Domino's CEO First To Go Undercover Tonight

The story is about the CEO of Domino’s Pizza, Don Meij’s appearance on the premiere episode of Channel Ten’s Undercover Boss Australia. It is contributed by the ‘Voxy News Engine’, appearing on Voxy.co.nz. The New Zealand-based news aggregator site culls its stories from “its community of bloggers”, “the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA)” and voluntary contributors.

The story begins with a background history of Meij, with a soundbite about what inspired him to start the business. It then goes into his reasons for taking part in the show, as well as his experiences going undercover among his frontline workers. He also shares that the hardest part of the whole experience was keeping his real identity a secret, and the lengths that he had to go to conceal that. The story then ends with a ‘plug-line’ for the launch episode tonight.

The story was serviceable, though it would’ve been more well-rounded if they had interviewed the TV show producer and one of the workers who interacted with Meij while he was undercover.

The main story is neatly isolated in a box with only the relevant text and images. Advertisement, ‘other news’, social networking links, and the comments are all compartmentalized in separate boxes, giving the site the most clean and tidy design aesthetic I’ve seen so far. The colour scheme of grey and a sickly-looking green don’t really appeal to me, but that’s just my personal opinion.

The main image is a simple logo of the company. It could be improved by including a portrait of Meij, or a screenshot from the show. A link to the official site could also possibly be included, though it is not necessary as that would be doing the network a favour beyond usual reporting. On the right sidebar, there is a Facebook group to ‘Like’ Voxy.co.nz. There is also a comment box near the bottom with unrestricted access to post your own opinions.

The feature I really like about this site is the social networking bookmark bar beneath the main story. The amount of compatible sites beyond the usual ‘Facebook’/’Twitter’ combo is impressive; ‘Delicious’ and ‘Digg’ are two great ‘bookmark/story-sharing’ sites that few websites take advantage of. This shows the versatility and knowledge of the site coders/creators to harness the story-promotion capabilities of the Internet.


http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/domino039s-ceo-first-go-undercover-tonight/5/67875

Eyes have it in owlish fantasy

This article is The Australian's report on the Australian-produced animated film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. It is written by Michael Bodey from The Australian.


The story begins with a background history of Animal Logic, the production studio, and its previous projects. It also describes the original books the movie was based on and the various voice talents in the cast. A few soundbites were taken from an interview with the film producer and co-founder of the studio, Zareh Nalbandian, with a mention of the box-office figures. Another interview subject was David Wenham, who voices one of the characters from the film. The two of them mostly quote and describe Zack Snyder, the director of the film, and while it may have been better to get a direct interview with Snyder himself, it's understandable since it's very difficult to secure an interview with him as he is busy working on another film at the moment.


The article then goes on to describe how the film is relatively dark and edgy for an animated film, how the Australian accents were no coincidence (it was to get government grants and made it easier for the actors to re-record their lines) and a brief summary of the plot, before concluding with an optimistic note on the budding Australian studio and a 'plug-line' for the film's release.


As a story, it is very successful in detailing the amount of effort and care that goes into producing a movie, and how it is difficult for startup studios such as Animal Logic to compete against stronger players in an already competitive industry. There were also unique insights into the financial funding, voice-acting and animation processes. As I've mentioned, it would be great if they had actually secured an interview with Snyder, but the two subjects were well-chosen and was more convenient for the reporter since they lived in Australia.


The site design is very clean and well-organised. Banner ads are few and non-obtrusive, and there's a Facebook 'Recommend' button at the top and various social networking 'favicons' at the bottom that allows the user to share the story. The Australian should be commended for its minimalist design.


However, it could do with greater user interactivity. The article is strangely absent of a main image, and it would be better if there was a screenshot gallery and an embedded video player for the trailers. There is also no Comments section for user feedback and opinions. It plays as a more high-class, 'top-down' approach serious journalistic site, but it sacrifices user interaction and multimedia content in the process.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/eyes-have-it-in-owlish-fantasy/story-e6frg8n6-1225931198803

Newly hotted-up Top Gear hits screens

This article is a preview report on the upcoming Top Gear Australia series. The piece appears on the Sydney Morning Herald and is written by wire service AAP.

It begins with soundbites from host Shane Jacobson, a popular Australian comedian and actor. There is also a brief background on how it used to be shown on SBS for two seasons before the Nine Network bought the rights.

The show will launch with The Ashes Special, a crossover pilot with the original UK version which pits the British hosts (Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond) against the Aussies (Jacobson, Ewen Page and Steve Pizzati).

The article then goes on to describe the various challenges that will be attempted in the episode, some of which Jacobson candidly admits is “not so much about driving skills” but “bravery and stupidity”.

Jacobson also describes the friendly rivalry between the two teams and is quick to discredit the inevitable comparisons between the two versions’ hosts. The story ends with a ‘plug-line’ for the show.

The headline is not really attention-grabbing, and I feel a more automotive-themed pun or clever wordplay can be employed. There is an intrusive Google ad for a credit card company between the headline and the main image. On the left at the top of the sidebar is an interesting feature which informs the reader if anyone else who is his/her friend on Facebook is reading the article as well, with an option to share the story on the social networking site. There is also a ‘Comment on Twitter’ and a ‘Read tweets’ hyperlinks, but the latter directs to a dead link.

The main image serves its purpose, though it would be better if there was an embedded link to a higher-resolution version. On the left of the first few paragraphs, there are ‘Related Coverage’, ‘Top Entertainment articles’ and ‘Story Tools’ links that encourage site exploration. On the right are TV reviews with star ratings, also serving the same purpose. There is a distracting bank banner ad a quarter way through the piece which interrupts the reader’s ‘eye tracking’ through the story.

After the story there are even more Google ads, followed by a ‘More Related Coverage’ box with a link to a ‘Reviews’ page and a related news story on the enigmatic test driver ‘The Stig’. Scrolling towards the bottom, a pop-up slides in from the bottom-left of the browser, before disappearing after the user keeps scrolling on or leaves it for a few seconds. The pop-up is a link to a Princess Diana film story under the heading ‘Also In Entertainment’, and again, it encourages user ‘site inertia’. The pop-up reminds me of those digital on-screen graphics we see on TV shows after commercial breaks that quietly promote or remind the viewer of upcoming shows in the programming schedule.

Overall, the story serves its purpose of putting in a good word for the show, but it would’ve been better if they had interviewed the other UK and Aussie hosts. Design-wise, SMH could do with less distracting banner ads directly placed in its piece, and should arrange them to the side so as to not break the reader’s ‘flow’. The little pop-up that appears upon scrolling to the end of the title is a clever strategy to invite the reader to explore another story on the site, and is a nice touch.


http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/newly-hottedup-top-gear-hits-screens-20100926-15s63.html

Kate Ritchie's wedding day just perfect with Stuart Webb in wedding photo

The article is about Kate Ritchie and Stuart Webb’s wedding day and photos, as reported by The Daily Telegraph and posted on news.com.au.

The article describes the closed wedding amongst family and friends on Satruday, while giving background information of the two famous personalities. There is an entire paragraph devoted to Ritchie’s bridal outfit and Webb’s gown suit. It then goes on to describe the wedding event in further detail before concluding with a soundbite from the couple and forwarding their appeal to donate to Camp Quality, a charity organization.

The story is successful because it was short and succinct. For a report on a high-profile celebrity wedding, there’s not much to write about beyond who the couple are, how did the ceremony take place, and the opinions of observers. It would’ve helped if the article had named the sources that described Ritchie as “deliriously happy.”

The online presentation is decent and functional. There are two main images that can be toggled back and forth, and another side image beside the story. There is a ‘Recommend’ button for Facebook users to share the story on the social networking site, and a ‘Retweet’ button for the same purpose, but on the microblogging site Twitter. There is a neat bullet-point summary beneath the main image, with a hyperlink to the picture gallery. It would’ve been more efficient for the user if the gallery was embedded in the main image instead of being hosted on a separate page. There is also a video ad that plays while loading the gallery page, which thankfully has the sound muted and an option to skip the ad given. However, it would be ideal if there wasn’t one in the first place as it might only annoy the reader who has to click the ‘Skip’ link.

There is an embedded video beneath the side image that is a video report from Sky News. All the necessary video controls such as pause, time slider, volume control, and full-screen mode are available. There is a ‘Related Coverage’ sidebar that is left-aligned opposite the video. The two elements squeeze the paragraph into a narrow strip, which while still legible, is a little difficult to read smoothly.

There is a comments box, as well as an entry box to post your own comments. Signing up is not necessary, and there are post options to remember your personal details and email you once the comment is published.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/kate-ritchies-wedding-day-just-perfect-with-stuart-webb-in-wedding-photo/story-e6frfmyi-1225929773717