New West is an online media source dedicated to providing information on the culture, politics, environment and lifestyle of the Rocky Mountains West. They describe themselves as a next generation media source, which in other words is new media. They wish to provide innovative journalism that evokes participation among their readers. Since their beginning in 2005, New West has been connecting the fastest growing region in the country. I am going to critique certain areas of their award winning website and explain why I think it works or why I think it doesn't.
Design
Upon first arriving at the website, I found the design to be a little busy. However, after taking the time to look deeper into it I was able to see that although it had a lot of information it was well organized. All of the information is placed in boxes and given some sort of heading. If you became familiar with the site and really liked a certain aspect then it is right there for you to find. One of my favorite things about the website is shown when you first log on. I like that they call their home page the Front Page. I think this helps people who are “newbies” to this kind of media source feel more comfortable. It gives it the style of a more traditional media source. All in all I'd have to say I don't love the design of the site, but it keeps everything organized and gets the job done.
Writing Style
After heading to read my first article on the site on the topic of wolves, I noticed another feature that I thought added to the new media aspect of the site. First you are exposed to the headline of the article, and then when you click the article you are given a brief bolded synopsis of what the story entails. I really thought this was a great idea because it allows you to get a general feel of what the story is about. The style of writing on this site is more conversational than a traditional media source. The authors do an excellent job of not burying the lead or the important information. The paragraphs are short and easy to read, however; many of the stories seemed to be lengthy. Another feature that I found useful was that they used links in the stories to go back to reference earlier stories. This makes it easy to guide a confused reader to the right direction.
Video/Graphics
I liked that each story had a graphic that went along with it. On the site they provide a link to look at graphics and video. This takes the reader to a page filled with pictures taken by the writers of the site and also community members. After each picture they have a link for comments so people can converse over the images.
Interactivity
One of the reasons why I like to get most of my news online is because of the interactivity. I love to provide my feelings on the topic after I've read the article. New West provides a link at the end of every article to allow the readers to strike up a conversation. New West strives for as much participation from their readers as possible. They provide links for input at any location they can. Another feature I find really beneficial is that they make it easy for you to share or e-mail the story which can help and boost them through social media.
Social Media
The Front Page of the New West site provides a live feed of their Twitter account. From what I can see they tweet a few times every few days. Their tweets are well written and provide just enough information to get the reader to want to read more. I also noticed that they use hashtags, this will help to gather an even larger Twitter audience. New West also provides a link to their Flickr account on their front page. They provide a featured photo, a slideshow and offer a group for people to contribute to. This is another great way to spark interactivity on their site.
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