News.bbc.co.uk: in focus

Once upon a time news.bbc.co.uk was the world's leading news site...that is - until Google news came out!

News.bbc.co.uk still has the only really web-friendly story page layout (‘boxes within stories’ and ‘clustered related links’).

Why are newspapers still lagging behind?

Why the online versions of famour newspapers haven't caught up with them is still a mystery - they are still pasting in the newspaper print copy for each story, which, of course, has no embedded hyperlinks, because you can’t print a hyperlink on paper (yet).

The blogosphere finally arrives in force at the BBC?

It took Google's purchase of YouTube to do it

Blogosphere probes 'GooTube' deal

Yes, it's a proper 'What the Bloggers say" article, and it's all A list bloggers.

Woders will never cease.

Theyll be mentioning TechMeme next.

But news.bbc.co.uk fails to capitalise on its edge

The BBC site then proceeds to rigorously eschew embedded hyperlinks in its stories.

Now, although this minimises clutter and maximises readability above and beyond competing news sites (by putting the links into boxes, see above) why not do both?

What would this look like?

A bloggier beeb

Surely of all possible worlds would be to combine the BBC’s ‘boxed links’ with the ‘bloggy’ embedded links approach. "But...", you can see this objection coming a mile off, "wouldn't this undermine the BBC's uniquely high readability?".

BBC losing its' edge?

A real BBC weakness in the ‘post-Google News era’ is that the ‘number of stories covered’ in the BBC news site business and technology sections has become woefully inadequate.

Proof - I just can't be bothered any more....

I have stopped worrying about whether or not I have recently checked out these BBC news site sections, because the BBC news page tends to either lag behind coverage found elsewhere by Google News, or, when the BBC are covering the story, Google News will find the BBC story page and send me there anyway.

What about BBC's video output?

As for BBC news video, there's no need to go into full sentences on this one. Lets just say that it's:

• Too little
• Too short
• Poor picture quality
• Lagging behind the rest
• Punches way below its weight

Isn't it time the BBC took the challenge of Google and the blogosphere more seriously?

It used to be sooo good.

shame...