NPR redesigns website to create a news destination

Zach Brand, in charge of technology for NPR's only efforts, wrote on NPR's InsideNPR blog that there were three goals behind the redesign. The first was to allow "greater freedom in how editorial staff could present content." The second was to improve the site's aesthetic design and make it more user friendly, and the third was to make publishing more efficient for journalists. According to his colleague Andy Carvin, the relaunch took 15 months to prepare. The tech team used Twiitter to provide a constant stream of updates during the roll out of the launch, and received comments from users.

The changes noted on the site include a simplified navigation structure that makes it easy to locate major topics such as news, arts and life and music. There are also highlights from these sections further down the page. Visitors to the site should be able to keep up news throughout the day: the top of the page shows the latest headlines which are updated regularly. The article pages have also been redesigned to be easier to read, and focus has shifted towards more visual story telling, including larger news photos and more slideshows, and interactive graphics such as that showing the US power grid. Users can choose which local radio station they would like the site to link to. Finally, the search engine has been updated and is intended to be more user friendly, both in terms of it being easier to locate stories, and more appealing to the eye.

In an interview with Newsweek, NPR CEO Vivian Schiller explained that NPR is transforming into a "fully functional news content organization, not just a radio company." She stressed that "radio is our core, our heart and soul," but "we have to make sure that we serve the audience wherever they want it." Currently, she pointed out, NPR's podcasts are the most downloaded in the news and information areas, so clearly many people are seeking out NPR news on the web.

The New York Times spoke to Kinsey Wilson, senior vice president and general manager of NPR Digital Media, who said that the changes to the site are part of a strategy intended to increase the organisation's share of the midday audience. The news site offers fully reported text versions of articles rather than only audio reports from NPR's radio programmes. "We think the midday experience is much more text-driven," Wilson told the NYT.

Schiller also told Newsweek that the redesign intends to give more of a presence to local radio stations, in an attempt to tackle the big void in local journalism. The new site aims to make it easier to find programming from local stations, and allows users to download their preferred shows, and offers transcipts. Accountability journalism is another of her priorities, she said.

The New York Times expressed concerns that the web and mobile changes would make it more convenient for listeners to bypass local stations. NPR is a membership organisation, partly financed by local public radio stations, the paper notes. And as these stations get much financing via local donations from listeners, they could suffer financially if they are cut out of the loop. Schiller said that NPR plans to try to remedy this by experimenting with letting users donate to specific local stations directly though the website.

It remains to be seen whether NPR listeners will in fact bypass local stations and what the effects of this might be. It will also be interesting to see the how NPR's move to become a destination news site could put it in competition with newspaper websites and other news outlets, as these seek new ways to monetise their online content.

Source: NPR, New York Times, Newsweek