A Review of USAToday.com

USAToday.com is the website I visit most often and where I read the news headlines and stories throughout my busy days. On average I check USAToday.com roughly 5 times a day, spending no more than 10-15 minutes at the site at a time. I read more content from this site than any other on the web. Overall, it is a great site to get top-line news information, but there are some aspects of it that could be improved.

The name
The best thing that USAToday.com has going for it is credibility. Most Americans recognize the name USA Today as a credible newspaper that is widely available in all corners of the country. This description has earned it the sometimes-derogatory nickname “McPaper,” for its similarity to McDonald’s in that one can be in any town in America and be reading same issue. If you’re staying at a hotel that gives away free newspapers and you’re on American soil, chances are that paper will be USA Today. The paper typically deals in national news stories, but does have Sports, Features, Money, Travel, Weather, and Entertainment sections that cover these areas with a national eye toward the stories. The website is almost a word-for-word electronic version of the print paper, with a few extra frills added to take advantage of the technology.

The layout
One characteristic of USAToday.com that I particularly like is the way the web pages are laid out. The homepage looks like the front page of the print version, with the two top stories taking up the most space at the top of the page and accompanied by large headlines and pictures. Smaller subheading separate the 10-12 other stories that are included on the front homepage, and typically deal with national issues like health care, or finances, or sports. This gives the user a degree of familiarity because everyone has seen the front page of a newspaper and knows what to expect to see there, the same holds true for the homepage of USAToday.com.

The layers
Typically, the two top stories found on the homepage will have a good amount of layering to them. For example, today’s top headline was Iraqis vote despite violence. Underneath the main headline (which when clicked sent the user to the main story about the how the Iraqi election turned out) were three layers of options. These options were the side stories that accompany the broader election article and include: what President Bush’s thoughts on the election are, what Iraqis were saying about the election, and what members of other Muslim countries were saying about the vote. This is typically what one would see with a paper copy of a newspaper with the main headlines being surrounded by side stories, again giving the reader the idea that they can expect the same things from the website that they do from the paper.

The technology
The main advantage to any web-based version of a newspaper’s website is that so much more can be done with the technology available that gives the user more choices on how they get their news. Beside the previously mentioned side stories, are two hyperlinks labeled audio and video, which open up links to allow the user to see and/or hear reports about the election from the Associated Press. This allows those that prefer to hear or see their news rather than reading it, to do just that without having to leave the website. This is a great way of handling the users who, like me, check the website at work or school to get the day’s headlines but only skim the stories because they prefer to watch and hear their news. The user can get both at USAToday.com and both the audio and video are in Real Player format, which does not have the compatibility issues that other formats do with Macintosh and PC computers. I have a Mac at home and a PC at work, so with some sites I have to remember which site uses Window’s Media Player (which won’t work on my Mac) and which uses other applications that will work. I know that if I want news fast in an application that works, I can pull up USAToday.com and get the reports no matter where I am and what computer I’m on.

The complaints
The major complaint I have with USAToday.com is the large amount of filler material that clutters up the homepage some days. I realize that not every day is a blockbuster news day, but 2500 word articles dealing with the downfall of convention centers or the decline of traditional glassblowers are useless on a site like this. I cannot imagine the core audience of USAToday.com going to the site to read large articles on anything other than a front-page news story. Occasionally, the site will have a features story about a celebrity or sports figure that I’ll read (on slow days at the office), but I do not think that all the stories from the print version have to make it on the website. Instead, I would use that space to open up a discussion board for readers to comment on stories. Presently, the site has no forum for the readers to voice their opinions, most news sites do have something in place, and in this respect USAToday.com is behind other sites. It would take less time to read a few reader comments—and I would be more likely to do so—than to read a long features piece with little relevance to the days headlines.