a story (for when
it needs it).
Also, perhaps, the ability to post a flick throught photo gallery as a
story?
2. The ability to for them to 'tag' stories.
We would NOT necessarily see the tags (e.g. 'newflame', 'esg',
'fair2007' etc) but they would be used to add (beneath/following a
story) links to connected previous stories. Stories could have
multiple tags if appropriate - e.g. newflame and esg etc.
3. Possibility to add relevent links below a story - e.g. Senior
Citizens association .... Relevant Links: Senior Citizens.
(Actually these useful links could *possibly* be rendered
automatically using the same 'tags' system.)
4. Front page (of paper), not sure what authoring system they use for
the actual paper, but if the website front page had a picture of the
newspaper front page that would SERIOUS help convince first time
visitors that if they are looking for Gibraltars main paper (for
whatever reason), they have found it.
Story content - other sections?
e.g. Sport is not my thing at all, but if they made a sport section
and put up the content from the back to pages?
- They could possibly get advertising/sponsorship for that?
Also a Letters section? Business/FInance.
My main point is the frames and the popups, I don't see these as areas
for improvement, but things that need to be fixed. If they did, then
indexing of the site by google etc would go up, the use that the
website gets from abroad would go up. Could geotarget some google ads
to get a tiny bit of income.
Jim Watt
wrote:
<snip>
Reasonable comment, however they are anxious not to
detract from people buying the printed edition, and
including photos and letter would involve a lot more
effort, as would a front page. Indeed these things
take up large amounts of space which is at a premium
on the present webhosting.
Several people have offered to run it as they could
then sell the advertising, however the policy is to
keep it 'in house' There was the disasterous example
of what happened to gibraltar.gi doing that.
what do you think of
Which does show the actual front page of the paper.
There is also a big redesign of the GBC website
upcoming. Perhaps a more BBC like look, with
text stories. The daily news seems to be working
well and the audio quality of the streaming has
improved considerably.
Ken
"Jim Watt" <jim...@aol.no_way> wrote in message
news:jp05d3p2ocu71b7g2...@4ax.com...
> As we have been discussing it under another thread
>
> 1. What changes would you like to it?
I would like to have the occ pic in it, esp when the text of the article
says something like (as yo can see from the photo above" or similar. Also in
the "thousand words" category. We NEVER get the picture, and we rarely get
the thousand words that the picture would otherwise speak.
The main page should NOT scroll to the top every time you click on a link to
read the whole story, needing to start again from the top each time you look
at the day's content.
The SEARCH facility is diabolical. Try searching for an article you know was
in there last week - chances are you can't find it.
The LETTERS section should appear in print. Occasionally someone abroad may
write a letter, and he/she has no idea whether it's published or not. Far
more importantly, if the letter is responded to be other readers (who must
be purchasers of the written version and therefore local) the writer abroad
has no idea how (if) to respond therefore.
> 2. Name an online news site that the chronicle should
> look like.
It should NOT look like anything else- it nbeeds to have its own style
rather than try to copy someone else's, however good. It should certainly
not try to copy VOX which though colourful takes an age to change pages.
The sports and advertising, tv schedules, hatches matches and dispatches
(birthes deaths and marriages) etc need not appear - the on-line paper does
not have to be a pdf version of the printed edition (though of course it can
be - that might be quick and easy)
Would advertisers pay a tad more for their adverts to be caried on line? The
estate agents would certainly reach a greater audience than at present! That
extra revenue may be sufficient to upgrade the site with.
>
> Its not a site I maintain. Indeed apart from adding
> stories nobody is specifically tasked with looking
> after it.
>
> The BBC can chuck millions of the licence payers fees
> at their site, and employ some very able people to
> develop it, funds at the Chronicle are spent on new
> printing machines and not its online presence.
While the Chronicle may be fearful of losing sales to its readership going
on-line, this argument can be countered by the experience of Panorama which
used to be a weekly and then became a daily AFTER going on-line which if
anything suggests the on-lin presence may lead to greater paper sales.
Alternatively, I see that the GoG website excludes certain addresses from
viewing certain pages. For example it is possible to see the register of
electors only from within a Gibraltar-based access to the web. The Chronicle
might do similar but in reverse, making it impossible to see anything other
than a very restriced version of the wenbiste from within Gib, permitting
those outside Gib to view the whole thing.
Ken
darius
> Reasonable comment, however they are anxious not to
> detract from people buying the printed edition,
I totally understand their position on that.
The problem is website currently does not do the printed paper justice
- it doesn't for example make it obvious that there is more in the
printed edition. [Actually it doesn't even make it obvious there is a
printed edition.]
Personally I think the - longer term - solution is going to be online
subscription. Offering just the headlines and basics for free (much
like present) but making the full offering available for those who
want it. As the main publishing platform for the printed version
naturally modernises and develops that will probably become possible
with very little work! Anyway...
> and
> including photos and letter would involve a lot more
> effort, as would a front page.
Humm. I can see how photos would require more work. And I accept that
if the current plan is not to be moving towards putting the whole
paper online at the moment then letters is a bit random.
As for the front page, are you talking about a picture of what the
printed front page looks like?
or a more complex layout of the front page of the website?
Given what you have said, I'd keep the web layout pretty much as it
is. Just with the technical tweaks - no frames, no pop-ups. If done
properly the fact that the graphic masthead is on the same page as the
stories shouldn't result in any extra load.
(Also the script that removes old news needs a tweak to display a
message during public holidays, e.g. "Monday is a bank holiday in
Gibraltar, the chronicle is next published on Tuesday". By the end of
longer holidays (public holidays near a weekend etc) the front page
sometimes is completely clear to nothing.
> Indeed these things
> take up large amounts of space which is at a premium
> on the present webhosting.
Can that not be addressed? If not having pictures then the stories
should be limiting it.
> Several people have offered to run it as they could
> then sell the advertising, however the policy is to
> keep it 'in house' There was the disasterous example
> of what happened to gibraltar.gi doing that.
I think that happened because there wasn't a clear enough description
setting out what was to be done with gibraltar.gi
General purpose portals were dying anyway. That site had its main role
when it was still rare for people and companies to have websites.
Though it is still given out from time to time as the official site of
the GTB etc! (GTB do need a decent visit gibraltar site. The one at
gibraltar.gov.uk is not build for that purpose. They give out
visitgibraltar.gi on their travel channel adverts etc, but it just
bounces you into the uk one.)
> what do you think of
>
> www.thenewpeople.net
>
> Which does show the actual front page of the paper.
The showing of the front page is good (it helps sell the idea that it
exists physically).
The chronicle would need to give tasters to more of the news content.
I'd add the front page image to chronicle site, and below it say what
else you will find in the printed chronicle - Letters, Sport, Business
News and period updates from the Heritgate Trust, GONHS... and a TV
Guide.
> There is also a big redesign of the GBC website
> upcoming. Perhaps a more BBC like look, with
> text stories. The daily news seems to be working
> well and the audio quality of the streaming has
> improved considerably.
Is that still being worked on by Budela (or something like that?)
The thing is GBC don't do the written medium in their radio and TV
services. So the best thing would be if they could get newswatch
online, or the indivdual reports. They could probably find a provider
of video streaming who lets the author retain full control and
copyright and just offer revenue share.
It wouldn't generate much, but the best thing GBC could do is make
newswatch available to the many people who are not *at home* in
Gibraltar at 8.30 in evening (or the repeat) a chance to watch
newswatch which they would otherwise miss.
I think most of the watching online would come from people in
Gibraltar. If they restricted video podcast downloading to local IPs
and offered online streamed video from a 3rd party provider to
everyone else.
Just my thoughts.
With regard to the chronicle, for starters loose the frames and
popups. Get the frontpage online, or even a non-updated blurred sample
front page with "In the printed edition:" overlaid. Then say what more
you get.
Jim Watt
wrote:
>> There is also a big redesign of the GBC website
>> upcoming. Perhaps a more BBC like look, with
>> text stories. The daily news seems to be working
>> well and the audio quality of the streaming has
>> improved considerably.
>
>Is that still being worked on by Budela (or something like that?)
Uh no, nothing like that, its me.
Looking at Budela, their site has not been updated this year.
>The thing is GBC don't do the written medium in their radio and TV
>services.
But its available, the written stories already exist and
compared with producing a page with embedded video stories
as the BBC do, producing text news would be easy. However
the GBC news cycle starts at 13.30 not 09.00.
Indeed, I vary rarely look at the BBC video clips as on
a small screen they are pretty useless, and most reports
consist mainly of a presenter on camera.
There is the ability to stream the video at any time, subject
to the programming being something GBC have rights to show to
a wider audience.
darius
> On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:07:58 -0700, darius <Darius.Jedb...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >> There is also a big redesign of the GBC website
> >> upcoming. Perhaps a more BBC like look, with
> >> text stories. The daily news seems to be working
> >> well and the audio quality of the streaming has
> >> improved considerably.
>
> >Is that still being worked on by Budela (or something like that?)
>
> Uh no, nothing like that, its me.
Good news! ;)
> >The thing is GBC don't do the written medium in their radio and TV
> >services.
>
> But its available, the written stories already exist and
> compared with producing a page with embedded video stories
> as the BBC do, producing text news would be easy. However
> the GBC news cycle starts at 13.30 not 09.00.
Yes. I guess what I meant was it was written to be read aloud, rather
than read by the end user.
I was also thinking that the TV news was largly written to be
illustrated - however they use identical reports on radio frequently
so I guess this is not really the case.
> Indeed, I vary rarely look at the BBC video clips as on
> a small screen they are pretty useless, and most reports
> consist mainly of a presenter on camera.
Yes, but I think a big part of why people do use that is because the
latest version of the news is always available on TV.
However think of a case where it wasn't, where the news only went out
at a set time. Then say something had happened (I don't know, maby a
collision between two ships), if that was the case and you'd missed
the news you'd probably try and see what you could online.
Now think about at the BBC iPlayer. That was developed to get
programmes to people who would not be around at the time when they are
on, or to remove the requirement for people to know in advance they
would want to watch something.
News isn't important for iPlayer because the latest is always
available live.
However in the case of GBC there isn't 24 hour rolling local news.
Newswatch is the most important programme. Therefore it would be
watched by many more people if available outside such limited
timeslots.
Personally I think they should replay it on tv (automated) even later
at 12 and 2am - there is a certain large market who are out in the
evening. Certainly if I was an advertiser I'd be willing to pay a tiny
bit more for something that would greatly broaden its outreach.
> There is the ability to stream the video at any time, subject
> to the programming being something GBC have rights to show to
> a wider audience.
Do you mean a single 'live' stream (not individually streamed on-
demand-start).
Well I really think that making it available in some kind of
electronic format could widen the audience *locally* quite a lot. Not
sure what the best 'format' would be. Nothing like a podcast would
work. Would need to be streamed on demand.
Ideally there would be something to cater for both the 'out in the
evening', and 'live in spain' work in gib markets.
At the basic level a simple looping stream would be something.
As for the GBC site, have you signed up for the SnowMail service from
Channel 4 news? Personally I really like it, particularly when written
by Jon Snow who adopts quite a humerous line!
Anyway, I was wondering about GBC offering a similar service. Sending
an email to subscribers at say 4pm (i.e. before desk bound people have
left their desk) saying what was coming up to SEE in tonights
newswatch.
- While Gib is a small place and if something happens people soon hear
about it, they don't get to see it. That is what GBC frequently brings
- the chance to actually see things.
Email would essentially be 'you may have heard about... well tonight
at 8.30 you can see... also...'
Jim Watt
wrote:
>Email would essentially be 'you may have heard about... well tonight
>at 8.30 you can see... also...'
Thats a good idea.
Problem with GBC at the moment is the lack of
a GM to make policy. Hope it will be sorted soon.
And no I did not apply :)
zii kell
Jim Watt
<huj22ml...@temporaryinbox.com> wrote:
>Then I shall use a proxy.
which is why its an idea that the
chronicle won't be doing :)
zii kell
implemented :D