Entertainment or News: A fine line at Yahoo!
By Adam Maya
Jess Barron
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There is a reason Yahoo (officially Yahoo!) has more than 345 million registered users, and it’s not simply because of its search engine and e-mail service. Once viewed as a newcomer in the world of news coverage, the company is now the world’s leading Internet brand and is at the forefront of Web content and design, said senior editor Jess Barron.
Registration is free at Yahoo, where users can see broadband news clips, movie trailers and more music videos than anywhere else on the Web. You can even create your own radio station, while its Messenger service allows friends and family the ability to chat online. Through photos, slideshows, live video, news clips, feature articles and movie times and trailers are also accessible by cellphone.
This September, the company is slated to open a media center in Santa Monica to expand its news coverage.
Yet, the site might be making its biggest impact with its news features and content delivery. My Yahoo allows users to customize their own Web page to link to the news, sports and entertainment content they want. More than 300,000 sources on the Web can be linked directly from one’s own personal page, allowing individuals to connect directly to live newsfeeds, favorite blogs, and weather and stock updates.
“You name it, you can put it on your page,” said Barron.
While Yahoo is still expanding its own news coverage, the company works in conjunction with ABC News, Entertainment Tonight and National Geographic and is constantly updated with breaking news alerts from the Associated Press.
Barron says Yahoo’s links to the most viewed, e-mailed and recommended stories (by its users) each day are a primary source for journalists. Still, the site’s most popular content is probably in entertainment. Recently, Yahoo allowed users to view exclusive footage of The Apprentice when a former member was arrested soon after being kicked off the show. With the advent of TiVo, Barron says Yahoo also crafts its headlines to not spoil any developing in the land of TV.
Yahoo’s news team often seeks to cover sports and other stories with an angle designed to appeal to a wider-than-usual audience. Ashlee Simpson’s performance at this year’s Orange Bowl, where she was booed, stands as the site’s second-most-viewed video package ever. After award shows, the site posts video highlights and slideshows of the stars in addition to the winner’s list to make readers feel like they’re there, Barron says.
Yahoo posts 12 new packages on a daily basis (6-8 hard news; 3-4 entertainment; 1-2 technology, health, science, etc.). Barron notes that merging company SBC does not have any say in Yahoo’s editorial content. Although the gossip and celebrity news might be what draws people to its domain, Barron said also that Yahoo is careful not to overload visitors with entertainment news.
“You don’t want to run too much gossip or people are going to get a bad taste out of it,” says Barron.
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