Recent revisions of news websites have changed my news reading habits. It used to be that my first ports of call were the Fairfax papers – The Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald . I would scan the ABC for the most up-to-date and factual reporting. Then a quick look at The Australian for a reality check on the the other side of politics, but mostly to check on Bill Leak’s daily cartoon.
ABC News is my now my first option. It’s not only that their page and usability is more attractive, its also that the Fairfax papers have become less attractive and harder to use. Their celebrity junk aspect seems even more prominent with the big strip of photos across the bottom of fold, the dark background that makes the main photo caption readable takes an annoying time to load, and the ads and changing video links are really distracting. I particularly despise the ads that zoom out and take over your screen. That’s when I walk away – you would think advertisers would know this by now! And the opinion and world pages are buried way down the page. The Australian website is improved, but its font is too small, and it also inflicts those zoom out ads on its readers, too.
The upshot: ABC is the main game. Fairfax for opinion pieces only. Bill Leak’s cartoon.
