The big news from the New York Times today was the release of Times Reader, their cross platform application for reading the news. Built on the Adobe AIR framework it attempts to provide a solution for reading the Times on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
A lot has been made about the efforts by the Times to adapt to a digital model for news that is profitable. Many see the Times Reader as a step toward distributing content in a way that could provide for the ability to better monetize content. Here’s the reality though: the Times Reader represents just one more step taken by the New York Times that illustrates how this company just doesn’t get online news.
A misunderstanding of reading on the web
The narrow columns make reading an article block-like and tiring.
The Times apparently worked extremely hard to get the app to mimic the look of the print edition. While this may be understandable, since the print edition is the shining example of what made the New York Times the pillar of American journalism that it likes to think it is, it ultimately shows an utter disregard for how content is read on a computer screen.
The narrow columns create a line length that just appears block-like and is quite frankly hard to read. While narrow columns may be great to quickly scan a story excerpt they are awful for any sustained article. They tire the eyes and in my opinion break up the flow of the text.
