In my opinion, two of the most important ideas brought up in the Basic Principles of Online Journalism are brevity and scannability. Typically I am surfing online while engaged in other activities. More often than not I am looking at stories between activities while I am at work or trying to look at something quickly while taking care of my son. I rarely am online for the sole purpose of reading a story. While there are blogs and news sites that I visit with some regularity, normally I’m going to look something up, or check my email and a headline will catch my eye.
If there are other people like me, and I believe there are many, usually reading a story is treated almost like a distraction. I need to get the important information from the story in as little time as possible. This is what makes a brief story and a story that is easy to scan so important. I like the idea that brevity does not necessarily mean shortening the story, but can also mean breaking up the story in a way that makes it easier for users to read.
The other principles highlight the fact that information on the web is adaptable and in a way can be tailored to meet the needs of each user. A brief, scannable story is the most important thing to me because I don’t have much time. A story with a lot of ways to interact with the story may be more important to someone who has more time to explore various links. The ability to post comments is often important to people particularly interested in a specific topic. With online journalism, the author has the ability to create all of these stories in one.
