A couple of years ago the BBC revamped its news website so when a major story came along it could push aside all the detritus and devote the top of the page to a single story - larger headline font and bigger image.
It was an admission of sorts that template-driven websites were all very well but come a big event (think 7/7, 9/11, Blair's resignation etc) there was a need to make a visual impact.
Implicit is the power of print. Despite the onward rush of digital, nowhere is a splash quite as effective than on the front page of a newspaper.
The Daily Telegraph's coverage of the Lehman Brothers' collapse last September is a vivid reminder of that.
Appropriate then that one year on Google has unveiled Fast Flip, digital's latest attempt to ape that power.
Related:
- News websites 1990s-style
- What’s Wrong With This Telegraph Front Page?
- The Express Fiddles While The Mail Earns
Jon Bernstein is a freelance writer and digital media consultant. He is the former multimedia editor for Channel 4 News, editor-in-chief of Directgov and editor-in-chief of silicon.com.
He also blogs at jonbernstein.wordpress.com
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