Someone Should Meddle with the Wall Street Journal

(Via Seth)

In a Newsday article today, Rupert Murdoch again assuaged fears that he would not meddle in the Wall Street Journal if his $5 billion dollar bid for Dow Jones, Co. was accepted. But he did have this to say, "I'm sometimes frustrated by the long stories." -- Consider this a lesson in how to write for a billionaire.

Oh, by the way, Rupert -- have you seen the website?

It seriously needs a redesign -- someone took your sentiment to heart and went a little too far. I think the only way anyone could digest this scattershot of statistics and breaking news is after consuming a cocktail of Ritalin and Red Bull. The funniest part is the little "At A Glance" section, the only part of the entire homepage that's concise and clean -- is below the fold, way down at the bottom of the page..

Learn a little about tagging, get with the google 'less is way more' and for god's sake, remove the subscription access from the site. You're safe -- the WSJ is the only piece of ephemera that everyone wants to carry with them.

Less is more also works with socks and deck shoes....

Comments

[Ethan]

I agree - Ritalin and Red Bull is spot on. I love the Wall Street Journal, but I don't care to read the site, not at all.

I have no doubt that coming up with a compelling user experience and giving visitors a peek at the wealth of content is a monumental task.

It's dismaying that a good deal of online publication hasn't caught on to the idea that you don't have to put everything on the home page. But the biggest problem for me is lack of visual hierarchy. I have no idea what to read first, other than what's at the top of the page.

Newsvine, in my opinion, has for a long time been the best example of an online media outlet.