Some things never change. This time of year that little jingle is paired mostly with taxes, but for those of us who've grown up with the New York Times and NPR as our primary news sources, even the smallest changes attract tons of attention. Not bad attention, just palpable notice.
Yes, like millions of other
New York Times online readers, I've lost my equilibrium - if only a little and for a fleeting moment or two - upon discovering that "something happened to the layout!" It didn't take more than a couple of blinks to spot the
explanatory editor's note from Editor in Chief, Leonard M. Apcar. So it wasn't a late April fool's joke...
No, it was Progress. He explains the goals of the change that's apparently been in the works for over a year:
- simpler and more useful format
- expanded page layout for today's larger monitors
- improved navigation for quick and easy searching
- give readers a greater voice
- sprinkle a little more serendipity via links to popular content
- give readers "the digital equivalent of what you might otherwise have delivered to your doorstep in the morning."
- quick and easy access directly to video presentations
- create topic pages to aggregate Times information by subject
- personalize reader experience with MyTimes, a utility for organizing your favorites (including non-Times sources!) with guidance of Times editors, reporters and critics
Interestingly, nowhere is there mention of the influence of blogs on the redesign, except obliquely (greater voice and serendipity). Well, that's not exactly true,
the blogosphere is a abuzz with the rather obvious observation:
"But the blog influence on the Times isn’t just limited to issues like screen real estate or the team behind the scenes, it’s visible in the aesthetic and the content of the new site as well... There’s a clear, open aesthetic, with lots of white space and a link-rich footer to help guide you around the site... The content of the new site shows how important blogs are to the Times web team, as well. Tabs at the top make blog-friendly content like most popular stories and videos easily accessible. And there’s a new section listing the most blogged stories on the site. Deeper in the site, the venerable Newsroom Navigator has been updated."
If you're thinking, "Ahem, George, I'm not sure the NYTimes online redesign is exactly Meandering Margaux territory..." you might be on to something. Or you might not. When was the last time you spent an afternoon flaneur-ing without a copy of the Times under your arm? Or at least the Trib so you could "eavesdrop" on the Times?
Truth is, four years living in France and Italy beginning in 1999 formed my
NYTimes.com habit in a pretty irreversable manner. I suspect their are plenty of other global nomads out there too who take their daily dip into
NYTimes.com and who's initial surprise was quickly replaced with satisfaction this weekend. Kudos, Apcar and crew! I share
Media Nation's exhuberance:
"This looks like a big step forward for a newspaper Web site that was already among the best."
