Traditional news sites link to web-based background info

Posted by John Burke on October 25, 2006 at 7:05 AM

The American television network CBS has begun providing its website visitors with background information through an agreement with Answers.com. Users of CBS.com can now click on selected terms while holding the 'alt' key to summon an Answers.com box with a short explication. The move echoes ideas already implemented by the New York Times.

In fact, the Times was the first media company to strike a similar deal with Answers.com back in September.

But by that time the Grey Lady had already implemented Times Topics with its site redesign in April 2006. Through Times Topics, users can click on a keyword in an article which will transport them to a page that lists all NYT articles concerning the subject. Quite frankly, it is a feature that could be developed further to include brief explanations of the subject before the listed articles. Maybe because of this underdevelopment, the Times decided to outsource background information to Answers.com.

Through the deal with Answers.com, it seems that the New York Times has taken a similar step to one which the Editors Weblog suggested here, to provide readers with a more thorough and informative news experience that only the virtually infinite space and interconnectivity of the Web allows.

Source: Media Post

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