Radio Farda Web Review
A Vision for Tomorrow
Introduction:
Radio Farda's new website creates an expectation in its viewers that they are facing an online news website. Nevertheless, just a bit deeper glance reveals that the site is not capable of sustaining this initial expectation but rather opens up some essential weaknesses both in its contents and layout.
The following is a brief review of some of these problems. The time window for this review is during the visits made to the site in the first week of July 2004.
In brief, this review contends that the lack of professional vision on the part of the Radio Farda website people is the basis of its the shortcomings which unfortunately undermines the professionalism of the producers et al.
(This review has been prepared by Daryoush Mohammad Poor, Mehdi Jami, who is a journalist and Danial Keshani, web designer and graphist)
[This review has been originally published in The Iranian]
Review:
A) Lack of order and consistency in the appearance of the pages.
1. Images do not have a fixed size. One can easily spot this with a quick look at the Persian and English pages of the website. On the English page (Saturday, 3rd July) for example, there are 11 images with 11 different sizes.
2. Titles do not follow up a specific pattern and are at times too long with no journalistic logic. For example, see the first headline of page one on 1st July.
3. News teasers do not follow any word limitation. They are, thus, as lengthy and at times as excessive as the titles are.
4. Page templates can be termed as “elastic” i.e. columns and other elements of pages are not fixed and move arbitrarily as elements of pages change.
5. In some cases, one can see blank lines and in others paragraphs are not separated properly (e.g. see the last line of each column with the title of the column beneath it).
6. The design of the page is basic and the template is not properly contained (see 4 above) by the designer. (See also the details of the unprofessional style of design and the designer for that matter in the Appendix).
B) Wasting the space of the page
1. Headlines missing: The ticker which is welcoming the reader to the new website of Radio Farda can be easily replaced with the main three news headlines of the day. Also, the welcome message suits a (personal) weblog rather than one for a professional and reference news website.
2. Empty spaces: Empty spaces in the pages do not follow an aesthetic logic and therefore they are not attractive at all. The only use of these empty and blank spaces is making the page unattractive.
3. Redundancy: Redundancy is the main problem in language and page designs. Here, we just underline a few examples:
3.1. Voice/Voice: Using ‘audio’ (link) twice (in the links to different audio formats), for each story makes the page visually unattractive. Moreover, this may send a wrong message. The intelligent viewer learns easily that each news item has an associate audio link. He should not be told of this twice. A proper icon should be designed to do this.
3.2. Full text: Putting the phrase ‘Full Text’ is a clear example of redundancy. Any internet user obviously knows that for reading the full text of a news story, he should click on the link or the image. This repetition is patronizing the reader, at its best.
3.3. Date: Another example of redundancy is the use of the date and time of each story at the bottom of each news item in the main page. Such information is usually provided inside the link when it is opened. Using such pieces of information in the main page on the one hand lengthens the page unnecessarily and on the other fills the page with similar thus tiring information elements.
4. Repetition of the exact piece of news in one page: In some pages, materials in the side columns are exactly the same as the materials in the main columns. For example, look at the page of ‘Science and Culture’ on Wednesday, 7th July; the three first items of the main column are exactly repeated in the side column; (Diana’s memorial site in Hyde Park, a film on immigration from an Iranian filmmaker, The Ten Commandments (of Moses) in an exhibition in Germany). Surprisingly, exactly the same layout and order appears on all pages from World and
5. News photos: News photos of the current website are apparently decorative; while with a journalistic web oriented vision in mind one can easily use news related photos.
6. Section titles: Presently, section (genres) titles i.e. the titles of other pages are actually crammed into the banner of the page with small fonts, such that despite sufficient space in the page, these titles-- which are the key to other pages - are not properly highlighted. Also, some titles such as ‘About us’, if not extra, they should not be, in the least, on top of the page. These links are usually fitted at the bottom of the page. Generally speaking, the distribution of page and section titles is not at all on the basis of journalistic weight, value and credit.
C) Update issue
Many examples can be quoted for this issue. The most important one at the time of browsing (Thursday 1st July) can be seen in the Sports column. While the result of the match between Greece and the Czech Republic is known for 5 hours, the latest sports news of this page is speaking about the victory of Portugal against Holland. Either there should not be a sports column in the flux of a major sports events or it should be regularly updated. Among the political issues, one can mention the afternoon news story on Wednesday, 7th July on the main page, which remained unchanged until the afternoon of Thursday, 8th July: The warning of the Iranian Defence Minister on Tehran’s relinquishing its nuclear commitments in case there is an invasion on Iran. Keeping these in mind would users trust the site as a reliable reference media source and would they then bother to come back?
Materials on the side bar of the page are not changed regularly. This may be the result of skeleton staff or the result of the periodical nature of these materials such as ‘New Outlook’ [Nigaah Taazeh]. However, this is not true in all cases. But whatever the case the periodical nature of certain materials should be properly imparted to viewers.
In the English page, on Saturday 3rd July, the main news items belong to two or three days ago and even one new item does not exist.
Archives: Contrary to the previous archiving system (the old site) which enjoyed some relative organization in accessing material, the current system of archiving is completely disorganized and out of date. The major reason for this is perhaps the recent change from the old to new site. However, it would be better if such an archive based on the name of reporters and producers would not have been set up on the page before the completion of website design. Those viewers who are familiar with the previous lay-out of the site immediately recognize this lack of order and the obvious weakness of the website.
D) Not following the rules of producing main news items:
1. Visiting the website on different days, one can notice an over-emphasis on news item about
2. In the layout of the front page, the place of the main news item and the manner of its presentation or rather selling it should be changed. In the website of Voice of
3. The title ‘News in Brief’ for what it is other news items or world news seems confusing. There are main news items, news in brief and also world reports. Divisions should be straight forward and clear and free from repetition.
4. Although issues mentioned in this review relates mainly to the Persian website of Radio Farda, the major concerns raised here also apply to the English website; for instance, in terms of classification of news items. Here, we just mention one point: Classifying news items into diplomacy, trial, controversy, dialogue, pilgrimage, nuclear and legal (based on a visit on 3rd July) is not based on journalistic principle. Items such as controversy, pilgrimage and even nuclear are not genres but more subject matter and arbitrary.
E) Lack of Professional Vision
We believe you would agree with us in saying that the aforementioned points show that the main problem of Radio Farda website is the absence of a professional vision. Moreover, this lack of professionalism more or less reflects itself in the layout, arrangement, choice of design and images and even the language used. The predominant vision in the site apparently suggests a sort of tabloid oriented trend rather than a serious journalistic vision.
A clear example of this sort of vision is the ‘Free Subscription’ tag on the first page. Many news and non-news websites encourage their users to visit them by inviting them to register in the site for e-alerts on the users’ e-mails; but none of these sites ever speak of a free subscription and almost in all cases even if they do so, they would never advertise it boldly on their front page flag banner. (See: Tajik website of the Radio Liberty which shows this kind of subscription at the bottom of the page).
We mentioned earlier that the value and the weight of titles and sections of Radio Farda website are not clear and this is in fact an evidence of the lack of a professional vision.
In fact, the webmaster has inserted two different pieces of news under one title. The interesting point is that even in the text of the report both news items are incorporated without any space and at first glance one imagines that this is one piece of news. This mistake has apparently occurred or been justified because the reporter of both news items is one person!
It appears that the problem of the incorrect distribution and arrangement of news items as discussed above lies mostly with those keeping the day-to-day affairs of Radio Farda website rather than the organization’s radio reporters and producers. In other words while the Radio Farda uses the expertise of professional and experienced reporters and producers, this is apparently not the case with Radio Farda website. Radio and web are two different medium. A piece for radio broadcast is not necessarily a web piece. Each medium has its own individuality and specific features which should be properly addressed.
Conclusion:
Radio Farda website is currently an audio based news website. This particular feature should be defined clearly at least in short term and as long as the site remains an extension of the radio service of Radio Farda. And the site’s viewers should be “trained” accordingly.
In medium term, the best solution perhaps could be the gradual separation of the website from its mother i.e. the radio to become and independent internet media not a secondary source for those who have not managed to listen to the news and programs of Radio Farda.
However, one can also think of interim solutions as well. If the website of Radio Farda is to be fed by the radio programs, this policy can be kept while at the same time by spending sometime and energy (such as creating simple single shift schedule) produce proper up to date news items.
Even if the existing policy is to be continued, committing to certain simple rules is vital; for example no program should be merely an audio item, but it should also be accompanied by a text which gives a synopsis of the item.
Finally, this simple point has to be indicated once more that the language of radio is different from that of writing and particularly web materials. Any reconstruction of the site towards a professional one cannot ignore this fact. Language is the backbone and the credibility of any news website.
Suggestions:
1. Redesigning the website of Radio Farda taking into account all professional, aesthetic and applied factors.
2. Taking advantage of an experienced team of journalists familiar with the language and world of the internet in selecting and using materials for the website. Such journalists ought to be sensitive to news and news language and familiar with the web and creative photo journalism.
3. Being mindful of the principle that any radio material is not necessarily an internet/written material. Materials for the web ought to be ‘selected’ and ‘edited’ accordingly.
4. Removing the English website and devoting the entire energy to the Persian website. With regard to the diversity and variety of English news websites, it does not seem that the English website of Radio Farda would really have a lot of visitors particularly in its current status. Therefore, probably the best solution, at least in medium term, would be to forgo the English website and spend all the energy on improving the Persian website.
5. Constant monitoring of the number and diversity of readers and users through websites such as Red Sheriff and reflecting them in the method of selecting and preparing material.
Appendix
Criticisms of the Page Design
Although studying the structural weaknesses of the internet website of Radio Farda includes various major and minor issues, all the items addressed in the following as defects or technical problems together form a single spirit which is suggested by the website in the first encounter and later use of the website to the user. The purpose of mentioning these items is merely to change this overall structure.
Overall appearance and setting
The overall appearance of the website, design and setting of different elements and the choice of colors are extremely unorganized and, shall we risk saying, upsetting. Any news agency and website which has the objective of informing its audience requires creating a sense of confidence in them. Thus, the level of this confidence can determine the qualitative degree of the website. The viewer who wishes to obtain information needs to have confidence in the material and believe that the source is a stable and consistent source. This characteristic has to be reflected in all aspects of the website and its services. News production and its presentation on the website are factors which give confidence to the referred that one can trust the news produced on this website.
This point (i.e. instilling a positive sense) is an important principle in a news website which is generally producing news and has to be taken into consideration in web design.
After a comparison of the websites of BBC Persian, Voice of America and Radio Farda, one can easily grasp the structural differences of Radio Farda website with the other two sites. Crowdedness, inconsistency, strong colors and overall the disorder of page elements are among the major differences of Radio Farda website with the other two.
· The absence of tabling and orderly divisions: Divisions in the website of BBC Persian are so organized that one can easily take its template for the purpose of publication and designing a printed version for a newspaper.
· Tabling in a manner that the eyes and mind of the reader automatically distinguishes between major and minor items and proper use of space. The page space in the websites of BBC Persian and Voice of America are fixed, the table of the main page does not change with different resolutions. This item has been ignored in Radio Farda website by putting a 100% table which contributes to the instability of the pages and further suffocation in the pages. In 1024 resolution the entire page is filled from both sides and there is no empty space in it.
· In confirmation of the previous point, the upper half of the first page uses one form and the lower half uses another form. None of the halves have a specific theme.
· The menu is not located in an appropriate place. Main menu does enjoy the appropriate location and is placed somewhere which falls out of access by scrolling the page. In the other aforementioned websites, the menus exist in their customary locations and they are in a form that traditionally the eyes of the visitor expect them to be. A reference website must remain faithful to classic principles of web design as far as possible.
· Extremely bad design of headers: For example, the photo for the ‘Negaah Taazeh’ column depicting feminine eyes more than anything else resembles the designs, shall we risk saying, behind road trucks in
· Main color theme of the site: One can ask the question, by looking at the other two websites, why both the websites of BBC and VOA have used a blue theme of color along with a background of gray and white in a neutral way? Why have they not used a combination of blue and orange or blue and yellow which are known as reviving in primitive books?
· Disarray in all elements: Disarray is such that the photos of the main page and photos of other pages each follow a different size pattern. For example, the size of one photo is 112X150 pixels and the photo below it is 114X170 pixels.
· Use of Flash pictures which is constantly moving on top of the page in the live section buttons next to the logos of Windows Media Player and Real Player. Which credible news website really uses animated gifs of flash files in the website? Has the use of these animated pictures been really necessary?
· Buttons design which is clearly reflected in the search and correspondent archives design. Using buttons which are bevelled has been outdated for a few years and generally web designers have turned to using solid elements.
· Colored bar on the right hand side of the page does not really seem to have any function. The bar is right next to the small and big photos such that there is no space between this coloured bar and the photos.
· In spite of all the disarray, a box exists for sending messages with a free size and out of the page template. Was there really no better location for placing this box?
· The welcome ticker of Radio Farda’s new website has made it very, shall we say immature. Novices of HTML and FRONTPAGE are among the most frequent users of this technique.
· The website logo which is expected to play the main element of communicating and cast its shadow on the other aspects of the website is really weak. Looking at the logo of BBC Persian, for example, one can see the integrity and professionalism in the header and logo design, which is missing in Radio Farda.