Apparently big media is betting elective surgery can help it cope with its identity crisis, and the new face of news has begun to emerge from underneath the bandages. In fact, between Bloomberg’s reboot, The Times’s digital mitosis, and the BBC news revamp (among others), we’re seeing the industry’s major players up the ante with each new bid for digital relevance.

The Economist’s recent makeover (which launched today) serves as a good example of the mixed results we’re seeing from this approach. While the site’s enhancements give it a cleaner UI as well as a crisp look and feel, the new Economist.com home page fails to leverage the power of social media in any meaningful way. And oversights of that magnitude can turn even the freshest faces into sourpusses overnight.

Posted via email from RPPL | Comment »