The New York Times is considered to be one of the nation’s leading news sources. I have been charged with reading it daily to keep truly understand online news and to better keep up with current events. I honestly haven’t been keeping up with it as well as I should be but nonetheless, I have noticed a few noteworthy points.
First and foremost, I have learned that news stories have a long lifespan. Just because something isn’t on the front page anymore, does mean that it not longer makes the news, especially in the case of online news. One story I have seen over and over is about anything to do with the H1N1 vaccine or the virus itself. The last time I saw anything of it on the front page, the vaccine was being given out and side effects were being explored. In June or July, the scare of the virus died down a little and it was during that time that I can almost guarantee the story got moved deeper into the website. The most popular stories are always on top.
I believe it was Hedges that pointed out the online generation’s impatience with reading. When examining the layout of the front page of NYTimes.com, one may agree with him. It has a very small preview of each story with an option to read the whole story. These are meant to peak your interest and possibly even give you a little information you might not have though you wanted to know prior. However, these are not by any means a replacement for the actual news articles.
I like your last sentence alot. One or two sentence reviews or sneak peeks are not enough to give a reader an actual sense of involvement or enough information to form an informed opinion. It is true that just because a story isn't on the front page doesn't mean it isn't worth reading. I like your take on the New York Times readings. Good post!
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