The target audiences of these two particular web sites cover a broad range. According to www.usatoday.com their demographics state that usatoday.com receives 10.3 million readers a month with 60% of those who do log onto their web site being male. The median age of those who visit this resource is 41, a college graduate, and also has a median income of $70,000. 49% of this population visited this site at least once in the last week.
According to www.bbc.uk their demographics state that more than 79.9 million pages were visited in December 2001. BBCi has an average of about 20 million people world wide logging onto their news sites each month. BBCi has also won the Webby for best radio site in the world. BBCi is currently working on publishing websites in 43 different languages. Their audience ranges from children to adults with no specific target range. Their multiple sites have a diverse age appeal in comparison to that of USA Today.
The USA Today offers current events, news and entertainment stories that are presented much like their conventional newspaper. However there are slight differences in the two medians. First the electronic USA Today is interactive. Anyone who logs onto this site becomes a target audience for advertising. USA Today charges $1 million a year for a once a week placement Monday through Thursday and an additional $200,000 for Friday. They claim to have over 400 advertisers using their service; therefore when viewing the website this explains why the current events are surrounded by advertisements. USA Today has one goal to make profits by selling advertisements while delivering news. Despite USA Today’s motivation by profits the website is beneficial in some degree on a national level.
The USA Today website offers a brief overview of what is happening in the world and the national level at a glimpse. This could be one of the main appeals of the website. The USA Today reaches out to an audience that is, more than not, college educated with money. These people are usually on the go constantly and look to this website to keep them in touch as to what is happening in the world. The website displays up to date current events on its homepage then offers hyperlinks to areas of other interest such as money, sports, life, tech, and weather. These hyperlinks and the website in general are presented in such a manner to give the website viewer the traditional USA Today newspaper look and feel.
In comparison to the USA Today website, the BBCi offers an advertisement free, subscription free public service website. The BBCi website is less visually stimulating after viewing a website like USA Today. BBCi is a text based website that uses graphics sparingly. The site is not as colorful as others but has more to offer in the areas of current events. The website boasts in its heading that their news is updated every minute of every day. Not only is the site textual but they are also offering audio bulletins. BBC broadcast news coverage over the net. They like the USA Today have tried to use there website as a means of expanding. BBC is working on expanding their radio program into the realm of the World Wide Web.
The major difference between these two websites is their purpose and goals for the website’s they host. USA Today’s motivation is that of profit from advertisements. Consequently, USA Today’s presentation of web material, or news, must be visually stimulating and appealing. The various kinds of information found on the USA Today website can be less news worthy than the content found on the BBCi website. The hook, or concept, is to draw the viewer into the site by giving them news surrounded with highly entertaining non-consequential facts; for example, how may American women wear a bra on a daily basis, all the while advertising products. USA Today captures potential advertisers by appealing to an audiences taste, advertisers and news seekers alike, in order to generate revenue.
The BBCi; however, is a public supported news agency funded by government and licensing fees. This means that the overall content of the BBCi websites must be broader in content in order to appeal to the larger audience supporting this organization through their tax dollars. The BBCi has the ability to cover more news worthy subjects, of a wider range and context, than does the USA Today due to the nature of its audience. By not thriving on commercialism non-consequential facts are less likely to be viewed on a BBCi website in comparison to USA Today’s website.
The BBCi demographics are hard to estimate due to their broad audience appeal. They offer much more than the USA Today site. BBCi has more than one site and they are trying to reach as many people as possible. Their goal is not only to inform but to educate and entertain. They want to reach children, young adults, and adults of all ages. The demographics vary depending on what BBCi site that the user visits.
Although these two websites appeal to different audiences they both have educational value. When USA Today and BBCi are used in conjunction with each other the U.S. student, in particular, or whoever is looking into current events will get a national representation of world events from USA Today. Then by comparing the same event with the BBCi, a different perspective based outside the USA, the student doing research will receive national and a world point of view. This approach informs the student of how the USA views current events and how those outside the USA perceives the same event. American students are typically cut off from the world. Through World Wide Web access, relying upon web research, an American Student is able to overcome this inherently American ideal of isolationism. The World Wide Web provides a broad representation of current events and with the right approach a student is able to become more aware and better informed in regard to current events.