As more and more people turn away from the television and towards the internet for their daily news, the number of news sites available online is rapidly multiplying. A simple search for "Barack Obama" on Google News returns results from over 22,000 different news websites. This article will discuss one of the most popular news sites, CNN.com .

Design 

CNN.com sticks with a basic layout on their main page. There are no flashy graphics or large files to slow down loading times when opening the page, creating a more streamlined design for the site.

At the top of the homepage is a header with the different news categories. These categories are also reflected further down the page with the top stories for each category underneath. Underneath the header is a list of the hot topics for the day as well as a link to the weather forecast. When breaking news happens, a large red box appears with information on the story.

Below this information is the main story with a large picture as well as a brief summary. To the right of the story of the day is a box containing any news videos as well as various options to stream live news events off of the CNN television channel. Also included in this block of the website is a list of the latest stories as well as a section that shows the stories that are the most popular for the day.

Characteristics of the Web 

CNN.com takes advantage of the fact that the internet is such an interactive medium. CNN.com offers polls for its readers to weigh in on big issues in the news and see how others feel about the issues. However, I feel that CNN.com could provide its readers with more interactivity by enabling a discussion board to allow readers to comment on stories.

The sheer amount of content on CNN.com illustrates the capacity of the web. CNN.com is constantly adding stories, videos and audio to the site, providing its readers with something new to read every time they visit. CNN.com also utilizes the permanence of the web by allowing its readers to search for stories that have been archived.

Because CNN.com is not the online version of a printed newspaper, all of the stories are written directly for the web. Because of this, the stories match the characteristics of good web writing. CNN.com uses short paragraphs, with precise, concise wording that makes the story easy to scan through.

However, CNN.com could insert more bulleted or numbered lists into its stories. The use of subheadings would also further break up the text. This would make it even easier for readers to quickly read through the stories.

Linking 

The site uses inline links within the stories to link to various "Topics Pages" within CNN.com. For example, clicking on the link for Detroit takes the reader to a page with links to other stories on the city. There are also links placed throughout the story that will take the readers to various videos. Each of these videos is pertinent to the section of the story where it is placed.

Additional links at the bottom of each story allow the reader to learn more about the various topics discussed in the story.

Reader Services 

CNN.com offers its readers many services. From RSS feeds to e-mail subscriptions to topics you are interested in, as well as mobile alerts or breaking news alerts delivered to your e-mail, CNN.com enables its readers to stay up-to-date anywhere they go.

Improvements 

If I were a producer for CNN.com, there is not much that I would change. As mentioned earlier, a moderated discussion board would be beneficial to the site. I would also make sure that the level of content remained high and continue to maintain the quality of writing and reporting.

One of CNN.com's assets as a news website is its ability to keep content up-to-date and report breaking news as it happens. By continuing to utilize this asset, CNN.com can keep its traffic up and remain competitive as one of the most popular news websites on the internet today.