I don’t see why everyone is redesigning their sites? They look fine and work fine, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So I implore CNN, please leave the site alone.

Thanks very much! I’m looking forward to seeing the results. I am also hopeful that the new version will render appropriately on my Blackberry 8700g.

==Brandon

I have always had a problem with the CENTER content loading. Everything else loads, but not the actual content I wanted to read. Hopefully, you’re working on that.

Can’t wait to see it!

So, in other words, you are about to screw your site up.

Looking forward to it! The Beta site was a huge improvement from the regular CNN.com site.

I could NEVER get this site to work. Yesterday, for example, I clicked on the headlines about the cop being charged for the pregnant mom’s murder and every time the site took me to the beta headline but I couldn’t access the read version. I would click on read but nothing happened. This was my experience every time. I’m just not understanding what the benefit of this site wll be even once operable. Your current format is great and this just seems to add another layer of frustration to getting news. Thanks.

Great website. Glad you’re working hard to make it even better.

Thank god!

Looking forward to it. Thanks so much.

please bring it back soon… it was true joy compared to the current site. if only the content was getting the same quality upgrade.

Please consider giving alternatives to video. I can read MUCH faster than I can view a video. Also, reading doesn’t disturb those around me in the office while the audio of a video clip does. Perhaps each story on video could have a “read” counterpart so that more people’s needs could be better fulfilled.

Thank you.

I really hope that the video uses Flash instead of a more platform-limited plugin like Windows media. It’s frustrating to have CNN so far behind the rest of the large Internet properties in moving to more accessible, more reliable video content.

I’ll be anxious to check it out next week on my new iphone. Hope it looks great in Safari!!

I personally loved it, can’t wait to have it back!

The concept is fine, but text articles from the CNN BETA site would NEVER load on either of my computers. The READ links provided simply did not work. Click and NOTHING.

I certainly hope that this issue can be resolved before you go live with the site. I rely on CNN.com frequently for news updates, and if this isn’t fixed, I will no longer have access to news from your site.

Everytime that I click on the videos it says that it cannot detect windows media player and do I want to try and play it anyway, so i click yes and then it goes ahead and plays…. I have a Powerbook G4 and I have the latest windows media player installed… why can’t CNN detect it? It’s really annoying to have to click play anyway every time I view videos.

Please tell me that your videos will be flash-based. I hate the platform that it is currently on. some computers I work on can’t even play the video player you currently offer. Flash would solve this problem. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn’t find anything about the ‘new’ cnn.com website that made me want to jump up and down with excitment. Leave the original alone!!

I agree with Bob about the videos. Every video should have a “read” option. Not everyone can even view videos at work…some offices block videos to save bandwidth. I know that by the time I get home, I have forgotten about the video or it has moved off into some archives. I hate having to miss out on a story because it’s only available as video.

Didn’t get to look at the beta site even though I faithfully visit CNN.com.

The one thing I find annoying is that there is so much video content where you cannot read the text. I go to CNN.com at work and I don’t want video playing on my PC for everyone to hear, but I do want to keep up with the latest news.

I hope you fix the layout, and background, the beta site is awful

The beta site was great i think. i didn’t really find any problems with it at all. can’t wait to have it back.

I agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY with Bob and Matt. If I wanted to see video, I’d watch your TV programs. When I am online trying to get a news update - I want to READ it. We wonder why our test scores are so low in schools - we don’t require people to read anything anymore. Sorry - but this is a pet peeve and I have slowly moved away from CNN.com to other sites that provide news content in readable form and do not only offer all videos. Many days CNN has more links to video than to written content in their headlines. I hope that changes or is at least complemented as Bob suggests with a “read” option for every story.

Video content without a ‘text’ option is junk. We cannot see the video content without watching a 30 second commercial. I understand the whole ad revenue thing, but one can easily ignore banners on a ‘text’ option for a story. The same is not so for video.

I have been marketed to SO MUCH. PLEASE STOP.

Thanks

I despise the videos. I have considered switching from CNN as my main online news source on days where 90% of the content is videos. Please ALWAYS have a text option for video articles.

Also, must of the video stories have misleading headlines.

I love people that think they are original and use “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, along with the tons of other people that have no concept of changes websites need every so often in infrastructure, features, and enhancements. Sites HAVE TO change, it’s the world wide web, welcome to it people. You don’t change, you’re stagnant, and competitors beat you out.

I really hope you do take all feedback seriously, however, and continue to as the site moves out of Beta. I hope you don’t use Windows Media as the sole way of doing videos, flash has been proven to be ubiquitous and stable for video, look at YouTube and everything other major player. Let us customize the types of feeds we want on the home page in some areas of it, like a portal site would. Have your major headlines, and what we want, and I’ll keep coming back. Good luck!

Beta looks great…. nice and organized. Way better then say….FOXNews

can i wonder outloud?

everyone who ‘hates’ all the video stories happen to be employed in the tv industry which happens to be suffering as their audience moves in that direction?

i wonder.

As someone who manages the development of high profile websites, I’d love to read a blog about your process… from concept w/ your usability folks, to the implementation of a beta site, collecting feedback and then the full blown site. I’m curious how other people do what we do… Thanks.

I also agree with the statement that a READ option should be available for ALL videos.
Also, please do a good job of checking spelling and grammar. Some of the articles on cnn.com look like they were written by two year olds.

Your BETA site is the answer to the question that most of your web-unsavvy readers never knew to ask — “When the heck are you going to redesign this old lookin’ website?”

It’s also the answer to the other question that most web-unsavvy readers asked and didn’t realize they were asking it — “Why are you STILL using Windows Media to power your video offerings?”

For those posters who can’t get things to work — update your computer. Go to Windows Update or Mac OS X Software Update and take 10-20 minutes updating your computer. Install PC Internet Explorer 7. Or install Mozilla Firefox 2.x. If you get asked to install an updated version of the Flash Player, don’t freak — just do it. Or call the office IT guy and tell him to do it.

I’ve worked on Internet websites for almost 10 years, and ESTO errors are the most common factors leading to comments like the ones above (e.g. “This link doesn’t work.). ESTO = Equipment Smarter Than Operator, by the way.

Thank you, CNN, for updating your old, horrid site. I’m mad that the beta is gone until Sunday, frankly. I look forward to its return, and I especially look forward to stories + videos for each article. No more “video only” content, please. The posters above are right on that note. Give a few people in Atlanta a cheap-o copy editing job to transcribe the footage from the videos.

Thanks again — hurry up and launch it, please.

Michael

Sorry, just do not like it. I visit daily and part of the reason is intuitive layout and content that appears to have lost some appeal. I am sure I will ‘get used’ to it but not fond of new look and interface. (Don’t get me wrong, I do see lots of room for change and do not subscribe to the leave it alone theory.)

Also, PLEASE see fit to have text article options for all stories instead of video. I browse at the office and absolutely do not want to watch videos. Many times, I see the tag line on CNN and then browse the internet for the story. Cannot stand that and your advertisers should know it drives browsers away instead of drawing them to the aired commercials. (Many times, I will have to click on the video so it may appear to them that their ad has been viewed in the click counts.)

Just want to add that I agree that it would be really nice to have the option to “read” video content. My internet connection is flakey and often can’t support streaming video, so would much prefer the text, rather than videos.

At work I’m not authorized to use the video portion of CNN. Could you also have a version in read only?

PLEASE listen to the people asking for text options where video content is offered.

75% of my CNN viewing occurs on work time and I am rarely in a position where I want to be playing news video on my work computer. Text is is much more. . .discrete. Those days when CNN.com is offering mostly video headlines, I head to other news sites. Please don’t forget the text!

I hope you DON’T change the videos to Flash. At least until Flash is updated to work on 64 bit platforms!

I completely agree that every video should have a text version.

Looking forward to the new site.

I love the feedback that comes through these forums. I appreciate the candor of both the website designers and the viewers. This will make good sites great and great sites excellent.

Please leave the Law section in, you’re messing with a good thing!

2nd-ing the motion on making sure video stories are also transcribed in text. Certain businesses and government offices block streaming video from CNN, so news articles are a must for news at work. Please keep this in mind. Thanks.

I thought I was the only one who is annoyed with VIDEOS.

I think everybody wants to be YOUTUBE. But, I personally think it’s madness. I am at work, I want to read the news quietly. so, please provide a TEXT alternative.

If I want to watch videos, I will turn on my TV. thanks.

I also want to voice my opinion that there should be more text options. I never watch the videos because the computers at work do not have speakers. We are at work, no one wants to listen to a news broadcast. Please make more articles have a read option. If there are less read options but more video, I will not be using cnn.com anymore.

CHANGE YOUR LOGO!!!

cnn is need of a new logo. fox news is horribly biased and yet they have more viewers (including the people who love to hate them )… why? the answer is eye candy. cnn needs eye candy. starting with that logo that is way out of date and boring

i am a huge fan of cnn from the very beginning, but cnn needs to get away from all the red in tv broadcasts (people joke that cnn is “communist news network”. )

unfortunately colors, flash, pizazz and the good looks of anchors are more important than content of the news, when it comes to ratings.

this new beta website was completely boring. too much white space, small letters, no cool fonts, just like a boring cheap blog. you can do better

The redesign of this website improves it by leaps and bounds and in my opinion takes the news sector of the web to a new level.

I also subscibe to Pipeline and love it, but please do NOT! change the design of the website, the beta was awful!

I have to agree about the text links with video stories. Every story should have a text link at minimum; video should be optional. I believe it just confuses viewers to sprinkle in video-only links along with the rest of the headlines - I read the site at work (like a lot of people) and am not allowed to watch video for bandwidth reasons. Yet almost daily, I’ll find myself just clicking on a headline without thinking about it and up pops the video player. It’s very annoying. And it’s just as annoying to visit on one of the days when 90% of the headlines are video-only - it should be the opposite. Text and images should be the base form of communication on any news site, with video added if it’s available.

I realize CNN is trying to change with the times and keep up with their competitors, and I’m not against that, but no other major news site out there posts stories that only link to video. There are good reasons for that. How many of us can watch television at work? Not many. Then why would CNN think we can all watch web video?

Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done. Yes, it’s a broadband world, and yes, video is helpful and can be fun to watch, but text still rules on the web, and especially in news.

I agree about putting some sort of “read” companion with almost every video (obviously a read companion isn’t going to work very well if you’re trying to show a cute video of a panda sneezing or something).

But as far as the Flash thing goes, please don’t do that! Everyone is acting like it’ll be the be-all end-all answer… but I don’t have a current Flash player at work, and theyr’e not about to give me one so that I can watch news videos. If you do ever do that, then definitely PLEASE give us a text story to go along with it!

I agree with the idea that each video needs an associated “read it” version. There are lots of reports I’d like to know about but will not take the time to watch a video, especially with the commercials that come with it.

Also, can CNN get a better spelling/context checker?

Be sure to test on all platforms! My safari browser (Mac) crashes on the beta site. Internet Explorer (Mac) could not get the article text. Only Mac Firefox could see the new site, and that is not my browser of choice. Don’t forget about all us Mac users out here!

I also agree with the suggestion to have a text version of every story. I don’t choose the videos very often. I’d rather read.

PLEASE bother to validate the HTML for your web site. Since day one CNN.com has been riddled with errors.
Even worse is that it doesn’t even begin to pass accessibility tests, which means the visually or physically impaired can’t access your content.

I thought I was the only one completely frustrated with major news stories that ONLY had a video link.

I quickly jump to your compeition to read stories i can only watch on Cnn.com.

Also, my video’s were working great and then all of a sudden stopped working. I’m asked to upload a newer media player, only to be told i have the latest on my computer. I’m stuck in this horrible loop and can’t watch the video’s if I want to.

So, again I head over to the competition to one-click play on their site. (although they do have extremely annoying commericials on their site)…leave the commercials off, add flash video, add comments to stories, and text versions to all stories and you will not be beaten!

Agree with all the people asking to have text options with video. I actually emailed CNN about this a few months ago before Beta, and didn’t hear anything back or see any change. But it is good to know that so many people agree with me. And no, we are not in the TV industry, we just want to be able to skim the news quickly to see the main point of the article rather than wait 10 seconds for it to load, watch a 30 second commercial, and then have to watch 4 minutes of video to see what the headline was about. I’m sure there are literally hundreds of thousands of people who know exactly what I am talking about.

Please provide a text version of all video stories as many others have suggested! I use CNN.com to stay in touch during the day but have no way to listen to video because of our system. Reading is not for dummies or TV insiders, it’s for those of us who actually prefer it and still can perform the task!

Teresa

I’m going to have to second everyone regarding the read option for video content. there are many times where i am on the site in a hurry and one of the video stories seems interesting, but i don’t have the time to load a 30 second commercial followed by the video clip, when i could just click a link to read and skim through an article covering it. i hope you guys behind the scenes take this to heart

I like the new design much better. The new flash player is a lot more functional. I’ve seen the reviews saying that there should be more text and I agree - but for someone like me who’s dumped their cable and relies on the internet for all of my information - it’s nice being able to watch the news online and skip to the content I want.

Totally disappointed not to see the beta when I opened it today. I have given up on the old version and am totally stoked for the full roll out.

On the video tip, people should stop complaining. Good grief! Video I can actually watch in FF!! Awesome. Widescreen!! Sweet. If you don’t want video . . . don’t click the link.

I am a CNN online fan and appreciate the work that you guys are putting in to make the experience better.

Cheers!

I want to also voice my desire for a text option for all of the video stories. I find reading a story to be more convenient than viewing a video it. CNN.com is my preferred news site, but I have started to visit other sites because they seem to offer more text versions of their stories. I also prefer the new beta design over the current design of your website.

Looking forwarding to the new beta, and PLEASE get rid of Windows Media. Proprietary formats are useless to those of use that aren’t running Windows, flash is at least the de facto standard for web videos. You may not care about us Linux users but your videos are useless to us since we can’t play them.

can you include some feature that allows us to actually get real news on the site instead of wrestler, paris, gator, suicide. I just visited the beta site and went to the home page and saw 90% of the content is tabloid news with a mere 5 links on what would considered news of substance. Please please please provide some personalization or something that would allow for some way for readers to actually show and tell you that not everyone wants this drival.

I am excited to see what changes you make and from your comments, looks likes my suggestions are going to be done, which makes me happy.

For those, if it isnt broke, dont fix, its time to refresh the CNN website. It has not had a major change in a while, it was getting to look stale.

I would also love to see text options for video segments. There are many times, like, when I am at work, I do not have the ability to view a video, but I want to see what a story is about, and I cant, because its only a video segment. Please do this!

As for people saying get rid of WMV, because its a proprietary format. I would like to see this as well, but c’mon, Flash is proprietary as well. Adobe makes that, you cant say, play a Flash video on Quicktime, or WMP can you? You cant play quicktime in a flash player can you? I personally would like to see a video format that would allow the quickest streaming, without having to download bloated software to view.. If that ends up being WMV, or Real Player, or quicktime, of Flash, so be it. I just want to be able to view the info and not click and wait.

It amazes me how many “don’t changers” actually use the internet. Just because you guys can’t evolve or learn new tricks easliy doesn’t mean we all have to suffer or would you have CNN return it’s site to the look it had in 1997. Just hit http://www.archives.org for an example of what I’m talking about.

Change is good, and the way CNN is handling it (with feedback) rocks and I have to give them high marks for it.

I like the new look, though I also had no problems with the old one. I do, however — as others have mentioned — have some big problems with Windows Media Player being used for the video content.

I always keep my computer updated. I have the latest IE and the latest Firefox, as well as the latest version of the media player. I make sure to update whenever a new version is available. Even then — your video has worked in IE fine, but I use Firefox primarily and it’s a pain to bring up IE just to watch your video. (In fact, your video content is the sole reason I even HAVE IE anymore.) But as of lately, the video content is constantly crashing IE. In Firefox, I just get the message to upgrade my media player to the version I already have. For a few weeks recently, I did have the pleasure of being able to view video in Firefox (after never being able to before), and I was overjoyed. But, after no changes on my part, that has recently stopped and I’m back to getting the same error message as before.

A few months ago, I e-mailed the site about the video problems and got no response. I hope you’re able to fix it with your new site design. I agree that Flash is a much better option for video. And I also agree that a text version of the video stories would be a much welcomed addition to the site, as there are times when I really want to read about a story, but am unable to watch the video. Then I miss it completely when I finally AM able to watch it.

Thanks, and good luck with the new design.

Err that URL was archive.org not the former which I entered in as plural…

Just piling on: I never, ever, view the video content, due to the workplace issues noted by many above, but also because I know I will need to sit through a commercial and then have stuttering video on my slow connection. Please listen to all the comments for a text-based option to ALL content. Text is simply more convenient, and most newsies are very busy people for whom conveniece is not optional.

Don’t hold your breath, but I see the death of a great news website comming. Some self-professed expert has convinced the people at CNN that they just have to re-invent the wheel-

I consider the new site just one more step in the dumbing down of America.

I agree that there should be a text story with the video. I have been very frustrated with all the recent number of video links.

I loved the beta site, especially with the addition of local news.

I too echo the vocal majority who would relish a Read option for EVERY video story, for all the valid reasons raised above.

While evolutionary change is good, the beta site seemd to be more change for change’s sake. Such a dramatic restyle adds little value. For an information site, simple is always better.

That said, I would suggest making the site even more personally configurable and ’skinnable”, as well as offering multiple video formats. Only providing one format will always exclude a portion of users.

Why overhaul something is working?
The reason we stay is we like what it is now.
Do not change cnn.com.
That will drive us away.

I also hope CNN.com goes with Flash video, adds text transcripts of thevideos and starts offering more closed captioning options for the deaf and hard of hearing. Keep up the good work improving your presence!

I agree with everyone regarding having “read” available on all stories. I usually have to skip the videos in the morning because I’m at work and just reading quick stories and catching up on the news. By the time I’m home I either have forgotten about it or it’s moved..and at times don’t have time to read. Make every news story readable.

Please, please, please, fix your HTML. I try to access it from Konqueror and you have some of the worse code that I have seen. I have more and more gone to fox news since they come closer to following the standards and I can see what is going on.

I liked the Beta. But I would love it if we had a choice on whether or not to view a video story or just read it. I don’t like the video part, especially because I have to view an advertisement right before it. I would rather read the story, it’s less time consuming!

1. The general appearance of the Beta site is more modern.

2. I thoroughly DESPISE the “Your Life” > “More Stores” design using Flash. The absolute LAST thing I want to do is to have to click a little arrow a bunch of time just to see what the new articles are in each section. The current design allows us to see this on the main page without clicking, but the Beta design forces the user to click to see this. That is the definition of a poor user interface. I BESEECH

3. Totally agree that all articles need to have a text option (not just video). To me it’s just laziness and poor services to plop a bunch of video links out there without taking the time to transcribe the news for those customers where videos are not appropriate or desired.

I agree with the many on TOO MUCH VIDEO! Though I am on a fast ISP, many times I want to simply read the articles and not wait 30 seconds through some advertisement to view a video. I have started going to other sites because of the video only option cnn.com offers…

1. The general appearance of the Beta site is more modern.

2. I thoroughly DESPISE the “Your Life” > “More Stores” design using Flash. The absolute LAST thing I want to do is to have to click a little arrow a bunch of time just to see what the new articles are in each section. The current design allows us to see this on the main page without clicking, but the Beta design forces the user to click to see this. That is the definition of a poor user interface. I BESEECH you to not implement that design. Otherwise, I absolutely will be abandoning cnn.com in favor of msnbc.com. I don’t have the time for a site that’s going to give me carpal tunnel just to scan the new news.

3. Totally agree that all articles need to have a text option (not just video). To me it’s just laziness and poor customer service to plop a bunch of video links out there without taking the time to transcribe the news for those customers where videos are not appropriate or desired.

I applaud the new beta. It is superior to the old one which had burdensome tables - this is more streamlined CSS. I absolutely love CNN Video - current and even more the Beta. I like how you are moving it to widescreen Flash format. I would love to see a way to search and view archived videos. I would also like a way for webmasters/bloggers to be able to embeed / display CNN video in their pages (youtube like).

I want to also voice my desire for a text option for all of the video stories. I often view CNN from my work desktop and watching video isn’t necessarily appropriate during work hours. This results in my having to check other news agancy websites for text versions of the stories I’m interested in.

Addtionally, if CNN.com were to abolish the “dancing” ads, my feelings wouldn’t be at all hurt. I find them to be catoonish and insulting to a serious news media site. That sort of thing is better suited to “the onion”. Surely there are other advertisers with products that are less insulting to your readership?

I had to come back and comment. I completely agree that we need a READ link with every video. I don’t watch many videos on here, and would rather read a story most times. I did realize that I will go search another site to find a written story if CNN doesn’t put it up there. I stick with my belief that flash is better than Media Player, but please please have text with every story

I half liked the Beta, but missed the quick summary of top stories for each section on the bottom half of the page. What I would REALLY like to see is a map on each story, showing where the story is happening! A link would be fine, but a map helps give me an idea of WHERE the story is happening (and in our geologically challenged society, not a bad way of educating the masses!)

Amen to the comments on the videos - the commercials are annoying, and sometimes I would just as soon read about the story, with pictures, rather than taking the extra time to wait for the clip to come up, run through the commercial and then get to the info. (And if I am watching late at night, the loudness of the clips can wake up the entire house!)

And regarding appearance - too much white. I like the color of the regular Beta.

Hey guys, i LOVE your website, i mean I LOVE YOUR WEBSITE. i visit several times per day, and get this, Im not even an American Citizen. I am from Windor Ontario Canada, a city which gets most of its news from the 3 local Detroit Channels.

I agree with what many have wrote regarding the videos. as much as i enjoy them, sometimes i simply want to read the story. a viewer should never be forced to watch advertising. for example, if i am watching CNN, on television (my favorite channel) I can change the channel if i do not like the commercial. However, if im on your website, and i want to watch a video clip, i am forced to watch the advertising. i cant skip ahead, and in many cases i cant even just simply read the story.

CNN must remember that a huge portion of its webusers are not American, and the ads are in many cases irrelevant to them. I dont know about most users but i have come to resent the advertisors that force me to watch their ads. I will not purchase from a company that takes away my choice , and forces me to watch my ads in order to see a clip that i can watch for free on TV (where i have a choice to change channels, or grab a snack during comercials)..

dont get me wrong, im not bitter, and i do fully understand the value of advertising, but your purpose is to deliver the news. first and formost, and then create revenue for your advertisors. “Choice, should always be paramount”

I LOVE CNN

Sincerely
Lou

I like it the way it is now. And for those people saying “I don’t like Video content”, that is either because you are inarguably old, or your still running Windows95. Welcome to the Now, and welcome to the Future. Videos are hot, and give the user firsthand footage of what went on, rather than reading an article. What about the people with laptops, or people who run websites from their handheld mobile devices? How about a nice welcome shout out to all of you people who don’t understand technology changes, and people change.

As I said before, I love the way the site is now.

I’m afraid the blog is getting embarrasing to read because of the owner’s refusal to engage with the issue dominating it - that most respondents think there is too much video and are tired of there not even being accompanying text stories.

This’ll definately make the ‘top 10 blogging catastrophe’ list of 2007.

Thank you. I do read CNN.com during lunch and after work!

- Steven Burda

maybe i’m missing something here…

a whole bunch have said they won’t watch video because they are at work. so it’s less offensive to your boss to use company time reading?

right.

I agree completely; videos are not always allowed in the workplace (mine has removed soundcards from our PCs) and neither is any kind of streaming media.

Always have a text option for every story.

Keep the same news sections you have now and display them all at once; the greatest value of cnn.com is that I can get a “once over” view of ALL the news.

I am NOT a fan of “recommendations” based on what I read last. I HATE that. You have no idea why I chose to read an article; it might be because someone else is with me and asked to see it, and I, personally, have no interest in it at all. (This is not an unusual occurrence.) So do not assume that just because I selected an article on pink elephants that I am now fascinated with all oddball news stories.

Don’t assume that the current tech fads will remain popular; they change about every 6 months it seems. Your strength is being a definitive source for news. It’s not about being the geek site that has all the tech bells and whistles that are popular on this day.
Using technology to truly enhance the ability to deliver news is great; using it just because it’s “hot” is not helpful.

Thanks for listening to the barrage of comments. I’m sure it’s been challenging

I agree with most everyone that you should ALWAYS have a read link for any video. I can’t watch the videos at work because they would disturb my co-workers and I can’t at home because I can’t get the videos to show on firefox.

I have the same problem as many others….couldn’t view the “new” content, links to read didn’t work. Don’t ask me to upgrade my system. IT is fine. If this is what CNN is changing to, I guess I will have to get my news fix elsewhere….like Foxnews.com.

I like the new look, and your link is the first I access each morning. Please don’t forget the growing number of users like me on satellite ISPs in your web page design. Due to the increased latency inherent with this service to remote locations, viewing an article takes so much time that I usually just open it in a new window and do something else in the meantime. It’s bad enough with delays long enough for the multiple handshakes required in your old site before seeing content, despite a nominal 1.5MB/s bandwidth. I’m finding this to be a technical issue that is more and more overlooked by a lot of otherwise very professional websites. The more features you stack on a page, the longer it takes. Not everyone in America lives with 10MB/s FO landlines.

- Mike

One plea:

For EVERY video offering that is itself a story, PLEASE have a text-only.

BGS

I like the format…however, my biggest complaint about this site and any other for that matter…is the news not being current. Let us know exactly when a story is updated. Not just by the day, but also by the hour and minute. I don’t want to read a story over again if it hasn’t been updated. Be current…any format pretty much works if the news itself is updated and current.

Thanks CNN

I fear you are about to over engineer and mess up what was one of the best sites on the internet.

Your new look is way too “web 2.0.”

You will loose me to MSNBC.

Current CNN look is blockbuster. Nothing in your beta compares.

I think it is great that you asked for feedback and accepted it. Of course, we won’t know how much until Sunday. I greatly look forward to the new design, especially the new videos.

Michael,
Thank you for telling me what ESTO is an acronym for (Equipment Smarter Than Operator). …And, by the way, that would be me…
Dawg

I liked the current beta version. It was less busy than the current/regular site. My only two suggestions would be to not put the big flickering advertisement at the top-right as on the current site. The rolling eyeballs and, after that, the giddy mortgag-ee were just too much.
Second, don’t give top-billing to entertainment stories. I now have developed an almost involuntary gag reflex to anything having to do with “Paris-the-heirhess” thanks to the recent gratuitiously over-done coverage on her miserable life.

Keep it simple,..Alan

Good choice on taking a second look at it. I think you will find a way to make many more of us happy while continuing to produce the best overall online news experience. I add my voice to those hoping for a Flash video option. I hate Windows Media. I’m sure someone somewhere had to make a gutsy call on waiting a bit and I applaud him or her. Release it when it’s ready. We’ll be here.

Thank you for your comments on the relationship between text and video on CNN.com. We hear you!

One of the things we are doing in the enhanced version of the service is better differentiating what links go to video and what links go to articles. Also, we are making it easier than ever to get many stories in either an article or video format. In fact, for a lot of them, you will be able to choose which media you feel best tells the story.

That said, there are some cases where we might only have a video. Take the “bear-who-falls-out-of-a-tree-and-bounces-on-a-trampoline-story.” We’ll do our best to have text with most of our coverage. But, I hope you’ll agree that some stories are better seen than read!

Just don’t force people to use Windows Media Player to watch videos. Media Player is very flaky and only works about half the time. Flash is a much better way to go.

To the IT snob that criticized people for not liking Media Player: Yes, I have fully updated my software. Sometimes a lousy product is just a lousy product. Windows Media Player is just crap.

You should also remove the commercials from the videos. They are annoying. I just mute them and turn the sound back on when it’s done.

All video links should also have a text article attached. I would rather just read the story instead of watching the video.

I certainly like the new layout but have to echo the comment thT i would prefer an optional read link by videos.

I agree with providing text content with video stories as well. When there is no text option for a story I’d like to check out, I just leave and find it elsewhere.

I think the new site is going to be the best designed news site anywhere. Great job, and looking forward to the new site.

Don’t listen to the nay-sayers! The new stuff looks great. Keep inventing!

I like the look because it seems cleaner somehow than the original. However, here’s one more vote for always including a text link for stories with videos. I rely on sites like CNN to quickly keep up with the news throughout the day while chasing after my 1-year-old. I don’t have time to deal with watching the video clips, especially when they seldom work without a big struggle on my Vista machines. I’m finding myself hitting reuters.com etc. more and more because of the videos.

I also dislike video news, since I, too, catch up quickly with events while taking a break at work.

Now, here’s a different take on videos: I would watch more videos if you kept the ad to a maximum of 7-8 seconds. It’s just enough time to get out the name of the advertiser and what they are selling. This would be like on PBS.

When you post this 30 second spot, it is annoying. I didn’t click the link so I could watch a commercial. The commercial is a rude interruption.

I’m always in a hurry and do have a preference for text news.

Also, a poster on here was insulting those of us who READ news, by saying we’re old. That was an offensive generalization and a mass put down. He said that videos are HOT.

I say to you, young poster, try to learn some manners and courtesy. Maybe you could watch a video about that?

Glad to hear you are coming online this weekend. Love the new look and much better layout on the new site. CNN is the best.

I like the fact that Adobe Flash is used to view the videos, without needing Windows Media Player to see them.

I personally loved beta, needed just litle tweakings, I loved the video page, videos loaded fast and the selections section was ver handy, please, do come back…
thank you
L.

The move to CSS and XHTML is inevitable. I greatly enjoyed the beta design as a web designer, and a devout cnn.com visitor.

Please don’t change much of the beta. It was so much cleaner, faster, and umpteen times better.

I’ve had CNN as my home page for about 7 years and I really believe this one is much better than the previous layouts. As someone who has worked a lot with interactive media I understand the logic behind some of the layout. Simple, clean and informative is the way news should be presented. There will be quirks and honestly you’ll never please all the folks out there as you well know. Some I’m sure love those pages with backgrounds that could cause blindness and thank you for not appealing to that percentage of readers. I will say that you shouldn’t over-do it on the video stuff. As another person stated it, I sometimes prefer to READ my news too. Options, life is all about them and you should present those to your audience. Read or Watch icons - who doesn’t appreciate having a choice in the matter?

Thanks for asking and attempting to please all of us. BTW: Centering the page… thank you - finally after all these years.

I would also like to see text along with video wherever it’s possible, but don’t forget about the video either, I use it all the time.

Keep the widescreen flash player, Windows Media Player doesn’t even work on some of my computers that have Windows Media Player installed. (yes, they all have the latest updates installed) I also think you should consider making your videos embeddable and keep up archives of all your videos. Try ditching the pre-roll ads, there are many other more profitable forms of online advertising.

Also consider adding some social networking features such as Digg this buttons, Facebook buttons, and possibly even allowing comments on stories. (Although I understand on a site like CNN this would require heavy moderation and possibly open the door to censorship allegations, so it’s completely understandable if you would choose not to open stories up to comments)

Lastly, I just want to thank you for allowing comments like this and for allowing feedback for the rest of your site, I appreciate it. Thanks.

Mitch - I appreciate your taking the time to respond, but I would respectfully argue that the “bear-who-falls-out-of-a-tree-and-bounces-on-a-trampoline-story” is not actually news.

My opinion is that if it’s something I might expect to find on “America’s Funniest Home Videos”, it probably doesn’t belong on CNN.com.

Thanks, Mitch, for your input - it’s very refreshing that someone directly affiliated with the operation of a site (especially one that asks for feedback) chimes in right in the comments that it’s soliciting. Not many sites do that, and I commend you for taking that initiative.

As for the BETA - love it, and can’t wait for it to become CNN’s new look. I’ll be the 80th person that chimes in on the video/article comments, but I can see where you are coming from as well. But while “some stories are better seen than read” many of the articles that are video-only will also have the same impact in print. What I find, if/when I want to see video of a particular story, I’ll look in the current site’s “Most Popular” and “Newest Video” box - as I am sure many others do as well. The list of headlines up at the top should (in my own opinion) be limited to stories that have either print or video.

As a web developer myself, I especially like how your developers are moving from tabled layout to CSS/XHTML. It will go a LONG way to improve accessibility, especially now with cell phones and hand-held devices like Blackberries being completely web-enabled.

Now that those comments are out of the way - any plans to overhaul SI? Keep up the great work - your team should be commended for a job very well done.

Dave Daoust,
Montreal, Canada

I hope you reconsider. When you ran the beta, I could not see the story’s text.

I’ve put a CBS News link next to my CNN link in anticipation of the beta becoming permanent, since I won’t be visiting at CNN.com any more.

If I want to see a story, I’ll turn on my television. Videos are not sharp enough on my computer, and the sound is iffy. I surf the web for text news, and it’s already frustrating that so many CNN.com stories are video-only.

CNN.com has been frustrating for someone like me who is used to getting a text based snapshot of the news. There are many articles that only have the video but no equivalent text version. Is it so difficult to offer content in two forms (video as well as text)? I prefer text when I dont have the time to watch an entire clip. I hope the newer version will offer news in both forms. A site that is overloaded with video is no different than watching a television. I dont see a creative or balanced use of the online media.

I wish to add my voice to the “add text to video” chorus, as well as second the call for a timestamp for updates so we’ll know if there’s been a fresh change to a story.

When I first started cruising the beta site, I balked at the changes - but I also know that I can be resistant to change. By the second day, I had discovered the beautifully embedded media and was hooked, with no desire to return to the old site. In fact, I was a bit put out when I discovered today that the beta had been taken down. I look forward to the launch of the new site; this change was long-overdue.

The Flash player is free, so for all of those people complaining about the use of it, perhaps they should just calm down and go download it. If it’s slow to load, that says to me that you are on dial-up - which means you probably shouldn’t be taking the time to look at videos anyway (ALL videos will be slow to load).

However, all platforms definitely need to be considered; I know that my mother moved away from CNN because she couldn’t load the .WMA files on her Mac.

Keep up the good work, y’all. I know the sweat and tears that go into launching a new website to an existing market. It will get more than it’s share of naysayers, but hopefully the good voices will outweigh those. I also hope all the bugs are ironed out by then.

I do like the video option. Sometimes I will look for videos on the site that I missed on TV. I can’t wait for the new site to come back.

I normally never waste my time participating in a discussion like this. My comment is inspired by the number of people who, like myself, are totally disgusted with the video non-option. Whenever I see a “read” option, I will read the video news. If “read” is not there, I will simply ignore. I switched a long time ago to Drudge for that very reason, even though I always look at CNN several times a day. Those who complain about not being able to use a video at work, the time lost with waiting for the video to load, then having to grit your teeth through a commercial before seeing the video are absolutely, positively correct. While I tend to say CNN wasn’t broke before you started with all this video junk, I can appreciate meaningful change, not change simply for the sake of change. A meaningful change in this case would be a “read” option for all videos of news. If you are going to show a video of non-news, e.g., Paris Hilton leaving jail, then I could care less whether you provided “read” option or not. I just read Item 78 above from the CNN executive; hopefully his comments will prevail in the final version.

I think it looks nice. Thank you for adding text. I can never get the video to work correctly, and I much prefer the text. Video in a different source than windows media might be good as well.

When I read Yahoo news, and click on a picture, the picture automatically enlarges. This would be a great feature for your new site. Thanks.

Looks like a very good attempt to bring news with style. Rather then the busy looking news sites out there where you can’t find the sheep in the flock.

2 thumbs up, we are looking forward to your upcoming release!

The video always complains it cannot determine the version of media player. I never use MSIE because of the security problems. Firefox tries to open your video and you have to click through the box that says it cannot determine the player version. It will play usually but sometimes begrudgingly. You need better video presentation

Also, your pages are rarely updated on the weekends with more than a few stories. Sometimes stories stay on there a week or more and are not updated but simply occupy space. If you have a news page, update it with current story lines or remove the outdated data. No use taking up space with something you read a week ago.

Yuck. Take it offline and leave it offline. This reminds me of the “New Coke” fiasco of the ’80’s. The whole thing just seemed too jumbled and confused. I’m NOT willing to sit thru commercials all day to watch videos. Drop the excessive number of video reports and stick to text.

For those of you bucking the Flash video route that CNN is taking, you’re missing the point.

Other than the primary installation, the Flash Player is about 10X LESS intrusive than Windows Media Player, Quicktime (which now is bundled with iTunes on Windows PCs, the largest web browsing platform segment in the world), and RealPlayer (which will remind you often to pay for the Real content). And, it’s installed, in some form or another, on about 95% of computers being used to surf the Internet.

Read the articles and skip the videos if you don’t like them. The very fact that the guy above ASKED for input and ACKNOWLEDGED it should be taken as a blessing. There are many media companies throwing “wow, zing!” redesigns out right now that are horribly slow and clunky, for the sake of showing off web development skills that a large majority of you wouldn’t understand or appreciate.

Trust me — this site is cutting edge relative to what it used to be, both on a the back-end side (for web nerds like me) and for people who just surf it (like, um, Mom, Dad, Gramps, etc.). The latter group will rail against change, but this is change for necessity’s sake. They’re behind in terms of web technologies, and this redesign is fixing that.

One more thing — don’t comment about their readership (online) if you don’t work for CNN.com. There’s no way for you to know if most of their web readers are international or not. Until you sit down and look through the SiteCatalyst (industry standard web metrics) reporting suite and see where traffic is coming from, you’re making an ill-founded argument for some feature you feel is important. Stick to facts and focus on features and not personal preferences, and you’ll be more helpful to this guy’s team than you might otherwise.

Mitch — you guys have really done a great job of implementing new web technologies and standards in this BETA. The site load speed alone is worth it — it has twice as much content and loads so much more smoothly. You have also incorporated the best of the “Web 2.0″ nonsense by providing your audience with as many options for absorbing the media as possible and participating in it as well.

I’m really glad that you took a different route than ABCNews.com, which has made their site so slow with the coding that it’s almost unusable. And cramped. Oh, so very cramped.

Launch this puppy, and shake your head at the video naysayers, as I suspect some of your devs are doing. It’s the way of the future (um…Youtube, folks?), and it fits perfectly with your original business model — cable television (uh…video?) news.

I could care less about the video vs. read debate, but I just wanted to say how much I loved being able to stream the audio from CNN tv.

I can’t justify the high cost of cable television when all I want are 5 out of the hundreds of channels you are forced to pay for. I have missed having CNN terribly and I can’t tell you how much of a godsend it is to be able to listen to it on my computer.

.. it looks to me like way too many people are complaining about CNN.com video
content with sound, instead of doing their work, when they’re AT work?! Sure, we
can all turn on the tube to see video if that’s our preferred format. But many of us
that have a PC (personal computer) use it “personally” too, not just at work. Either
get some earplugs to use at work, or just go back to work until it’s time to go home.
Your employers restrict your video accsess for a reason: it’s called “productivity”!
DUH

I guess I’m with the minority on this–I like the Pipeline and it’s features and hate to think we’ll be losing it. The advantage of minimizing the player in whichever Pipe I’m viewing and being able to continue work on other sites while keeping an ear on the news has feed the news junkie in me. I have no problem with progress and improvements, but this was a great innovation. The windows in the Pipe automatically resize appropriately-I fear that I’ll have to waste time resizing the new video to gain the same advantage. The Beta site did not work for me (IE7 and XP), I saw no news content (other than the briefs) and never got the videos to work, even though competitor sites work fine.

Since I was unable to fully appreciate the Beta site, I’m a little confused on one point. Does this change mean we will be losing the Pipeline anchors and the live news desk? That will also be very disappointing. They have been very professional and a pleasure to watch.

Please enhance the International Version as well as many people including CNN seems to forget about your international viewers and put priority on the CNN US site whereas CNN.com/ International is still a bit behind times especially compared to the BBC and France 24

It’s is disappointing to lose pipeline…and it’s LIVE anchors & experience. The reason why i picked Pipeline was the live US news (i’m belgian, and interested in the US).

So i just hope i will still be able to get US videonews live with the new cnn.com!

In the meantime, it’s just boring to see video promotions on the homepage, as we can’t watch them (pipeline discontinued ?!?)

Adding another voice to the video text option but I don’t think that every story must have text. Many stories lend themselves to video, some are total fluff that I don’t need to know and some are extraneous sidebars. I only feel that text vs. video is necessary when you post new information.

Thank you for beginning to add external links to your content. My only complaint with the current site is that stories often refer to other sources on the web but do not direct us to it. If you reference You Tube or Salon.com, link to it. And you have already begun to do so, even on the old site. So thanks for listening!

Would just like to say that I think the site is great. I have been tuning into it everyday since it was launched or the first couple of days it went online and it is great. What I particularly like is that it is so in-depth, especially the video section compared with other news sites. There is that I like. I also like the way it fills the whole screen and there are more blogs to comment on. Overall, it is a very in-depth site, very sleak and very modern. I can’t think of how it could be improved in anyway. Keep up the good work.

Like the new look and feel, great work. Hopefully the width of the new site will look as great on my iphone and kill the windows media player forever, it sucks. Apple rules!

Kudos on the new look. An interesting thing to see would be to offer a Headline News-like summary for quick readers. I know it’s late, but I don’t think this would be too much work. Make it a text version of a short news update, and offer different lengths (i.e. the 1 minute recap, the 2 minute recap, and the 5 minute recap). This way, instead of just getting the information on the main story, readers can really quickly catch up on the day’s news. If they want more info, each story in the recap would have a link to the main article. Otherwise, it’s a quick, short news brief.

..oh, and ps..
when are you guys going to have Pipeline subscriptions up and running for Vista???
hurry up, I’ve been waiting since January 30th. (grin)

Loved the new Beta Site!

Well the Beta site looked great to me, but is good you are getting all this feedback and listening and making it better. But remember you will never be able to make everybody happy so with that in mind keep up the good work.

I’m sad that this day had to come. I really enjoyed the content , and as a new’s junky, I just couldn’t resist supporting a service which provided a 24 hour video news player accessible online… I am more than willing to pay for a service if it has a unique and rare quality. I believe CNN’s Pipeline had that quality. I could tell the staff skillfully and intelligently worked to bring me the news everyday. My only regret is now I’ll be bombarded with advertising I’m sure will range from viagra I don’t need to american cars I’d never purchase in order for CNN to spread the news to the masses of un-educated zombies who are as savy about the news they consume as wilderbeast who graze the great plains of Africa.

Lazonni Gates

Hi,

Love the Flash video format - fantastic.

Keep up the good work.

Dominic.

I like the new site a lot. Video is what makes the site sexy. Don’t listen to the complainers. They are welcome to open the newspaper if they don’t want to see video!
Good Luck CNN!

I just watched 4 news videos on your Home Page, and each time I sit to sit through that Sargento Cheese commercial. FOUR TIMES.

Yes, I’m nit-picky but I’m a web designer myself. I sure hope that sites such as http://www.cnn.com/international http://www.cnnenespanol.com and http://www.cnn.com/espanol/radio get updated with this new beta. The Spanish Language Channel sites are VERY outdated and even some of the program channels on CNN/US are out of date. http://www.cnn.com/nancygrace

Loved the beta, can’t wait for the revisions or for the entire site to go live with the new design!

Please don’t stretch all your videos to w i d e s c r e e n. None of your videos are shot with widescreen cameras, so everyone looks very wide and fat on screen!

So, please don’t distort your videos! Just take a look and see how ridiculous everyone/everything looks. Thank you.

I loved the related articles and links to related content. Way better than typing in some search box. When will it be live?

Loved the Beta site guys! The best thing would have to be the flash video player. Much better than Windows Media or any of the others. I too would like to see story links with all video. I tend to read faster than then sitting through an entire package. Also, I would like to see the stretching of video to 16×9 stop. It just doesn’t look right when you distort the 4×3 video.

Other than that, I can’t wait for the new site to go in effect!

Alternatives to video are really important. I really do not like it when you have a story that is only video. It is much easier to read a story, especially at work.

I loved that videos weren’t tied to Windows Media, making it possible for me to view CNN video on my Mac(s).

i agree, please have text articles with videos. there are videos all over the internet… i can go to youtube and see anything i want. i go to cnn for news… i don’t mind videos but sometimes it’s just quicker/easier to read.

also, flash is a great platform but in my IT experience it’s somewhat problematic at times… i’m frequently having to uninstall/reinstall flash for users whose flash won’t play flash video format (on sites like youtube)… learn to start telling people this: don’t just uninstall / reinstall flash to get it working. you have to go to adobe’s web site, download the flash uninstaller (which you can quickly find by googling “adobe flash uninstaller”), then reinstall flash.

I think the summary of an article should be formatted as a paragraph instead of using bullets. The way Jacob Nielsen do it on useit.com is easier to comprehend.

The larger font size option should probably be made default because I don’t think anyone prefers the smaller one, though it’s just my subjective opinion..