Original story: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/09/WS5e65a333a31012821727d5ac.html
China Daily website published a news story about the lockdown of northern Italy to fight against coronavirus recently, which is basically an e-version of the actual newspaper. In terms of the BASIC principles, there are several problems in the article for online delivery:
- Brevity & Scannability-No chunk
There is no single break-up in the whole text even though the latter part of the article was summarizing the confirmed Covid-19 cases and death rate in other European countries. Apart from that, there is also no clear summary or bullet list to tell the story quickly
- Improvement: Add subheadings or hypertextual elements or separator
i.e. put a real time infographic to separate the Italy part and world part
- Adaptability & Scannability & Interactivity-No link
This news did not embed any link to clarify the background of the story. For example, the news mentioned that the lockdown has a “significant impact on Italy’s economy”. As a reader, I am quite interested in exactly how it is affected?
- Improvement: choose some keywords to embed the link
i.e. the news mentioned that the lockdown has a “significant impact on Italy’s economy”. As a reader, I am quite interested in exactly how it is affected?
It will make more sense when the below link is embedded in the keywords “Italy’s economy” to show readers the context and provide a proof.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/10/WS5e6703cba31012821727dd0c.html
- Adaptability & Scannability & Interactivity -Lack of Image or any other hypertextual medium
There is only one feature image dominating the page. As a result, the idea is not visually represented.
- Improvement: Add relevant photo or medium to enable readers to read in 4D
i.e. embed the video of Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announcing the order, placing 16 million people in 15 provinces in quarantine and telling them not to travel.
- Community-No place to comment
There is no area for readers to exchange their thoughts or make new contents.
- Improvement: Open an area for readers to make their points
On the other hand, SEO of China Daily seems fine. When the phrase “Italy Coronavirus” is searched, this news also shows up even its headline has neither of the words.
As you suggest in your analysis, the links included in your post should be embedded in text, not spelled out in URL form. They should also open in new tabs, not take your users away from your post. I like the suggestion you make for a related story that could be linked to in the original news story.
Where you use subheadings, rather than using a bullet point and bold text, use a heading tag (found at the top left of the visual post editor, a drop-down menu from ‘Paragraph’) – this will assist with SEO.
You refer to Bradshaw’s ‘BASIC’ principles – where you refer to readings, referencing in-text and at the end of your post is necessary.
You must caption images and identify the copyright holder (attribution).
At the end of your post you mention that even without the keyword ‘coronavirus’ the China Daily story shows up when you search for ‘Italy coronavirus’. Note that every Google search is personalised – so what appears first in a search by you won’t necessarily be the item ranked first in a search by me, using the same terms.
Overall good use of appropriate naming conventions for the features and functions of online news stories, and good suggestions for improvement. Your post exceeds the word count – it’s almost double. Stick to the brief.