Mrtraveler01 737 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Just checking out the reactions people have about the new WKRC website on their Facebook page and it doesn't look like they're winning anyone over. https://www.facebook.com/WKRCTV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw-804 190 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Some Sinclair stations' websites definitely need a redesign, like WCHS (as SANewsGuy mentioned), WRLH, KDNL and WXLV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Some Sinclair stations' websites definitely need a redesign, like WCHS (as SANewsGuy mentioned), WRLH, KDNL and WXLV. To be fair, outside of WCHS, none of these stations have their own news departments and get their news from outsourced stations (WRLH from WWBT, KDNL from KSDK, and WXLV from News 14 Carolina). I actually understand why these stations have the My/CW template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3471 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Other than WCHS (and WVAH), KABB and WZTV still have the old template, and those stations have their own news departments. WLYH and WMYA have the new template, even though they're CW and MyNetwork stations, but have newscasts (by WHP and WLOS, respectively). Their lesser stations without news departments, including WTWC and KDNL maintain the old template. WXLV has a slightly modified template that is similar to the old one. I was surprised to see WJTC pick up the new template. Being Sinclair's lone independent, they have operated as more of an extension of WPMI since they lost UPN in 2006. Even the website under Inergize mirrored WPMI's aside from some features exclusive to UTV44.com. WJTC doesn't air newscasts....yet, but it could be a possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1509 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Just checking out the reactions people have about the new WKRC website on their Facebook page and it doesn't look like they're winning anyone over. https://www.facebook.com/WKRCTV Somewhere I see joy in that in the offices of WCPO, and to a lesser extent WLWT, seeing those posts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 It appears that WOAI's Inergize page has been taken down and WOAI radio (no relation to the TV station after Clear Channel sold it in 2008) has assumed the woai.com domain. news4sa.com, woaitv.com, and kmol.com all redirect to an error message on the radio station's site. I assume those will be redirected to news4sanantonio.com soon, especially the news4sa one, because they just started using that one. woai.com now just redirects to radio.woai.com (for now). Also, look what I saw while WOAI's new site was trying to load: How tacky and unprofessional. When the page is done loading, eventually the correct top stories show up. As mre29 noted, It looks unfinished to me, as if the developers ran out of time and had to make it live as-is. Also, it kind of feels like the elements on the homepage (and, likely, other pages) aren't lined up well, making the page look poorly-designed. I second this. I used to visit the WOAI site regularly for news but I will be turning away, probably just sticking with the local newspaper's website or KENS5.com (the quality of their on-air product and website have improved SIGNIFICANTLY under their new ND. I may actually start watching them regularly now that WOAI is under Sinclair stewardship). KSAT.com is pretty bad, relies too much on crime stories that have zero relevance to S.A. And KABB's site is horrendous and this new Sinclair design isn't much of an improvement. The site seems to have been put on as quickly as possible. Also, the Sinclair web developers dont know what a contraction is (yes, that "dont" was intentional). If you have the time to look at the on-air bios on the redesigned Sinclair sites, the grammar is horrendous. It wasn't like that on the previous sites.... Just saying. whptv.com now displays an error message but whptv.com/default.aspx continues to display their old site (no longer updated). Can you spot WOAI's mistake here? (No, it is not the butchering of "UTSA" as "USTA" or the misspelling of "Talons") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Can you spot WOAI's mistake here? (No, it is not the butchering of "UTSA" as "USTA" or the misspelling of "Talons") Why? Does San Antonio have a professional basketball team or something? (Sinclair's websites always looked half-ass and cheap in their design) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Why? Does San Antonio have a professional basketball team or something? (Sinclair's websites always looked half-ass and cheap in their design) yep. I'm shocked they omitted the Spurs. Whoever designed that is a Heat fan. The misspellings don't surprise me. I expect that from Sinclair. But seriously? How could they forget the Spurs? :huh: I'm shocked they even bothered including the Texans since San Antonio is Cowboys country... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 What I don't get is how haphazardly this was done. I just checked WTEV's website (sold to Cox), and I noticed that they have still have the Inergize template. This leads me to believe that Sinclair wasn't forced to switch their newly acquired stations to their format all of a sudden with no prior warning but decided to do so on its own. That being said, that makes it even more upsetting since they had time to plan this all out and to get their apps up and running during the same time they're switching websites instead of making people wait 7-10 days for it to be available. I can't imagine this is winning over their viewers. As critical as I always am of Sinclair, even I thought they could've done a better job handling this than they have so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 They could've also worked on their redirects. woaitv.com and kmol.com still redirect to an error page on WOAI radio's site (who has fully assumed the woai.com domain, and they wasted no time switching their site from radio.woai.com to woai.com). In a market where the vast majority of people still call channel 4 by the incorrect call letters, you would think Sincla!r could've at least redirected these to the new site too... :bang: They did manage to at least redirect news4sa.com to the new page too. But IMO, every TV station should at least have their call letters redirect to a page. I know Sincla!r pays Clear Channel for the right to use the call letters "WOAI-TV" (with rumors WOAI could be switching calls back to KMOL when the contract ends) and they had to share a domain with the radio station. So I see why they changed the website domain. I hope Sincla!r just ends up cutting a deal with Worldnow or somebody else instead of trying to do something in-house that they clearly aren't experts in. Just pay the experts to do your sites and stick to what your expertise is in, broadcasting. The one positive of the Sincla!r sites is their decent live-streaming technology. WKRC finally has a working live stream for once. I can finally watch Local 12 News, thank god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Sorry for the bump and double post, but FWIW, this article was in the local paper this morning. WOAI-TV launches new website By Jeanne Jakle : July 18, 2013 : Updated: July 18, 2013 8:21pm WOAI-TV has launched a new, video-intensive website, News4SA.com, which finally distinguishes the NBC affiliate's online presence from that of WOAI radio. “Our new corporate parent (Sinclair Broadcasting Group) made the decision to move away from sharing a website with WOAI radio,” the television station's webmaster, Jerrod Kingery, said Thursday. WOAI.com now is strictly the place to go for content associated with the news/talk radio station (AM 1200) owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc., he said. “None of the old television pages can be found there anymore.” He said the new site, which can be reached by clicking on www.news4sanantonio.com, has been up and running full-force today; although “we're still making cosmetic tweaks, getting it shaped exactly how we want it.” It was available as early as Tuesday; however, the station has been busy troubleshooting any problems. Hassles mainly have revolved around people's frustrations at not being able to find the TV station online. “Those who had bookmarked the site with the old URL address,” Kingery said. “I've gotten dozens of calls from people trying to find us,” he said. Kingery explained that News4SA.com is now much more video intensive. “Every story should have video attached. You should be able to find every story that aired on the 10 p.m. news (or any other News 4 newscast) in its entirety.” In addition, when someone comments on a story, it should show up on that person's Facebook page, he said. “That way, they can share it with their friends.” Though the new site has been promoted on WOAI's newscasts for a while, Kingery said, “it's always a learning process for people. Anyone with a problem can call the station (210-226-4444) and ask for me and I'll do my best to help.” [email protected] OK Sinclair. This is why you redirect woaitv.com and kmol.com to the new site. Because when you switch sites, people will get confused. I understand they didn't really have a choice of keeping their existing site domain (Clear Channel owns the woai.com domain and had been itching to get full control of it again) unlike their sister stations that switched. But they could have found other ways to get this out too. :bang: Also, Kingery is trying to sugarcoat the whole thing, and I hate to say it, but he honestly doesn't know what he's talking about. “Our new corporate parent (Sinclair Broadcasting Group) made the decision to move away from sharing a website with WOAI radio,” Wrong answer. It wasn't Sinclair's choice as much as it was Clear Channel's. Also Sinclair happened to be redesigning their sites anyways so that's why this happened now. The new site isn't exactly winning people over: taxpayer2much 7:16 PM on July 18, 2013 I looked at it today. Totally useless. Much like the TV station. The old site was way better. Back to KSAT 12. vm-24129507 5:37 PM on July 18, 2013 really bad website. need to get their money back from whoever designed it. If they had went with the KUTV design, it would not have been as bad. KSAT's site isn't much better and neither is KABB's. I'll be switching to kens5.com from now on (even though I hate that station, but give Triston Sanders credit. That station is leap years better than it was under that jerk ND Kurt Davis). I'll still watch 4 on TV though, for now, until Massa David and his little devils get to work. p.s. It must have been a slow day. I don't even know why this made our paper, it's not newsworthy if you ask me. I wish Hearst would swap this paper to the Washington Post in exchange for KSAT... I'll keep dreaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mre29 1340 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 The homepage is broken. [ATTACH]1217.IPB[/ATTACH] Way to go, Sinclair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundershock MN 169 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 They could've also worked on their redirects. woaitv.com and kmol.com still redirect to an error page on WOAI radio's site (who has fully assumed the woai.com domain, and they wasted no time switching their site from radio.woai.com to woai.com). In a market where the vast majority of people still call channel 4 by the incorrect call letters, you would think Sincla!r could've at least redirected these to the new site too... :bang: They did manage to at least redirect news4sa.com to the new page too. But IMO, every TV station should at least have their call letters redirect to a page. I know Sincla!r pays Clear Channel for the right to use the call letters "WOAI-TV" (with rumors WOAI could be switching calls back to KMOL when the contract ends) and they had to share a domain with the radio station. So I see why they changed the website domain. Sorry for the bump and double post, but FWIW, this article was in the local paper this morning. OK Sinclair. This is why you redirect woaitv.com and kmol.com to the new site. Because when you switch sites, people will get confused. I understand they didn't really have a choice of keeping their existing site domain (Clear Channel owns the woai.com domain and had been itching to get full control of it again) unlike their sister stations that switched. But they could have found other ways to get this out too. :bang: Correct. woai.com domain is owned by Clear Channel. Also, Clear Channel registered the branding "News4 WOAI". So, It makes sense that as part of the split back in 06-07 that Newport would agree to pay to share the woai.com domain and use the "News4 WOAI" branding. And, either that argreement wasn't allowed to continue with the sale to another group (Sinclair) Or, the new group (Sinclair) chose not to continue the agreement. So, new branding was created "News4 San Antonio" and the new website. As to the redirects. A quick whois search shows Clear Channel also owns woaitv.com. However, kmol.com is owned by Sinclair. Not sure how much a redirect associated with a call sign that you haven't used in over a decade would help. But, it's really kind of a rock and a hard place. Argeed that stations should use their calls as their domain name whenever possible. These wierd names that sometimes get used are confusing and do nothing to extend the brand in my mind (Nexstar, I'm looking in your direction.) However, news4sanantonio.com isn't that bad as that is the branding they are using for their newscasts. WRT, to the topic at hand. Most of this has already been stated. But, These new sites seem clunky, cluttered and unfinished. It just seems like a complete rush job. Just throw something out there for the masses and we will work through the kinks instead of beta testing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Correct. woai.com domain is owned by Clear Channel. Also, Clear Channel registered the branding "News4 WOAI". So, It makes sense that as part of the split back in 06-07 that Newport would agree to pay to share the woai.com domain and use the "News4 WOAI" branding. And, either that argreement wasn't allowed to continue with the sale to another group (Sinclair) Or, the new group (Sinclair) chose not to continue the agreement. So, new branding was created "News4 San Antonio" and the new website. This post is far more intelligent than anything my friend at WOAI told me. He said they changed branding to create synergy with KABB but I don't think that was the case. I'd say Sinclair chose not to renew their agreement with Clear Channel (cost savings that way). As to the redirects. A quick whois search shows Clear Channel also owns woaitv.com. However' date=' kmol.com is owned by Sinclair. Not sure how much a redirect associated with a call sign that you haven't used in over a decade would help. But, it's really kind of a rock and a hard place. Argeed that stations should use their calls as their domain name whenever possible. These wierd names that sometimes get used are confusing and do nothing to extend the brand in my mind (Nexstar, I'm looking in your direction.) However, news4sanantonio.com isn't that bad as that is the branding they are using for their newscasts. Wow, I never knew CC owned woaitv.com, considering that they started using that during Newport ownership as their new email-domain. The reason I say they use kmol.com as a redirect though is A TON of people here still call 4 by that callsign despite the fact they changed call signs 11 years ago (some people just don't get it, I know). KABB uses foxsanantonio.com for their site, and it's stupid. I don't get why they switched. There was nothing wrong with kabb.com. In fact, most KABB staffers themselves type kabb.com to get to their site instead of foxsanantonio.com. Sinclair does own myfoxsa.com domain if they ever wanted to shorten it, or they could buy foxsa.com. Way shorter than foxsanantonio.com and I think TV station site names should be short too. The homepage is broken. woai-screenshot.jpg Way to go, Sinclair. What browser are you using? Displays fine for me in Firefox (though I admit I have Ad Block; it displays differently if I disable it). It also appears broken in IE. Usually as a rule of thumb, Sinclair, when you design a website, it should work in at least IE, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome, as those are the major browsers. You don't just design with one in mind, but with all. Ugh Sinclair! :bang: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 This post is far more intelligent than anything my friend at WOAI told me. He said they changed branding to create synergy with KABB but I don't think that was the case. I'd say Sinclair chose not to renew their agreement with Clear Channel (cost savings that way). I hate the word "synergy". It's such an abused term and usually is a word people use to sound smart when they're just talking BS. That said, I do take it as a sign that Sinclair wants to distance itself from the WOAI calls (ie: giving woai.com back to Clear Channel). I wouldn't be too shocked if they flipped back to KMOL after their agreement to use the WOAI calls expires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvweatherman 0 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Do you think KDNL and KBSI will get new websites? Their websites are a couple versions ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Do you think KDNL and KBSI will get new websites? Their websites are a couple versions ago. Considering that neither of them have a news department (KBSI gets their news from KFVS), I think these websites are low on the priority list for Sinclair. Although KBSI has a much more dated template than KDNL does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Considering that neither of them have a news department (KBSI gets their news from KFVS), I think these websites are low on the priority list for Sinclair. Although KBSI has a much more dated template than KDNL does. KBSI's template dates to late 2007; you should have seen the crap they used previously. KDNL uses the same template as KBSI which also dates to 2007, but they modified it a little in 2011 when Sinclair modified their in-house CMS. I actually applaud Sinclair for taking their sites in-house. Before then, the various site designs were left up to the stations, who usually outsourced to a local web designer. So the results were varied. WCHS STILL uses a template from 2000, will they ever switch? Hell, even the awful WBFF template is better than what WCHS is using now... I'd be more worried about WCHS' site than KDNL's or KBSI's. Also, I spoke to my friend who works at WOAI the other day; he said that KABB and WOAI plan to be on the same CMS (meaning both stations producers will be able to edit each others site) but has no clue when KABB will switch templates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3471 Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 WVAH's website (WCHS's sister station) looks almost identical to the KBSI site....and its been that way for as long as I can remember (2001ish)... I remember when Sinclair started their "supercast" sites....these were the first websites for their stations and the web addresses were all call-letter-channel number (ie WSYX6.com or WTTE28. com) These sites resemble the older Sinclair sites that still exist today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bammy9 26 Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 KFOX, WJAC, KRXI, and WTOV received new websites today. It is the same template as the WOAI site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3471 Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 KFOX, WJAC, KRXI, and WTOV received new websites today. It is the same template as the WOAI site. That was fast.... With all of the changes going on at the same time, it's no wonder that most of the pages have some kind of issue with them. I wonder what Sinclair has up their sleeve when they get Barrington and Fisher's stations.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 The former Cox stations didn't have a choice. Cox's CMS is proprietary. I'm sure Cox wanted them off ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techie893 0 Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 I noticed a few hours ago that WRSP/WCCU and WBUI have new websites. WBUI's "old site" was a subsection of the old WRSP/WCCU site that was designed by Broadcast Interactive Media. The old website was still up when I last visited on July 18th. For it to be 2013, the new WRSP/WCCU design seems to be outdated, bland, and hard to navigate (good thing I don't visit their site that often). What were they thinking??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techie893 0 Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Sorry for the double post, it's my first time posting. I've been following the site for the past few months and find it very informative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 I noticed a few hours ago that WRSP/WCCU and WBUI have new websites. WBUI's "old site" was a subsection of the old WRSP/WCCU site that was designed by Broadcast Interactive Media. The old website was still up when I last visited on July 18th. For it to be 2013, the new WRSP/WCCU design seems to be outdated, bland, and hard to navigate (good thing I don't visit their site that often). What were they thinking??? "How can we design a website that can do the bare minimum for the least amount of money?" Last time I was on it, none of the videos would play. As I said on another thread, it will be sad when WJLA trades in their easy to use website for this crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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