This is a critique of Facebook cover images of news channels leading up to the 2012 election. Are News channels doing balanced, current, and relevant coverage? I typically watch the following channels as well as doing my own research when it comes to the news, and these will be examined:
- CNN
- BBC
- ABC
- FOX
- CBS
- MSNBC
- Huff post
Facebook National News Covers
This post will take a quick look at the news channels facebook covers. I’d like to leave you to make your own assumptions on not only design, but also whether or not the news channels are unbiased in their focus on social networks.
CNN = C-
The composition of the shot is well executed. They have a current shot of their moderator, Candy Crowley. Unfortunately the country is split on whether or not the moderator did a good job in the second presidential debate on October 16th, 2012. CNN has declared success for correspondant’s job at the debate. Why does this matter. The moderator is life a referee in a sporting event. They should be transparent. They should be accurate. Ms. Crowley after the debate corrected herself on her actions during the debate’s heated question on Libya and whether or not President Obama said terrorist attack on September 12th. Republicans are upset about Ms. Crowley interrupting Gov. Romney 28 times and President Obama 9 times. Democrats are declaring victory (most polls show this) and that Ms. Crowley did a fair job.
Ryan’s Opinion:
I am a Chicago Bears fan. Yet, what happened to the Green Bay Packers on Monday night September 24th was unexplainable. They lost the game due to replacement referees poor call at the end of the game and this declared their opponent (the Seattle Seahawks) the winner. I compare Ms. Crowley’s act at the presidential debate on October 16th as the same. She clearly threw a life line to the President and showed that new referees and an overhaul of the system needs to take place. CNN should not have supported her. She made it clear she made a mistake after the debate. Does CNN support mistakes?
BBC = D
BBC is representing their brand through their people. This is successful. Although, are their pundits so well known that anyone, domestic or foreign, could call out any of their names?
Ryan’s Opinion:
I am a fan of their website, until recent updates. They had a fairly agressive execution earlier this year that they sidelined to implement a more robust advertising structure. This is a failure, but I understand the monetary need for the action. I am also not sure of the relevance of their cover image. Being current would add more value. March was when this image was updated. To me this is a failure, yet overall they probably have a reason for this.
ABC = B
ABC has a simple and noteworthy execution. They are showing a headshot of President Obama and a campaign trail shot of Governor Romney. They also have simple party line colors (blue and red respectively) surrounding the images. Well done ABC.
Ryan’s Opinion:
Great concept and fair treatment. The only adjustments I would make is to have both the candidates have either head shots or campaign trail shots. Also, the “VS.” is too tight in the space and the typeface chosen leaves much to be desired. Take a risk here ABC.
FOX = B
Simply boring. At the time of writing this piece it is 20 days out from the 2012 election why would this be a placeholder? On the other hand, Fox has been current on updating their covers throughout the campaign, debates and conventions.
Ryan’s Opinion:
I would update covers based on relevant unbiased news that Fox deems to always have at the forefront.
CBS = D
Brand fragmentation. As a facebook user sees this plethora of shows that CBS offers does this make a call to action? Other than 60 minutes they have relatively unknown brands and it might be better to simply focus on events rather than their shows. Also, they seem to have missed the debates altogether and focused on the conventions instead. This is a failure.
Ryan’s Opinion:
I gave them a D grade due to them simply covering images of the conventions in the past and not the debates or any news worthy events?
MSNBC = F
Showing a shot of either campaign is biased. Unless it is predetermined that either candidate will win… which is not part of our democratic process, is inexcusable.
Ryan’s Opinion:
To be fair I have checked all of their covers and they have a combination of their team of pundits and “Lean Forward”. This could be why they have such a small audience. This is a failure as news should be a unbiased as possible.
Huffington Post = B
The representation that voting is easy is successfully visualized here by Huffington Post. The color is classic and patriotic.
Ryan’s Opinion:
I am not a fan of Huffington Post, as I feel the majority of their news is regurgitated from other outlets and feel that little of their journalism is original and without bias. With that being said, they have one of the most successfully designed and executed ads of the group I have analyzed and for this I give them my full hearted congrats!
Strategy To Implement
It is simple really. They are news organizations. Keep it current, relevant and unbiased. I don’t think any of the news “channels” currently are there yet.
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