
Washington Post Redesign as a Wiki

After our last post on “The Future of News” we have been asked again and again to illustrate:

  1. What does a newspaper as a wiki look like?
  2. How can newspapers bring their online and offline identity together?
  3. What is appropriate advertisement?
  4. What is an easy-to-read newspaper website?

Of course we are still not allowed to show the work we did for our client. So instead we made a sketch this afternoon of how the Washington Post might look as a wiki made by iA:

Washington Post print edition compared to wiki-based concept

In the meantime it still looks like this:

Washington Post print edition compared with the current site

Here is the direct comparison:

Washington Post Today vs. iA’s wiki-based concept

Now of course you want to look at it in detail, don’t you? Click on the image to see a 1:1 version:

Washington Post: iA’s wiki-based concept, linked to large version link: WSP_ORN1-5-wideb55.jpg class: img-border

Please note that:

  1. This is just a sketch that illustrates the possibilities we’ve discussed.
  2. The .jpg above is made from this design. The actual HTML dummy with the original design looks much nicer, as it scales and displays the fonts more clearly.
  3. iA is working on a project that looks very similar to this, meaning: a) You are not allowed to copy this in any way, and b) we cannot show you the detail of the wiki interface just yet.
  4. No: Wiki doesn’t mean that users cannot do whatever they like, the wiki is a publishing tool for editors, first of all.
  5. No: Users will not need to use wikicode. We found an elegant solution for that, believe it or not.
  6. Yes, users will be able to see an article’s history.
  7. We are going to post more on how a newspaper wiki would work very soon.
  8. Before criticizing (not enough ads, not enough stuff, too much like the printed edition, you are an idiot, etc.) please read this, or, if you’re in a hurry, this.

Addendum

Please read our follow-up article Newspaper Wiki: Schematics for more details.

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