Press Release

MSNBC.com Launches Streamlined, Consumer-Focused News Site
In Response to Consumer Feedback, MSNBC.com Delivers Enhanced Functionality and Design Changes

For Immediate Release (Redmond, WA)— MSNBC.com is the first top news site to offer the combination of relevance features and an unparalleled depth of content. Responding to consumer feedback and research, MSNBC.com today launched an enhanced version of its Web site with innovative new features and a clean look.  These changes will make it easier for users to navigate their news – from breaking news stories and award winning journalism to free streaming video segments from NBC News and other broadcast news partners.

New “Related” and “Recommended” stories maximize users’ time, interest and experience with the site.  As users scan headlines or read a full story, these features highlight other headlines either related to the current story or recommended by MSNBC.com based on what they previously read. This feature appears on all stories throughout the site. 

Other added benefits available to MSNBC.com users are the ability to receive recommendations from fellow users, as well as voice their own opinions about the content they are reading. The “User Ratings,” “Most Emailed” and “Most Viewed” features combine the opinions and actions of users and display them alongside the related headlines.  These features update in real time and the headlines are generated by what is popular within the MSNBC.com community.

Visual design changes further ease and improve the user experience with a lighter, crisper look and feel, anchored placement of site elements and better integration with the NBC News family of content.  The new design also decreases page load time and improves the overall performance of the site. 

“Our goal is to make MSNBC.com the most relevant and usable news site. We’re using proprietary Microsoft technology and a fresh design to do that,” said Charlie Tillinghast, General Manager and Publisher of MSNBC.com.  “By constantly listening to what our users have to say, we adapt our site to meet their changing needs.”

Further detail on features:

Recommended Stories.  Upon entering the site and navigating to at least seven different stories, MSNBC.com users will be provided a list on the cover page of recommended articles, auto-generated based on the stories that the user previously viewed.  Users will be provided with an explanation of why particular stories were selected for them, the ability to modify their history for more focused results and an option to turn off the feature altogether.  Should a user opt to turn this feature off, it will be replaced with an “Editor’s Choice” list.

Related Articles.  Alongside each story, MSNBC.com users will be provided a list of other suggested stories with content similar to that which they are reading.  The list is anchored to the right of each article.

User Ratings.  MSNBC.com users will have the opportunity to rate articles- and those ratings will be displayed on each story.  This offers a way for users to gauge the popularity of a story based on the opinions of others, and make recommendations themselves.

Most Viewed Stories.  MSNBC.com users will be provided a list of the most-read stories on the site.  This list offers a real-time glimpse into what others are reading.

Most Emailed Stories.  Through MSNBC.com’s “email this” functionality, this list ranks the most emailed items, thus giving users the opportunity to see what others are compelled to share with their community of friends and family.