Teens Know What They Want Online

What previous studies told usWhat previous studies told us

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

How teens connect with news onlineHow teens connect with news online

• News is often just “too much”• They want to be informed and like when a

story “catches my eye”• Only somewhat interested – but very time

pressed • A struggle to engage; foreign language.

“Following the news” too daunting• They click away if it’s too hard

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

Current

sites are

great for

news junkie

s

6 cities, 12 focus groups, 96 teens

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

This overwhelmed themThis overwhelmed them

• Text-heavy

• Photos don’t inform

• Too many choices

• No clear hierarchy

• Lists of headlines assume familiarity with the news

• Jargony

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

This really turned them offThis really turned them off

• Long, undifferentiated text

• Requires protracted engagement

• Doesn’t entice them

• No clear exit

They hated They hated this home this home

pagepage

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

•What’s important?•Too much info •Too many choices•Too much clicking•Pictures too small to be enticing

This This home home pagepagedidn’t didn’t offer offer

enoughenough

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

This disappointed them

They do want to be informed

What teens really want What teens really want

1. A quick way to keep up

2. More help understanding

3. More help getting interested

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

That means… That means…

• Home pages must offer LESS–More like TV or radio– No-click overview with variety, selectivity

– Quickly and easily absorbed

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

That means… That means…

• Story pages must offer MORE–More like magazines – The story plus --- explanation, synthesis,

background– Multiple entry points

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

They liked this•Interesting•Understandable•Prioritized

This home This home page page

worked for worked for themthem

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

© 2009 Newspaper Association of America and Media Management Center

This story page attracted them

10 easy tips

10 easy tips

1. Don’t overload them.

2. Create home pages that satisfy.

3. Entice them to keep reading.

4. Summarize stories on the home page.

5. Include visuals with anything that matters.

10 easy tips

6. Convey what’s important with a clear visual hierarchy.

7. Beware of too much scrolling and clicking.

8. Provide background, explanation and context.

9. Break up information into manageable chunks.

10.Get rid of clutter.