Project One

Analysis of Websites Covering Current Events

Introduction

The elaboration and creation of web messages addresses the distinctive choices that the internet provides in order create information in various configurations from a hypothetical pragmatic perspective (Berasategi Zeberio & Pilar Rodríguez, 2009). With that being said, this field of study especially in terms of websites covering current events examines the most essential advancements that the web environment has generated in terms of communication (Berasategi Zeberio & Pilar Rodríguez, 2009). In order to highlight the features between the speaker and the recipient as well as the analysis of interactivity accessible on the web, this research focuses on three diverse news sites within Canada and the United States. These sites include CP24, a local Toronto news broadcast, Fox News, a global American based news broadcast, and Cosmopolitan an entertainment news site. It was decided that these North American media markets would be interesting to examine primarily due to the fact that they typically generate a high online readership. Although this may be true, there were plenty of differences between the sources that allowed for the examination of multimedia language.

Online news sites are of the most predominant and fundamental areas of mass media in the modern day society (Díaz Noci et al., 2009). Since the early 2000’s several current event sites have been acquainted with the World Wide Web in order to further their audiences nationally or even globally (A. Al-Radaideh, Abu-Shanab, Hamam & Abu-Salem, 2011). Through this study in particular it was identified how these websites create new messages and what their various mediums were. For instance each website had similar characteristics whether that be graphic aspects, printed, or audiovisual. Though they shared many similar features they differed drastically, which allowed the analysis to use appropriate technical resources to discuss the informative production processes and techniques used to create these messages. With that being said, this element made these websites perfect candidates to study this kind of phenomenon. The main aim of this study is to assess online news sites by using three kinds of assessment measures including but not limited to the way the websites categorize their information, what information is chosen to be emphasized on the website, and their social media presence. All things considered, the objective of this study was to analyze the primary interactive features accessible on these websites and more importantly what factors impact the usage of these features. This will be identified through using a mixed method approach through a qualitative and quantitative questionnaire aimed to focus on mass media, usability, and web content.

By analyzing these sources, it ensured the participants within the survey portion of the paper were familiar with all platforms and more importantly emphasized the creative capabilities for a progressively viable correspondence on this topic. The communication being focused on for this study in terms of mass media centers around the display of current news to the general public through internet based media. In terms of usability, the terminology used for this paper refers to the ease of use as a qualitative characteristic which is utilized to survey the effortlessness of interface utilization from a users’ perspective (De Landtsheer, Krasnoboka, & Neuner, 2014). Finally, “web content” alludes to the data on the web page or social media application, including content, pictures, structures, and sounds. The content of the site is a noteworthy basis in terms of evaluating the previous terms in which it also influences the design of the site as a whole, its aesthetics, and accessibility (Harder & Jordan, 2013).

Generally speaking, the results within the paper are dependent on five students responses to the questionnaire provided. In the final analysis, this subject will enable the researchers to gain a global perspective of the conceivable outcomes and various communicative features that are within the web environment. This analysis will focus on what factors that appear to influence the utilization of the features within the websites as well as through Chung’s categories used to discuss Swedish Newspapers (Olof Larsson, 2012). The categories used will be those identified through his types of interactive features (Olof Larsson, 2012). The research will examine the categorization through human-medium communication, the information produced for the users through the medium, their choice options for experiencing the wide range of content as well as human-medium interactive features that allow the readers the choice to customize what they consume to their personal preference (Olof Larsson, 2012). Given these points, elements accepted to have impact over intelligent highlights are tried utilizing factual investigation.

Given these points, the paper will follow as such; to begin, the initial research on the current event sites will be discussed through the lens of usability and credibility. Following this factors often thought to impact the categorization features and content is identified through the interactivity of each website in the methodology. To conclude, the paper will finish with a consequent system segment with the results and a portrayal of the constraints experienced through the research process and propose suggestions for future research ventures.

Methodology

Analysis Factors

This research focuses on the analysis of three current event news websites and their performance on three factors:

1. Content

2. Categorization of the Content

3. Social Media Presence

The factor of content is defined as the information displayed on any given website. This includes simply, in a broad sense, what information the news organization covers. The second factor, categorization of content, is defined as the grouping of news stories into subtopics. This factor also includes analyzing which subtopic of news stories get more frequently talked about in comparison to others. The last factor we will be analyzing is the amount of social media platforms that each news source offers. Social media presence is defined as the presence of current event news companies on social media platforms.

The Questionnaire Design

The research conducted consisted of a questionnaire sent to five university students between the ages of 19 and 21, who are familiar with all three news sources chosen. Two of these students (1 female and 1 male) are from Toronto, Canada, and the other three respondents are from the United States (2 female and 1 male) to ensure the knowledge of news sources from both countries. For the purpose of the course, the questionnaire was distributed online and in English. There are four parts to the questionnaire, the first being three questions about how people view websites generally. The next part of the questionnaire consists of three questions regarding how important the content of each current event news website is. Part three of the questionnaire entailed three questions regarding the categorization of the content by asking which type of content is most frequently talked about. Lastly, the final part of the questionnaire consisted of five questions regarding the collaboration of social media and news websites. Overall, the questionnaire fulfills the research needs by providing feedback essential to the analyzation of the news sources.

Who? What? Where? Why? When?

Results Discussion

General Question Results

Analysis Factors:

Three comparisons are made in this analysis. To begin collecting general information about the public's view of news sources, the questionnaire started by asking a personal preference question. The first question aimed at understanding what type of content the respondents engage with the most in terms of current event news. When asked what content respondents engage with the most, 60% engage with entertainment news, 20% engage with political news, and 20% engage with local news.

This aids the research by providing a deeper understanding

of what type of content the respondents generally read the most.

The next general question asked looked at maneuverability of the websites. Although maneuverability is not one of the three main factors being discussed, it was included in the general question part of the questionnaire in order to add depth into the analysis. Two in five respondents said that Cosmopolitan was the easiest to maneuver, tied with Fox News. While only one in five respondents claimed CP24’s website was the easiest to maneuver. Although this question was opinion based, it aids the analysis by showing which website or websites are easiest to use, in the respondent’s opinion.

The third question asked in the general part of the questionnaire had to do with how important the respondents view credibility when looking at current event news websites. Three in five or 60% of respondents said that credibility is of the highest importance, by rating it five out of five. One in five respondents rated credibilities importance as four out of five. Lastly, one in five or 20% of respondents said rated credibilities

importance as three out of five. While credibility

is not one of the three factors in this analysis, it is still a factor worth

mentioning when discussing news sources.

B. Content Results

In order to analyze the respondent’s feelings about the content the news sources provide, the respondents were asked to rank the website’s content by using a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being unimportant and 5 being very important. It can be concluded that the information on these websites is at some level of importance to the respondent’s lives whether it’s for information regarding the world, their city, or entertainment purposes. The various ranking in answers can be further examined by looking at the differing geographical locations of the respondents. CP24, a local news station, is more likely to be important to those who live in Toronto, Canada. Whereas, those living in the United States are more likely to claim content from Canada’s local news as less important because they do not necessarily need information about the weather and traffic of a different location. The content of Cosmopolitan could be viewed as less important in terms of daily life because of the website’s focus on articles of entertainment.

C. Categorization of Information Results

When examining how news sources structure their online site, it was essential to ask what category of information is perceived as most frequently highlighted. This question allows viewers to decipher which articles of information each news website believes to be the most popular or informative for the viewers. Fox News separates their stories into 17 different categories, and highlights what they believe the most pressing global information is. On the other hand, Cosmopolitan has a smaller amount of categories of information on their website including, but not limited to, “style,” “love,” “horoscopes,” etc. All respondents deem that Cosmopolitan focuses more on entertainment articles than any other category. Lastly, with CP24 being a news source specifically for the city of Toronto, it is likely for the public to see the source as a form of local information which includes weather, traffic, and news regarding events within the area.

D. Social Media Results

All five respondents feel that it is of somewhat or high value of importance that these sources be versatile in the social media they offer to the public. Nowadays, news sources have the means of providing and maintaining several social media platforms in order to adapt to the variety of viewers’ preferences. For example, CP24 only has three social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) and chooses to be most active on Twitter and then Facebook. On the other hand, Cosmopolitan is very active across six social media platforms, the biggest being Instagram with 2.7 million followers. Fox News is most popular on their Twitter account with 18.5 million followers and 418 K tweets, and on their website also provides clips of tweets and Facebook posts with information.

Conclusion

In short, this paper examined the results of various university students’ responses to the questionnaire provided based on the three websites identified earlier as CP24, Cosmopolitan, and Fox News. With that being said, the type of news that people were most frequently engaged with whether that be global, local, or entertainment came down to the content they were most interested in, its usability, interactivity, and credibility. Given these points, the findings further emphasized that if an individual wants to see news content based on entertainment or to engage with interactive contexts likes quizzes and trivias they will be more likely persuaded to go to Cosmopolitan oppose to a local or global news site like Fox or CP24. The website’s content is intended for that sole purpose, so then again, it all relates back to the preference of the individual.

While this study provided useful details regarding the online media industry to young adults, it did raise ideas to further analyze in regards to relevancy and social media. In the results analyzed, it was evident that Fox News was ranked highest regarding the importance of the news amongst the other two websites, but more importantly the importance of social media ranked fairly high as well. The responses also showed that Twitter was listed as the main social media outlet for receiving any types of news. In conclusion, the analyzation of CP24, Fox News, and Cosmopolitan’s content, structure, and forms of social media allowed for solid research to be conducted and raised questions to be further examined.

Drawing from the conducted research and analysis, the following recommendations are listed below for the content creators:

1. Website designers should take into account how the audience is viewing their website and look at everything from a consumer’s perspective in order to ensure that the website is easy to maneuver and to make it user friendly.

2. Another feature to consider is due to some circumstances in which the website user is from a foreign country they inevitably cannot access specific websites so it would be advisable for the editors of the domain of the website to grant access to foreign visitors.

3. In order for specific news topics to be remembered, designers of the web must consider specific design related details which highlight the root statement of a news article. By adding a lot of thumbnails on news articles is not that necessary rather than a head title that will capture the attention of the audience.

4. Customer feedback is also an important aspect that must be taken in to consideration. Each website should contain contact information specifically for the visitors when encountering an issue. Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses should be visible at every page of the website, rather than making it complicated for users to scroll down to the bottom of the page and search for the contact details. Furthermore, just relying on social media such as Instagram and Facebook as main distribution channels does not guarantee that the people will certainly use them, since there are still generations that do not know how to use them. Providing an online chat option could be an idea to consider.

5. In terms of survey evaluation, a point overlooked was the respondents ages (19-21) and the content they engaged with. In order to have more range and get a better in-depth analysis of the common conceptions of usability, credibility, and interactivity, further research should focus on having responders from various ages in order to get more of an understanding in regards to age, demographics, and location.

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