Putin vs. Forestry Chief

On-line articles that are examined this week come from the Australian (The SMH) and the Russian (The Moscow News) websites. The story itself is about the sacked Russian Forestry Chief and it is not the most exciting content. Admittedly there is not much that can compliment this particular story. However I managed to find a couple of different on-line layouts of it.

First of all, the SMH (on your left) has a better title for the story as it is more explanatory. However the story itself is not complemented by any visual material at all which is hugely disappointing. The only distinctive feature of the article is the on-line advertisement that appears right in the middle of the article and does not add to its appeal at all.

The Moscow News (on your right) came up with a more creative layout for this relatively boring story. Straight after the headline there is a picture of Putin and Alexey Savinov, the sacked Forestry Chief. The shot is done in a way that Putin appears to be in the shadow (his face is almost unseen in the picture), however he is still powerful. Great picture to show that the Russian Prime Minister is still a powerful player on the political arena.

The only disappointing layout feature in the Moscow News article is the spacing. The paragraphs seem to be over spaced, therefore it is difficult to read it. Whereas the SMH has a nice clear layout with no additional spacing which makes it easier for the audience to read the story.

The Moscow Times also gives an option of commenting on the article. However this service is only available to the registered users and the comments that have been made are not visible to non-users. Unfortunately it is not particularly appealing for further interaction.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/putin-sacks-forestry-chief-over-fires-20100821-139a1.html
 
http://www.mn.ru/politics/20100823/188001244.html