Albany Times Union: Better Web usability than the W. Post—but what’s this about the Union vs. the union?
Cheers for the Albany Time Union: The Washington Post offers stellar, world-class articles. But the Post annoys me endlessly with the chaotic organization of both its desktop and mobile editions.
At least in the case of the desktop edition, might the Post learn from the little Albany Times Union, whose home page I find much better structured even though its readership is a fraction of the Post’s?
The Post, granted, has far more to cover and display. But if nothing else, it could emulate the Times Union’s deft presentation of local news and links to its blogs. Yes, the Post could treat national and international news in a similar way for out-of-town readers.
From an accessibility perspective, moreover, the multilevel menu bar at the top of the Post is a Katrina-level disaster. The New York Times doesn’t inflict such a challenge on its readers. Why is the Post? Usability issues are no small reason why newspaper Web sites aren’t living up to their potential. Meanwhile I’m hardly surprised to hear that the Times Union site is drawing zillions of page view despite the paper’s size.
Jeers, too, for the Times Union? What’s this about editing jobs and others possibly being outsourced to Texas?
“That means editors who don’t know how to spell Rensselaer or Schaghticoke, or even who our local elected officials are,” says the Albany Newspaper Guild. True? Or just a remote possibility? For now, the union—that is, the real union, not the newspaper by that name—is asking that people cancel the printed paper and get their news off the Web site and also from the Spotlight chain of weeklies.
Hypocrisy Department: The TeleRead Weblog could stand its own improvements, and we’ll be making them in time despite limited resources.
A good listen: The Media Project radio program, in which Rex Smith, editor of the Times Union participates. Hey, guys, how about inviting a Guild rep in for a debate with Smith? I’ve never set foot in Albany, but many of the journalistic issues the programs covers are rather generic. I love the podcasts.
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