Post.com Launches “Second Phase of New Story Page”

From an email sent by WashingtonPost.com’s Jim Brady, obtained by FishbowlDC:

Just wanted to let you know that washingtonpost.com launched the second phase of our new story page this past Saturday. Because of the strong desire to have this improved page ready for Iowa and New Hampshire, we asked technology and editorial folks come in three days before Christmas to launch this, and these dedicated folks did yeoman’s work to get it done. So a huge thanks to everyone who participated in making this happen.

This launch added two significant new features to our story page. The first is the display of photography, video and audio on the site. On the old story page, we would automatically grab a photo used in the paper and drop it on the story using a 228-wide size (example). This was better than nothing, but if the paper used multiple photos for a story, the only way we could use more than one photo on the site would be to hand-build those additional images into the story or to create a photo gallery. The new story page allows us to use ALL the photos associated with a story — whether those photos are from The Post or a wire service — and displays them in a slick slideshow format. These slideshows display photos in a larger size than on the previous story page and on a black background that makes them pop.
Here’s an example of a Post story where we were able to use all five photos associated with the story in the paper. Here’s an example where we associated AP photos with a Post-written article to provide visuals that add to the overall presentation.

In addition to these new automated features, we can also better promote the multimedia content our collective staffs create. Here are examples of how we can now promote photo galleries, videos and audios. Even when we do have only one photo related to a story, that photo will now display in a larger, more attractive size. We feel this new story page is a major step forward in showing off the visual journalism that has won The Post and washingtonpost.com industry respect and countless honors over the years.

The second major change is the ability to insert related links after the first graf of a story to try and draw readers deeper into our journalism. In Phase 1 of the story page, we created the “story bar,” which allows our producers to insert multiple related links without cluttering the page with dozens of distracting links. The “story bar” — when used — is above the headline, and groups related content using active terms such as Read, Watch, Listen, etc. In Phase 2, those same links can now be presented within the story, with the first few appearing on the page and the rest hidden behind a “View All Items in this Story” button. Here’s an example from last week’s Redskins game.

For those who missed the first phase of the story page launch, it widened the reading well by removing the left column, added font-sizing options and shifted related links to the bottom of the page, where readers are more likely to be making a decision about what to do next. For those who have forgotten what the old story pages looked like, here’s an example. We hope you’ll agree that we’ve created a better and more attractive reading experience.

There is still some work we plan to do to automate some additional story page features, but the major work on this project is now completed.

Thanks, and please let me know if you have any questions or comments, Jim

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