Writing for Print and Emerging Media

The selected news article is regarding the massive earthquake which occurred in mainland Chile with a magnitude of 8.8 killing at least 122 people. It was reported that a 15-storey building had collapsed in the city, while other buildings caught fire and massive cracks opened up in the streets and bridges. The earthquake was said to be caused by the floor of the Pacific being pushed below South American land mass and this sudden jerking of the sea-floor displaced water might trigger a tsunami generating a wave that could cause destruction along nearby shores. The Chilean president had declared state of catastrophe and prompted the evacuation of coastal areas on Easter Island. Chile is at a high risk of earthquakes because it lies on the boundary between the Pacific and South American tectonic plates. The Pacific tsunami warning centre had also issued a tsunami warning for most countries across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Straits Times being a newspaper of choice for more than 160 years is the English national flagship newspaper in Singapore is known to have the highest newspaper readership offering a very comprehensive choice of news, views and informed analysis. The online version of The Straits Times can also be found on www.straitstimes.com.sg.

The primary target readerships of Straits Times' are mostly affluent, well-educated and sophisticated consumers leading active lifestyles. The news article website is found at http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_495745.html

Launched in November 1997, BBC News Online also known to many as the BBC's news website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/) is one of the most popular news websites in the UK reaching over a quarter of the UK's internet users and worldwide reaching to around 14 million global readers every month. The BBC News website is published in two versions serving different audiences –one for the UK and the other for international audiences. The news article website is found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8540289.stm

The Web is an interactive, dynamic, and rapidly changing new communications medium. The most important trait of a great website is that it should provide credible, original content in a well-organized and timely set in an attractive, interactive, and consistent format. The presentation of a good website should be simple, yet professional with easy navigation and links to related news. In this case, I think both BBC News Online and Straits Times Online have achieved the standard of delivering quality, valuable and timely information to its readers online. Likewise, BBC News Online and Straits Times Online consistent look and feel relates to the point of having a well-organized site providing multiple ways of easy navigation.

On the most basic level, a well-conceived, well-written news article should be simply easier to read. The text plays a key role in terms of a site's content. Generally it is more effective to use shorter sentences and paragraphs on the Web as it is much easier on the eyes especially for websites that display text in thinner columns. This also makes it easier to "chunk" content, so readers are presented with digestible and navigable sections of content. Both the websites have made use an appropriate graphic metaphor for interface making the reader feel more comfortable navigating the site and keeps its regular readers coming back for more.

Another of the Web's strengths is the high volume of information available. The second most important trait a Web site should have is interactivity between readers. The web being an interactive hypermedia communications medium should engage the readers allowing them to interact with the web content. This is done by providing a search engine to let readers control their own surfing experience. For instance, both BBC News Online and Straits Times Online developed user surveys and forums allowing the visitors to share information with others and also help in shaping the website to better serve their needs.

Both BBC News Online and Straits Times Online news article is broken up into bite-sized paragraphs as large blocks of text have a tendency to turn off readers. It is important to break the text up into concise