Criteria for Evaluation
The major criteria for the survey
of the three network's information delivery mechanisms will be divided into
three categories. First, the graphic design of the pages will be analyzed.
This discussion will concentrate on layout issues, as well as aesthetic
appeal of the pages themselves. Next, since currency can present a problem
for World Wide Web pages, especially in delivery of news information, how
and when they deliver their up-to-date information will be analyzed.
Finally, the comprehensiveness of their coverage will be examined. The
comprehensiveness criteria will include the number of links provided, both
internal and external, as well as the breadth of the information, both in
the type of medium used and the amount of actual information on the pages.
In order for the reader to have a clear understanding of each of the
organization's efforts, a short section on the organizational layout of
each network's web pages will precede the survey. Unfortunately,
space constraints limit our discussion, because all three of these
organizations cover such wide areas. All three networks, for example,
provide advertising information for many of the new shows in their fall
season. The following survey of information delivery, then, will
concentrate only on ABC,
NBC and
CBS' world and domestic news sections of
their organizational home pages.