Bring Me The News was very recently launched to provide Minnesotans with relevant local news stories from a variety of sources, as well as original reporting. We wanted to see how people responded to the site, so we ran it through our initial test. This is what the site looked like at the time of the test:

What Does This Website Do?

1. This website provides news and current events. It is a great way to keep in touch with what is happening around you. You get relevant information just by visiting this site.
2. This website brings current news in Minnesota. It ranges from political to environmental.
3. BringMeTheNews.com lists the latest headlines for Minnesota. It offers articles in many different categories.
4. This website is about news. It is a more stylish take on a regular news website.
5. This web site is based out of Minnesota and provides the top news stories going on in Minnesota. Current up to date weather conditions are also shown on the site.
6. This web site brings the news from all over Minnesota.
7. The site provides a distillation of local and regional news, with limited coverage of national stories that specifically impact Minnesota. It does so in a quiet and unusually composed fashion for an online news site (excluding the bat story).
8. Providing breaking news, and filtering news from other sources for Minnesotans and sharing that news on social networking sites.
9. This site lists down the best stories that will have an effect on Minnesotans. From all possible sources they filter out only those news articles which will have an impact on the readers.
10. Provides news in such a way that every one can easily understand.

The focus of the site seems to be pretty plain to most visitors. Since the top of the site states “Bring Me the News” with “Minnesota” directly beneath, the purpose is clear. What do they really like about it?

Best Current Feature

1. The diverse subjects on which news and information is given and the small pictures along with links.
2. I like the simple layout of the different articles. There aren’t any moving ads that distract you from the real content of the page.
3. I enjoyed the aesthetics of the page. Great color scheme and layout. Additionally, I enjoyed the easy navigation, as well as the inclusion of a RSS feed.
4. The style and simplicity of the site are nice.
5. The best current feature right now is Rick Kupchella’s video in which he explains what the web site is all about and the plans to have up to date news from this site on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, which I think is a great idea.
6. Sharing information and news on Facebook and Twitter so that I can look over via my smartphone.
7. The best feature that I like about the site is that you have the ability to “share” a piece of information or news that you and your group of friends might like to read with the help of Facebook and Twitter.
8. Actual science news! The mass media’s fascination with extraordinary fecundity, and other curiousities, is depressing.
9. The simplicity and presentation of  the website.
10. Good fonts. Nice choice of fonts for the heading and content.

They like a wide variety of features, from the simple layout to the ability to share news using social networking sites, to the depth of the new subjects.

One unique feature of Bring Me The News allows readers to comment on a news article using their own Facebook or Twitter account, which potentially increases the number of readers and encourages others to comment as well. This feature will also encourage more constructive commentary, as opposed to the unmoderated, anonymous comment system employed by many other news sites.

What are the opportunities for improvement?

1 Thing To Improve

1. I would like the news links to be sorted by categories so that I can click on a specific category that interests me. Also, the page seems to be bit lengthy/long, you can make it compact by having links with pictures instead of giving elaborate information about the news item on the home page.
2. You could maybe add the time/date of the articles.
3. One thing I’d enjoy would be a travel news section, perhaps about local happenings and travel destinations. I am very much into travel and would love to see that.
4. Provide a date for each news story. It is hard to tell what news is old and what is new.
5. I would like to see this web site break down all of the top news categories. A category with a sports heading for example with all of the logos of the teams that you can click on to get the most up to date information that is going on with your favorite Minnesota sports team. Another idea for categorizing the sections would be to put the top five stories under each heading and a link to additional stories.
6. The colors of the site are too light; other colors should be used to provide balance.
7. It should be more colorful.
8. Right now, there is a bit too much void space.
9. The text color is little dull.
10. I find that the colors used on this site are very dull. You can use bright and lively colors to make this site more appealing.

With the exception of a few suggestions for organizing content, the main concern is the color theme. The majority of the reviewers feel the colors aren’t contrasting or exciting enough. This combined with little organization of the topics and lack of dates on the articles invokes an administrative dashboard feel to the site.

The pros: RSS, About and Search are clear, at the top and quick to locate, and their social networking approach is great.

The site is brand new and will surely undergo changes as it settles and makes itself home, and these suggestions are a good place to start. Then running the site through 3rd Party Feedback for additional feedback will point them in the right direction.