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Monday
No one leaves the Arctic alone
This week’s stories have to deal with the threat of the “Arctic Invasion”. The subject has been out in the press for a couple of years now.The subject of Russia led by Mr. Putin wanting to invade the Arctic due to its oil resources is quite political and can be quite dull in its coverage. For example, the SMH news website reprinted the story from the Associated Press and did not even try to make it more interesting to read. No one would read this short story to the end unless they are particularly interested in the Arctic policy.
I found an article on the same subject that dates 2007 (on your left). The article comes from the dailymail.co.uk. The dailymail.co.uk complemented the article with great imaginary. What to put in the article about Mr. Putin and the Arctic? Of course, a picture of Putin in a traditional military hat, the picture of the North Pole and the picture of polar bears at the North Pole. Everyone just loves Polar Bears!
Despite all of this entertaining imagery the content of the article proved to be surprisingly well researched and interesting to read. The journalist found a new twist for the news story by including the comments that came from the director of the Greenpeace in the UK. For example this one: "If you take that to its logical conclusion, Canada could claim Russia and the whole of Eurasia as its own." Besides the article in the dailymail.co.uk did receive comments, that is a good indication of a reader’s interest.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-464921/Putins-Arctic-invasion-Russia-lays-claim-North-Pole--gas-oil-diamonds.html
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-464921/Putins-Arctic-invasion-Russia-lays-claim-North-Pole--gas-oil-diamonds.html
Still married, are we?
It looks like the Russian Prime Minister is still married and that is indeed, news to everyone. The articles that cover this topic are both of good quality and worth reading.
The first article examined today comes from the Australian. The Australian in its turn reprinted the article from the Times. Interestingly enough it’s impossible to access the same article on the Times website, as the articles there are only for subscribers.
Tony Halipan, The Times reporter, wrote an article that is impossible to stop scrolling down till one finishes reading it. He starts with a captivating lead, indicating that Mrs. Putin is not wearing a wedding ring on her right hand. He comes back to it late in the story, explaining that in Russia people wear a ring on their left hand (and Mrs. Putin had a ring on her left hand) if they are divorced or widowed.
The author moves the story forward with the rumours that have been going on for years about Putin being married to Ms. Kabaeva ( a former Olympic gymnast). Ms. Kabaeva just had a baby boy and there’s much speculation about it being Putin’s son. The story is complimented by a close up shot Mr. And Mrs. Putin, wearing the same coloured clothes that, as a matter of fact, matches the sofa as well.
The story in the UK Telegraph is less detailed but still covers the subject matter well. Osborne focuses his story more on Putin rather than on his wife. It looks like it would have been a better option to do it the other way around (like the Times did) as his wife did not appear in the media for a considerable period of time. Nevertheless, it is a well written story that has footage of Mr. and Mrs. Putin speaking to the censor official.
Sources:
Happy Birthday, Mr. President!
Putin’s Calendar story got extensive coverage in all major media outlets around the world. The story itself being around the erotic calendar just seems to be the perfect story for the online world. This is the story that does scream for a picture or a picture gallery.
News.com.au (on your left) has done a really nice wireframe of the story. The story is complemented with quite a few candid images from the calendar. With these images up people are very likely to look through the story and to actually stay on the page for some time clicking through the picture gallery.
While covering the same story SBS news did not take advantage of the available images. On the contrary, it decided to complement the article by putting the picture of topless Putin in front of a stud. There is quite an obvious comparison here of Mr. Putin to a stud, or it can argued that it’s just a picture.
The articles on both website come from the same source: the Associated Press. The article is written in an easy to read style that is relevant to the subject matter. There are many juicy details about Mr. Putin and his popularity in Russia. For example, information about the line of thong knickers with the slogan "Vova, I'm with you," using a nickname for Vladimir Putin that was launched in Russia.
Both articles use exactly the same text, but the pictures made all the difference. The idea of using extensive imagery worked really well for the news.com.au. The article received 536 likes on Facebook and 21 retweets. The article from SBS.com.au did not provoke any comments or likes.
Just to add on the subject of the Mr. Putin being a macho man, there’s a link to the YouTube video about how any girl wants a man just like Putin. The video has English subtitles and was filmed during the years of Putin’s presidency. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk_VszbZa_s&feature=related
Sources:
www.PUTIN2012.ru
With 2012 approaching there’s much speculation in the press about Putin’s great come back to power. As Andrew Osborne notices ‘in the eyes of many Russians he never left’. These stories focus on the appearance of putin2012.rf websites, that obviously shows the intention of the Russian Prime Minister to run for a presidency in 2 years time.
Sydney Morning Herald sourced the article from the Associated Press. It looks like they simply reprinted it without adding any pictures to the article or without an effort making it more engaging for the online audience. The SMH website in general does not have a straightforward layout. It took good couple of minutes to figure out how an article can be shared on the social network websites as the buttons (Facebook and Twitter) are not obvious and blend with the background.
The Telegraph’s article appears to be much more engaging for the online reader. First of all, there’s a picture and that is almost a must in the online world. Secondly the article itself is more interesting to read. Andrew Osborne who writes for The Telegraph in the UK finds a more exciting angle for the story. He compares the years of Putin’s presidency to the year’s of Medvedev’s presidency, noting that Medvedev does not have a registered domain for 2012. Besided Osborne comments on the current actions of Putin ( e.g. Mr Putin spent the summer burnishing his macho man-of-action credentials hanging out with bikers, piloting a fire fighting plane, and completing a rugged road trip across Russia's Far East) that leave us in no doubt of the Putin’s intentions.
The Telagraph’s article is a better choice for this topic as not only it is well presented, it is thoroughly researched and adds more interesting details to the original news story.
Putin vs. Roosevelt
The following articles deal with the speculation that Mr. Putin is going to run again for a presidency in 2012. They are based on the fact that Putin compared himself to Roosevelt in one of his speeches, therefore he hinted that he will be coming back to the office. . The authors of the articles draw parallels between Putin and Roosevelt. These presidents are known for having long political careers and quite picturesque figures in the history of both countries: the USA and Russia.
Both websites have done a good job in laying out the articles online. The wireframes are complemented by pictures of Putin. However AOL News went further and portrayed Putin next to Roosevelt which made an article more visual (on your left).
Both articles have hyperlinked words, like Russia or Putin, etc. For some reason this phenomena has not been noticed much on the Australian websites, it more seen on the international websites. It is quite useful to have hyperlinked words in the articles as it allows to access information with one simple click, which is valuable in the online environment.
The article by AOLlnews.com is written in a good style, almost conversational, however the piece seems to be too long for the online story. I could not finish reading the story. The article by NY times is more formal in style, however more concise. The author managed to fit the same information in a less number of words and made it more suitable for the online format.
A Vacation Man
This blog post will be dedicated to the story about Mr. Putin going on holidays to Siberia. Although there has been much news coverage in all major news outlets, I would only like to focus on one and it comes form the Guardian. In my opinion the Guardian covered the story in the best possible manner.
First of all, there’s a great title, “Vladimir Putin: Action Man at Play”. It is surely to get a lot of attention by the audience and by Google search engines. The lead of the article is quite sarcastic as it suggests that Mr. Putin, being portrayed topless all the time, surely must be naked in the water. It is intriguing and makes the reader want to browse through the gallery.
The journalist chose an unusual angle and compared Mr. Putin to the other world leaders who try to hide from the Press on their vacations rather than inviting them over to take shots. The article got much attention from the readership and provoked the debate in the comments. Of course, not all the comments were positive, but the article managed not to get lost in the online world.
This is a very picturesque story. The article itself is complimented with the video of Mr. Putin on vacation. However, the Guardian went further and did take advantage of the available images from the Associated Press. The Guardian also put its own comments beneath each photo. One can open the gallery in a separate window and enjoy high-quality shots of Mr. Putin. What is probably more enjoyable are the comments that the Guardian journalist left underneath each photo. For example, this photo is followed by this comment.
“Swimming ... Putin, all rippling muscles and vigorous torso, gives us his best butterfly stroke. Looks cold, doesn't it?”
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