At serial consign, Greg Smith has an interesting post on the evolution of the architecture of information as presented in newspapers. Greg’s thesis, “Movable Parts: The Retooling of the Los Angeles Times” explored some of these themes in more depth.
Most fascinating perhaps is this image:
Greg’s description:
The above image tracks the front page of latimes.com from 1996 through 2006, illustrating how quickly online presence can evolve. Note how the page structure and hierarchy have changed as images (yellow) and advertising (orange) have gradually become integrated with editorial content (blue). However, the manner in which information and links are collaged across a page (or interconnected through a database) is emblematic of a deeper organizational problem with the way that newspapers have dealt with digital content.
Greg promises more such entries in the “paper space” series; it’s a fascinating way of considering news presentation.