OKC Picture Slideshow is OK
I chose to analyze the slide shows of Oklahoma City’s local newspaper The Oklahoman. The address is www.newsok.com and that’s what you see when go to the site right on the top of the page. (The website is powered by The Oklahoman, and it’s the self-proclaimed “the state’s most trusted news.”)
The photos are split up into categories: All, News, Sports, Business, Life, A&E, and Weather. The number of photos in each gallery range from as little as 5 and as much as 63 and more pictures.
The pictures are decent enough. The default setting of viewing the slide show is clicking your way to the next picture, which I think is the best way. It doesn’t automatically start going to the next picture unless you click the play button, giving the viewer full control of interactivity. The slide show shows each picture for five seconds. There’s also a button to click that will enlarge photos.
The types of pictures range from party pictures of locals watching the TX-OU game to a search of a missing family from Red Oak. I think the pictures can be compelling to locals. After all, proximity plays a key factor in local newspapers.
December 6, 2009 at 10:27 pm
The critical question: Do the slideshows enhance the stories, the website in anyway? Do they effectively engage the reader?