Breaking news provides an interesting look into a news website's online operations. As the front page is changed frequently and even dramatically, we can see how the outlet's--in this case, a cable news channel--priorities shift.
When I first took a look at MSNBC's page (image of the page as it appeared earlier here), the wildfire occupied a large but not dominant position. As you can see above, coverage of the blaze has upstaged the stories that appeared on the right side and were most prominent. they are now the ones in the rightmost column.
Not only is the shift welcome because it focuses on the breaking and important story of the Texas wildfire but it also has MSNBC leveraging its strengths more fully as a broadcaster of news. If you take a look at the older image, you'll see that only one link is a video. Now two are, and one of the images is from MSNBC's own Nightly News.
I don't have the connections to talk on the phone with MSNBC staffers and discuss how the page changed, but I can imagine what went down between the two screenshots. At around three, the story was still in its early stages, and the network only had time to pull a story and picture off the wire. Website visitors' attention was only beginning to shift from President Obama's speech on the economy — and related political concerns — to the Texas wildfires. Alongside all this, a tropical storm hit the coast, causing flooding. That story kept its position, but when NBC news covered it, it replaced the AP story with its own video.
The political stories, while de-emphasized, were also evolving. A story on Republican presidential contenders has taken top billing and a picture of Michelle Bachman has supplanted one of Obama. Meanwhile, a headline about the safety of fishing as a profession, near the very top in the earlier image, has disappeared altogether — a change for the better, in my opinion. News judgement is subjective, sure, but I don't why anyone would rank that with a presidential speech, a tropical storm and a wildfire.
When I first took a look at MSNBC's page (image of the page as it appeared earlier here), the wildfire occupied a large but not dominant position. As you can see above, coverage of the blaze has upstaged the stories that appeared on the right side and were most prominent. they are now the ones in the rightmost column.
Not only is the shift welcome because it focuses on the breaking and important story of the Texas wildfire but it also has MSNBC leveraging its strengths more fully as a broadcaster of news. If you take a look at the older image, you'll see that only one link is a video. Now two are, and one of the images is from MSNBC's own Nightly News.
I don't have the connections to talk on the phone with MSNBC staffers and discuss how the page changed, but I can imagine what went down between the two screenshots. At around three, the story was still in its early stages, and the network only had time to pull a story and picture off the wire. Website visitors' attention was only beginning to shift from President Obama's speech on the economy — and related political concerns — to the Texas wildfires. Alongside all this, a tropical storm hit the coast, causing flooding. That story kept its position, but when NBC news covered it, it replaced the AP story with its own video.
The political stories, while de-emphasized, were also evolving. A story on Republican presidential contenders has taken top billing and a picture of Michelle Bachman has supplanted one of Obama. Meanwhile, a headline about the safety of fishing as a profession, near the very top in the earlier image, has disappeared altogether — a change for the better, in my opinion. News judgement is subjective, sure, but I don't why anyone would rank that with a presidential speech, a tropical storm and a wildfire.
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