Wreck This Newspaper
DTC_355 Rhetorical Analysis Web-text
The Wenatchee World, analysis
Organization.
In the image above, we see The Wenatchee World uses a modified 3-column format, with horizontal strips containing its Table of Contents (TOC) running along top. The main news story photo is large and centered. There is a “dead” space running vertically along both sides of the webpage, which in some news websites contain vertical ads. (This could be a source of lost revenue.)
The main categories are in all-cap bold type, i.e. LATEST HEADLINES, with subheads in blue or another color. The middle column is broken into a two-column format in the center for Blogs, Lifestyle, Opinion, and Business, not seen, but visible by clicking the link below.
Proximity.
As we see here, the newspaper name is located top left, so it is easily seen upon opening the web page, next to the weather image, which is directly below the name, with a banner ad in the center. In the previous image, the search box image appears on the right above the date. The TOC and the main advertiser’s banner ad are located in proximity and above the lead story photo and latest headlines.
Element.
In the image above, we see the many different elements that The Wenatchee World uses including static news photos and Masthead, Advertisements (banners and boxes), a Weather symbol, graphic images and charts, social media icons, lines, search box, type, and flash media. There are Drop-down menus for sub TOC. Social media icons are small and hard to find at top, center. Not seen in this image is the phone number featured as a live Skype call link, which is only visible in the Internet Explorer browser.
Emphasis.
The main feature story photo is large and centered so it is emphasized. Due to their very small size, the social media icons are de-emphasized. The center banner ad (LIBKE) has prominent emphasis, due to it’s positioning and multiple colors.
Summary.
The Wenatchee World does a good job appealing to its audiences and meeting its business objectives through its rhetorical strategy. With so many elements, (flashing, moving and colorful) newspapers are complex, and must rely on good organization and design to make their sites easy to navigate. Still, the ads are problematic, with their flashing images and colors, making the site somewhat cluttered and distracting. This site could emphasize its social media icons by placing the icons inside a yellow box and featuring a few more social media icons. It could also offer vertical ads to fill up the dead space on either side of the page.