In this technological time, apps have made it easier for those constantly on the go to look for, find, and acquire information, all in the palm of their hands. However, each news app has a specific and unique way of communicating information. Looking at FOX, CNN, and Apple News, this post will cover the rhetorical choices each makes by first comparing how they distribute the news.
With apps, design set up and easy navigation will play a huge role in the deciding factor of whether something will succeed or fail. The first news app this blog will examine is FOX News. Once the app is loaded, the user will see a headline for breaking and important news FOX News deems to be of significance or relevance. Below this headline, there will be other stories. These stories vary from coverage in the White House to reporting conditions overseas to sports. By doing this, FOX News covers a wide range of potential users whose interests differs as well, which ups the possibility of them returning to this app. The FOX News app also has a day-by-day COVID-19 tracking map concerning the recent outbreak, which shows both the world cases and U.S. cases. It is good to note when it comes to politics, nearly every story comes from a conservative perspective. However, this is not surprising as most of those who use FOX News as a source for information are largely conservative as well. The overall design of the app is well done.
At the bottom of the app there are five options: home, browse, watch, listen, and “for you.” Home is where the user can find the latest information on topics of significance that refreshes and updates throughout the day to keep the user in the know. The second option, browse, provides the choice to filter what they want to see. These options range from science, politics, opinion, world, and U.S. news. Browse also allows people to watch shows live and lets them know when their preferred news coverage will come on for viewing. However, if they would rather prefer to see past episodes or other live streams, they can click the watch button and continue from there. The fourth option allows users to listen to FOX News radio and podcasts of their choosing. The last option is the “for you” option. If there was a story the viewer was reading or watching and wanted to continue at another time they could simply tap the bookmark and save it to their “for you” to pick it back up later. However, where FOX delivers in design and having a variety of news, it lacks in easy navigation.
Navigation is just as important as design. Whether for a website or an app, if it looks good but is not functional users will throw the product away. Easy navigation is beneficial and crucial for overall user experience. Ready Art Work, which specializes in website design and marketing, stating an app or website “with disorganized navigation is like driving somewhere with hazy directions: you might get lost along the way because the route is hard to follow.” If there is a particular story the user wants to look for there is no search option. In addition, there is no sorting in the app. In the “for you,” the saved bookmarks pile up into no specific category making it hard to find a certain story later. The only filtering choice comes with the browse option, however, even then there is too much to go through to find exactly what the user is looking for.
Overall, it is a good app if someone wants to stay in the know as it happens. While the design is appealing and gives a wide variety of topics to choose from, unfortunately, when it comes to finding information, the task may seem a little daunting. If there was a certain story the user forgot to save, it may take them a long while to sort through numerous articles, videos, and podcasts just trying to find a specific story they would like to review again.
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