ABCNEWS.COM

Liz Perez
Shelby Reilly


2)

• Our first top story is called "Congress Outraged by Demand for Speedy Bailout." The story was about how some members of Congress are upset that they were told by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to act fast on a $700 billion bailout for financial firms. Though the story itself was not very long it was not only listed under "Top Headlines" but the title of the story was preceded by bold red letters that said top story. The story was accompanied only by a photo of Henry Paulson speaking in Congress.
• Our second top story is called "McCain-Palin Camp Tried to Block Media Access to Palin in NY." The story is exactly about what the title says. Palin was meeting with an important foreign leader when their camp tried to block media access in order to avoid questions being asked to Palin. The story was also listed under "Top Headlings" and had a lot of comments from readers. However, the story was not accompanied by a picture, but was longer than the first story we chose.
• And our last top story is called "Bush Invites Obama to DC to Work on Bailout Bill; Obama Accepts." This story is about Pres. Bush inviting Obama to a meeting regarding the Wall Street bailout bill that is to take place tomorrow afternoon (Sen. John McCain will be attending as well). The story is listed under "Top Headlines" and is accompanied by a picture of Obama and Bush. The story itself is not long, probably about the same length as the first story we picked.

3) Abcnews.com offers three sublists of Most Popular stories - viewed, commented, and emailed. These lists are on the right sidebar of the front page. These stories differ quite a bit from the featured stories. Actually, non of the "Top Headlines" stories were listed as most popular anything. The articles that were included in these lists seemed to have a little more opinion in them. Once you click on the "Most Popular" link, though, it also breaks it down by most read stories, most viewed videos, and most viewed slideshows and ballots.

4) The Web site has a wide variety of journal-style blogs available and range anywhere from politics to "campus chatter." The bloggers are a mix of staff reporters and editorial columnists. The general blog area for this site is called "Blog Roundup," area has links to all the different blogs that are available for our viewing pleasure.

5) This site has links on every story (whether it is opinion, blog, or reporting) for readers to leave comments. However, there are no discussion boards since the reader comments serve as a discussion board in themselves.

6) Abcnews.com has a section called i-Caught that allows viewers and readers like us to post video or pictures of what we think is news. The home site, abcnews.com, also incorporates some video clips of news shown on the ABC news as well, you can watch news clips under "Watch Video."

A blog brought to you by: Sarah Marbach, Melinda Lopez, Sarah Liu, and Nick Lepf.

The website, time.com is an online spinoff of one of the most acclaimed and successful magazines in American history: TIME. The website consists of a plethora of stories—many consist of text/photo links to for the user to simply click on to acquire the full story. Perhaps, the most invasive articles are the stories in the middle column of the homepage—making them the featured periodicals. As time progresses, the newest article replaces the previous news article in from the limelight by replacing the largest picture of the website with its’ own newer, but cropped to same size photo. At this time the most current feature story penned by Mark Thompson titled as, “7 Questions About the $700 Billion Bailout” accompanied with a picture of the witness table at Capitol Hill during a Senate Banking Committee hearing featuring the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on the left side appearing to be scowling at the cameraman as the picture is taken. Next to the Treasury Secretary is the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke with a less than content look on his face.

The subtext below quotes the Treasury Secretary, (Henry Paulson) with a relatively optimistic statement: "I Believe We're Going to Get a Bill That Works"; the next line consists of a lesser optimistic statement of “Congress and the Bailout Plan: Business As Usual”. The story informs the reader of the reconstruction of the homeowners mortgages and foreclosures in the United States. Over 11 trillion mortgages are delinquent; the bail out is forcing Democrats of the Financial Services Committee to consider the notion that the deal is too good for Wall Street. By giving taxpayers a piece of equity in the companies they would bail out. Many members of Congress want to make sure the government only pays fire-sale prices for the assets to protect taxpayers from a big loss, other members of congress feel the too low of a price could effect the plan effectiveness at stabilizing the market. Visit the full story at 7 Questions About the $700 Billion Bailout The two concomitant stories in the center file have been stripped from their photo rights’ (merely by being older); however they still are in the focal point of the webpage--these would be the feature stories for a frequent user of the site (if one were to visit this webpage just a few times over the course of a week they would likely notice this motif of the site). However, for a new reader the next story they would likely be lured to is: Palin's Troopergate Moves Getting Bad Review in Alaska

Before the election Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee had started the inquiry when former public safety commissioner Walt Monegan alleged that he might have been dismissed for not firing the allegedly loutish state trooper Mike Wooten, who was in a bitter custody battle with Palin's sister.

The story titled Iraqi Parliament Paves the Way for Provincial Elections written by Rania Abouzeid covers the election in Kirkuk is delayed from Oct to the end of Jan, and the issue of the troubles still exists because “the poll is likely to precipitate a struggle for Shi'ite hearts and minds between Maliki's supporters”. The parliament is trying to unit the country before the election because of the many rivals existing within there own communities.

Other questions:

Emailed Articles: This sight offers email articles on the front page of the website with most popular articles. These emailed articles differ from the home page shows because they are categorized by each special interest, from Health to Election to Entertainment. Visit the email articles

Blogs: Throughout the site, there are an abundance of blog opportunities. For example if you select the World tab there are blogs about the top articles and a blog for every tab on the home page. The bloggers are many independent blog sites that are a collection of reporters, political experts, and editorial columnist. Visit the blogs

Discussion Boards: there are no apparent forums or discussion boards; however the site does proffer external sites such as buzz.yahoo.com, facebook.com, digg.com and private Emails for individuals to further partake in the stories.

Video/Audio: videos are located at http://www.time.com/time/video/

Christian Science Monitor

Javier Garcia
Lina Franco
Lindsay Duke
Noranda Dellis
http://www.csmonitor.com/

The top three stories featured on the Christian Science Monitor’s page consist of an article outlining Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s motivation for using combative rhetoric, the French leading the fight against a Somali piracy surge, and a journalist’s lighthearted piece on cleaning her fridge out in the spirit of Ramadan.

The Ahmadinejad piece is featured on the top left part of the page with the largest picture. The piece covers the idea of the Shiite messiah being a heavily motivating factor in taking a hard line against the United States and Israel. The article also features a minute and a half sound byte from a reporter recalling past coverage on Iranian devotion to the Shiite messiah. The article had a list of related links leading to one opinion piece and two older reports on Iran.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0924/p06s01-wome.html?page=1

The French piece had no picture but was featured on the top center slot of the page. The article was about the French’s fight against piracy, how the attacks could jeopardize the deliveries of humanitarian aid, and that the attacks were inspiring a call to action from leaders. The article was a summary of reports from AP, The Inquirer, The Daily Telegraph, The Times of London, Voice of America, BBC, Bloomberg, GMANews.TV, and one older report from the CS Monitor. The article had an “Also” section instead of “Related Stories”, which linked to BBC, Bloomberg, and CNN articles.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0923/p99s01-duts.html

The Ramadan piece had no picture either and was featured in the center below the French article. It covered cleaning out the fridge in preparation for Ramadan, shopping at a Middle Eastern grocery, and then provided a recipe for French Orange Cake at the end of the article. No links were provided at the end relating to the story.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0924/p18s01-lifo.html

The site offered a list of the most viewed articles embedded within every article, with no separate page provided listing them all in one place. The most popular article was about the Wall Street bailouts, then school shootings in Finland, and anti-Christian attacks in India. The Iranian article was last on the list.

The site provides a devotion to the blog section, with 11 different blogs based out of a single city and representing a different type of community, such as Boom Towns, Evangelical Epicenters, Military Bastions, and Emptying Nests. The page provides a map of the nation that breaks up each of the counties in to one of the blog categories. The bloggers themselves come from diverse backgrounds and employment. They consist of local politicians, teachers, professors, community activists, newspaper editors, and leaders of non-profit organizations. None are employed by the CS Monitor.

http://www.csmonitor.com/patchworknation/

The readers only given a chance to comment on the blogs provided to them, not on opinion pieces or main articles. Every article provides a link to where you can send a letter to the editor and those responses are confined to a special section where they publish representative letters.

http://www.csmonitor.com/commentary/letters.html

And finally, the CS Monitor gives emphasis by giving the Multimedia tab the only other boldfaced heading other than the Home button. The page gives you all of the most recent audio and video clips posted on the site.

http://www.csmonitor.com/specials

WASHINGTONPOST.COM - Cheryl Temple, Caitlin Smart, Monica Tame

2.) The featured stories listed on the home page of washingtonpost.com included:

- Bernanke Tells Congress That U.S. Economy Is Faltering

- Buffett To Invest $5 Billion In Goldman

- The Words Left Unspoken In The Bailout Debate

The "Bernanke" article had the largest title text on the home page and was placed in the very center, making it the first article to catch the viewer's eyes. Neil Irwin, the author of the article, wrote that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke urged Congress to pass a $700 billion bailout proposal in order to keep the financial crisis from escalating.The photograph below of Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke pushing for approval of the proposal bailout plan ran alongside the story.

The second article on Buffett was placed directly underneath the "Bernanke" article with just slightly smaller title text than its upstairs neighbor. The authors of the story wrote that investor Warren Buffet is going to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs to help out the Wall Street bank.

The third top story was placed under the article on Buffett. Its title text was also the same size as the second article. The author of the article, Steven Pearlstein, wrote that he believes the American public deserves an apology from Wall Street for the recent financial crisis.

3.) Washingtonpost.com does offer a list of the most popular articles on the top right hand side of the home page. The articles that were listed were similar to the top stories in that they gave some information on the current financial crisis; however, their main focus was on the presidential candidates.

Here are the links to these articles:

- http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/24/mccain_suspending_campaign_ask.html

- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/23/AR2008092303667.html?nav%3Dhcmodule&sub=AR

- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/22/AR2008092202583.html?nav=hcmodule

4.) The website incorporates several journal-style blogs. The bloggers are mainly experts on subjects, such as politics, shopping, the weather in the eastern part of the U.S. , and even obituaries. One particular blog, the Achenblog, focuses on science, history, sports, journalism, and "cool" news.

Here is the link to a list of the blogs, - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/metro_columnists.html?nid=roll_localcolblogs

and here is the link to the Achenblog - http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/

5.) The Washington Post website incorporates both reader comments and discussion boards into the site. Viewers can post comments to news articles and opinion pieces, and a "Discussion Groups" link can be accessed through the "Opinions" link on the home page.

6.) The website incorporates some video and audio clips to the site.

Here is the link to the video clips page, - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/
however, there are more photos on this page than video clips.

This site -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/podcastfront.htm
includes audio and video podcasts.

DallasNews,com

Travis Harr
Andreya Hernandez
Mashari Hogan
Alyse Hutchins


Top Stories:

-Obama rebuffs McCain's call to delay debate
In an attempt to display his bipartisanship, Mccain suggested to halt the anticipated first debate between the two candidates this Friday night. This Story was in the main boxed in top story
section of the opening page. For good reason, being that this is
going to be a drain on our economy and a plan for America needs to be reached. This debate is much needed for Americans to begin hearing the issues face to face in their differences, and delaying it would be a strain on this election process. Especially when there is supposed to be leadership already in power. What is needed is leadership. Obama's statement is to issue a joint resolution and to continue with debates.


-Bush warns 'entire economy is in danger'
Even though this story wasn't written in the biggest font, and it wasn't accompanied by a picture, it was located directly in the middle of the the main box, along with all of the other top stories. Being about the president and the economy, it's bound to catch people's attention. The story page does have a link to the video of the actual speech given by President Bush. The story is about what the President said in a recent prime-time address in hopes of convincing Congress to pass his $700 billion bailout plan. Many believe the plan has many flaws though, and that his plan will not stop a recession from happening. Even though many other major crises have happened while the president has been in office, the economic problems of the country will overshadow his last four months in office.


-Colleges, universities across Dallas-Fort Worth see a spike in enrollment
There has been a significant increase in enrollment in community colleges and universities in Dallas and as well as the rest of the Nation. This growth is partly accounted for by the increase in high school graduates this year, as well as students that are not fresh out of high school but rather already in the work force and having to further their education to remain competitive. This escalation is expected to soon level out across the nation but will remain steady in Texas. The surge in community colleges, specifically, is most likely link to the harsh economical times. This story was centered, slightly lower on the “front page” and denoted third in hierarchy by the third largest font size. It was also the only story on the "cover" to be accompanied by a photograph.

Most Emailed Articles:
The Most Read and Emailed section of the site was located by scrolling down and found on the right. These articles contained more local news of Dallas and the Fortworth Area. The topics are varying from gas prices to rape to house fires. It is more on the local level where the top stories over the past few days have been on a more statewide and national level.
Here is one of the articles that was found in the Most Emailed section.

Blogs:
The Blog link is in the very middle of the main page. There are blogs on everything from weather, sports, and shopping, to religion, arts, and food. The bloggers are mostly writers for the Dallas News and their blogs are related to the sections of the paper that they write for. For example, Ann Pinson writes for the Arts and Entertainment section of the Dallas Morning News, and she posts in the Art Blog.

Reader Comments:



On almost every page and after every story there is a place for Dallas News readers to “Join the Conversation”. This allows followers to become active in the news and share their opinions, as well as, observe the thoughts posted by others. The only dilemma is you have to be a member of the site to participate. Most stories have a variety of post that spark new view points and lead to many different discussion. There’s no better way to understand and become more knowledgeable than active learning.

Multimedia Content:
There is a list on the right side of the front page that has a list of the top videos. Once you get to the videos page, they have sub-categories of videos including sports, local/state, nation/world, election and entertainment.

Fox News: We Report, You Decide

1. Joseph Medina
Megan McDougall
Katie McDonough

2. The top three stories on the website were:

1. Obama Rejects McCain Call to Postpone Debate Over Financial Crisis
2. McCain Halts Campaign Over Financial Crisis
3. Obama Gains Lead

The first story was printed in black type against a yellow background as breaking news, something featured nowhere else on the site. Although it was only a line without images, we felt it had the most importance because it was brand-new, just out of the oven smell news. The story about McCain halting his campaign was featured in large blue print with backing video and "raw data". The third story was in the same font and color as the second, but with an attatched PDF and about six different articles or videos on the election.

3. Yes, the site offers a list of the "most read" articles. These tend to be about more obscure or sensational events, such as "Oklahoma Judge Who Used Sex Device in Court Disbarred". Here's an example.

4. Fox News blogs are written by such writers as John Carl Cameron and Todd Starnes (I don't know who they are either). Editorials are listed under opinion, and have actual people writing them such as Oliver North and Alireza Jafarzadeh. Some, such as Jafarzadeh, are experts in fields such as foreign affairs.

5. All articles and blogs feature reader comments.

6. The front page features very little images, but within individual articles can be found a wealth of information, including live feeds. Videos also include comments.

Here's Ahmanutjob up to his usual tricks.

Newsweek Blogger on Media 'Bias'

Good column (blog) on media bias from a Newsweek reporter/blogger, Andrew Romano, on "How the Media's Real 'Bias' Works in McCain's Favor"

The really damaging bias is narrative in nature--bias for tension, bias for conflict, bias for drama. Which is why when Schmidt and Co. release a misleading ad about Obama that's not actually airing on TV, the cable newsniks air it for them. Or why we jump to cover Schmidt's histrionic attack on the Times instead of focusing on McCain's economic speech in Scranton. Schmidt knows how the MSM works, and he's doing a brilliant job--far better than Team Obama--of capitalizing on its weaknesses.

This is all quite relevant, of course, to our discussions about issues in news coverage these days.

Statesman.com

1. Statesman.com

By: Joy Cervantes, Enjoli Claire, Kelsey Cooper, & Brittany De Clercq.

2. Top Stories:

Obama rejects McCain's call to delay debate

This story is placed on the far left side at the top, with a good-sized picture of both Obama and McCain. Their mouths are open and their expressions are serious. The headline of the story is in a larger, colored, and bold font. There is also a sentence-long caption underneath the photos. Obama wants to go ahead with the debate and not have it postponed.

Paramedics disciplined over case where woman was left untreated
This story is placed to the right of the article above but without any photos. The headline of the story is also in a bold and colored font, but the font size is a bit smaller than the headline of the first article. The story also has a caption underneath the headline. Three paramedics left a severely wounded but still breathing woman untreated for hours, so their certifications have been suspended for six months.

Austin officer not indicated for taser use
This is the next article listed, placed underneath the top story on the right side of the page. This article, along with eleven other hyperlinked articles, are in a list below the second top story. The font is not bold or any larger than the captions and story titles throughout the website. The officer, who through video was seen unjustly using the taser on somebody, was not indicated by the Travis County grand jury.

3. Yes, Statesman.com offers a section that allows it's readers to post their opinions about any article on the website. The articles are listed in order from most responses, to least. We also find it interesting that the stories people seem most interested in are not actually the top stories of the day. The first two, with a lead of about 100 comments more than the rest, are tied in to religion which we know is always an extremely controversial topic.

• Atheist family challenges minute of silence
• Committee recommends removal of "strengths and weaknesses" from science curriculum

4. Statesman.com offers the chance for it's members to both post blogs and comment on other member's blogs in the section. These are not political experts, just the opinions of citizens who read the paper, most likely on a regular basis. There is a tab for the most recent blogs as well as the most recommended blogs. Here are the links to some the most recent blogs:

• Why debate? Based off the blogs it's a landslide for Obama
• Another 9.2 Ritcher for Alaska
• David Foster Wallace, R.I.P.

5. The site does incorporate reader comments and opinion pieces. As stated in the sections above, Statesman.com offers ReaderReactions & ReaderBlogs. In addition to that, readers are also able to leave their comments below every news article posted by the journalists.

6. When you first access the web page you will see the Video Player on the right-hand side, typically below an advertisement of coarse. Many of the video clips they have available here have to to with sports. If you click on the hyperlink below it that says Find more videos on austin360.com you can watch numerous music videos, food/drink videos, Events videos, movies/TV video, & recreation videos. Throughout this website you can also enjoy various audio clips that add depth to the articles. The multimedia aspect of this website definitely enhances the reader's experience.

Msnbc.com

1.
Samuel Rhotenberry

Lindsey Rogowicz

Josh Sanchez
Madeline Schmidt

2.

Bernanke, Paulson: Congress Must Move Now

This Article was the main story pushed by msnbc.com. The title of the article was placed at the very topmost of the page in the biggest font on the page. Also, it had an accompanying picture to help draw attention along with an orange tab marked "updated". The articles main page talks about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's push for congress to have a speedy decision in the bailout of Wall Street; also there are several videos from Congress itself.

Finland School Toll Hits 11, Including Gunman

The link to this story was located at the top left-hand portion of the msnbc.com homepage. Along with the large font for the title there was also a bright red tab reading "new" to help draw the readers eye. Also, a brief news clip is available with accompanying pictures describing the scenes that played out at a trade school in Finland on Tuesday. A student entered the school with a .22 caliber handgun and bag of explosives and opened fire on a room of testing students, killing 10 before finally ending his own life.

The Money Mess Obama or McCain will Inherit

This story was the only story on the front page that was accompanied by a picture, the one to the right of the text. It also included the patented larger text and the use of the orange tab labeled "updated". Another feature to grab readers was that this story had a short summary of the article on the home page of msnbc.com which led the the full story later on. When on the story's home page you are met with a multitude of videos and pictures to further the story. One video in particular is helpful in describing the situation that either Obama or McCain will face upon taking office and the economic problems they will be dealing with due to the recent Wall Street crash.

3. The main page of msnbc.com does not have links to the most popular/most emailed articles. Although when you enter any article on their page they have a large window with tabs for "most viewed", "top rated", and "most emailed" stories that is easily accesible. All of these stories and videos are also accesible from the "community" tab or the link in the window. Some of the stories included are indeed the top stories on msnbc.com but also include a wide range of topics ranging from "dark flows" in space to pony sized pigs holding people hostage.

4. There seems to be a very large number of blogs easily accesible from the main page of msnbc.com. On the community home page about halfway down is a large section labeled "blogs". It seems to be that most of the bloggers are Msnbc reporters, editorial columnists, and other Msn/Nbc representatives. Among some of the main blogs are "Your Biz", "The Daily Nightly" and the "World Blog".

5. Msnbc.com does indeed have the ability to comment on just about every article on the site. Along with the ability to post there are also extensive message boards on a wide variety of topics for members of msnbc.com to post on and use.

6. Multimedia is a very large part of the content msnbc.com offers to its visitors. A large number of videos and pictures are accessible from the front page along with a number of other interactive features. The video homepage along with the picture homepage are just part of an overall multimedia experience.

CBS News- Top Stories

1. CBS News

Kit Neckar, Jaclyn Nix, Devin Nixon, & Monica Pena

2. A.) Senators Grill Bailout Boys:
as the number one top story on CBS News.com because it is the first thing to catch your attention on the homepage of CBS News.com. It is displayed with a large picture at the top of the website. This story is about Bernanke and Paulson facing sharp questioning on the $700 billion rescue plan for the economy.

B.)Gunman kills 10 in Finland before taking his own life:
Another top story featured on the CBS website includes this story.
Matt Saari, 22 year old student at a trade school in western
Finland, opened fire killing 10 people before shooting himself in
the head, resulting in his death. He was previously questioned by
police due to his postings of videos on the popular youtube site.
The videos showed Saari playing with his firearm, but police found
no reason for arrest or removal of the gun. This story is shown as
the first story under the daily top stories found on CBSNews.com

C.)Iran Leader Blames U.S. for Market Crisis:
as another top story because it is listed under top stories and is
seen to continually pop up on the right side of the website. Iran's
president is blaming the U.S. military for interferring throughout
the world for the collapse of global financial markets.

3. Viewers can find the most popular stories on the middle right
hand part of CBSNews.com. These stories are listed in order by the
quantity of views they receive. All consist of political issues
except for the third breaking story confirming Clay Aiken's
homosexuality. The stories are divided into three separate
categories; videos, pictures, and stories.

4. Yes, the site does incorporate a journal-style blog. There is a lick on the left scroll bar, which takes you to the different blog categories. Now most of the blogs are just regular people commenting on the different issues, but there is one blogger named BH_Uhbama; this person has some really strong views on the Katie's Interview With Sarah Palin.


5. CBSNews.com does incorporate reader comments, where bloggers can post how they
feel on a topic or opinion of some sort. The reader comments are underneath blogs, and once you have chosen a blog, you can post to separate articles. You can also read what others had to say about something as well. However, there is no discussion boards, just merely a place where readers can express how they feel on the articles given at hand.

6. CBSNews.com has an area right below the headline news that is focused on still photos and videos including links to more videos and photos. Also on the menu to the left side of the webpage, there is a link to the videos page. They highlight some of the videos and pictures on the front page.


Watch CBS Videos Online
Watch CBS Videos Online

New York Times

1. NYTIMES.COM
Cassie Trevino and Scott Tindall

2. Top Three Stories:

Bailout Plan a Hard Sell on Capitol Hill is one of the featured articles on the site. It's placed right at the top of the homepage, with the title in bold letters and a picture to accompany the story. This piece is about a dispute over the different ways Congress is trying to figure out a reasonable route to handle the bailout plan by the desired time frame. 

At U.N., Bush Reassures Leaders on Economy would be another featured article on nytimes.com. The hyperlinked, bolded title is placed right under the previous featured story we mentioned, in hopes that readers will click that article next. Briefly, the story goes on about Bush encouraging UN Leaders on the economy being able to improve and the war on terror leaving positive impacts in Iraq during his final address to the UN. 

The third top story entitled, 10 South African Cabinet Ministers Resign, is placed toward the bottom left of the other main articles with bold lettering to catch the readers eye. This piece explains South Africa's current government status regarding a new leader for them in the near future. 

3. Yes, there is a most popular emailed list of articles. It is located at the top of the page in a tab. You can view it here. It seems that the articles dealing with "hot topics" are emailed by the readers. 

4. There are indeed blogs on the site. The bloggers appear to know a lot on their particular topic that they write about. 

5. Yes, readers are free to leave comments and have discussions over articles, blogs, and opinion pieces. 

6. The site does use audio clips and video. There is actually a tab at the top of the page dedicated to numerous video reports that you can view here. Also, there is an audio clip on the homepage of nytimes.com if you browse around the front page. 

Alex Jimenez, Marielle Knemoeller, Yannis Koutroupis, Liz Lackey

Top Three Stories :

Big Government to the Rescue:

In this story, the reporter is explaining how we are repeating a similar trend as in the early 1900's, which is familiar with many of us as the Great Depression. The article gives warnings and possible solutions to the problems we are currently undergoing. The government is demanding more of a regulation towards the market economy.

A Close Tie Between Opposing Nominees:

The second story features the latest polling information regarding the 2008 presidential election. The poll explained that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are almost tied in electoral votes needed to win in swing states. The main feature is a map highlighting which candidate won more states. There isn't as much story analysis as there is statistics and results of the poll conducted.

Winning in Afghanistan:

Newsweek's aritlce, "Winning in Afghanistan" is a question and answer session with Thomos Johnson, an Afghanistan expert and professor at Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Johnson is critical of the United States, saying that we are focusing too much on the urban parts of the country rather than the rural areas. Johnson divulges into his personal strategy regarding how we should handle the situation in Afghanistan while using his personal experiences in the country to strengthen his point. Newsweek had a fairly large sized photo of a soldier in Afghanistan that you can see above as the cover picture on their story reel. He's laying down with a gun in an area that appears to be secure, which could be viewed as something that helps aid Johnson's point that the soldiers are not being used properly.

Top 10 Requested Topics:

Newsweek offers a link on
their web site where they list all of the
top ten most views stories as well as
the most shared stories through email.
The things that differ from the stories featured on the
front pages are more recent where as
the ones listed under most popular are
the peoples pick of which ones they
enjoyed and felt most impacte by.
hyperlink to view most popular/ emailed on NEWSWEEK
click me to see
Just scroll down and it should be on the right hand side

Newsweek Blogs:

Newsweek.com provides opportunities for people to post their opinions about the issues the website covers, through blogging. The bloggers include a mix of reporters, columnists, and political experts. Click here to view the blog entries.

Newsweek Reader Comments:

When clicking on a link to a story, the bottom of the webpage is reserved for comments regarding any issue the story covered. Although there aren't any message boards, users of the website still voice and see people's opinions in the Comment Section. The only downside to this site is that you have to be an online member or subscriber of the magazine to be able to post your comment.

Newsweek Video Clips:
Newsweek has video readily available at the top right of their homepage with commentary on some of the top news issues of the day. Their multimedia player has more options including a photos and on air tab. If you click the more tab you can look at all of the video files the site has on their database, the link is also available below. Click here to view the video clips.

CNN.com awesomeness blog

Mary Wienke
Tavia Young
Ashley Winkler

2. The top stories are hyperlinks it seems that the main one is the story of age progression techniques. It is odd that the stock market story is listed only as a hyper link and not as a main page story. However, it does seem that CNN.com is posting the newest stories to the main page of their sites rather than posting the biggest or need to know stories. The newest stories are as follows:
Cold Case: Bradley Sisters Man hunt for missing children
-This story takes up a third of the top of the main page including age progression pictures and a link to the Nancy Grace coverage of the story. Also, there is a summary of the story.
Latest News Links
-This also takes up a third of the top of the page but there are no pictures or summaries just hyperlinks to the stories.
Within the top of the main page there are also links to the latest video news and popular news stories. However, these are insignificantly placed compared to the latest news.

3. Yes CNN.com does offer links to the most popular news. We find it ironic that the most popular stories that they show, rather than being about Wall Street or the election, they are about pop culture and celebrity scandal. When you go to the link the top stories are actually about wall street and the election.





4. The site has a wide variety of bloggers mainly professionals in the areas of stock, politics such as Jack Caferty, and media, and as of Sept 24,2007 has also added the "young people who rock" option for younger internet viewers. there are also blogs for college student discussing issues that are affecting them.

5. During the exploration of CNN.com we found that there is a limit on viewer comments. Blogs have a comment feature but news stories do not. It seems that this is a way to keep news stories "objective" to a certain extent. Which is a plus to reading this site.

6. there is much opportunity to find news in the form of video. the site contains numerous links that provide the latest clips and T.V. covered stories. These clips range from media pleasing content such as coverage of Lance Armstrongs return to cycling. to political voter information and updates in progress to information about the enviornment and ways it is affecting us.