2 January 2007

Rural Press actually do know the CT has a website

| johnboy
Join the conversation
10

Here at RiotACT we’ve frequently mocked the Canberra Times’ website. It’s almost certainly the worst maintained site of any metropolitan daily in Australia, possibly the world. It fails comparisons to the Yass Tribune. It’s so bad that people flock to RiotACT in their thousands to read my drivel rather than wait a day for the off chance the CT website will cover a story.

It’s got to the point that mocking the CT’s website is just too easy, frankly it’s beneath us.

So it was with some amusement that I greeted the news from our robots that TVNZ was talking to Rural Press chief executive, Brian McCarthy, noting that when it comes to the internet there is high penetration in Canberra (hopefully not a Fyshwick reference).

Goodness me, he knows people in Canberra have the internet? But wait, it gets better!

In the same article the Fairfax CEO, David Kirk, is blowing the horn of his internet properties while demanding the taxpayer subsidize the delivery of those properties to his customers:

The merged group will have over five million visitors each month to websites including smh.com.au, theage.com.au, farmonline.com.au, canberratimes.com.au and yourguide.com.au.

Could it be they’re going to start getting serious about the internet? Or just more talk? I’d ask them but they don’t reply to my emails for reasons passing understanding.

Join the conversation

10
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

To give credit to the Canberra Times website it has improved over the years. However this site is by far the best for local news.

I think you’re a really beautiful guy, johnboy, and I want you to know that I don’t believe for a moment those rumours your ex has been spreading about you!

Maybe you need to use the “Submit News” link right on the top of every damn page to get there first?

Let me know when you figure out how to publish your own story on the Canberra Times site you idiot.

sorry to be a snag in the self-congratulatory flow, bros, but I’ve found RiotACT the most difficult (expletive deleted) site to use I’ve ever come across (but I don’t pretend to be technically minded). Like, the explanatory material says that when you want to make a post you hit “publish”! I can’t see “publish” anwhere!

Having not bought a CT in oh about 10 years, I can see that whilst these days the CT might have flashes of competence (re: jb’s comment) it is still by and large shite… guess it’ll be another decade before I buy one.

After my praise of the revamped email, they had to go screw it up today by leaving yesterday’s page and cartoon in…

However I think the back page of the first section was both cogent and insightful.

barking toad9:08 am 03 Jan 07

My view of the dead tree version was confirmed by today’s issue where the headline front page is an opinion piece screeching about the sky falling because of global warming caused by evil humans and how we’ll all be rooned in 10 years.

Apart from the fact that the whole thing was shite, why present some opinion piece as news that is worthy of the front page? And worse, it was just an article lifted straight from The Independent.

If this what is is to be served up as “news” then any changes to the on-line version while be a waste of time – it’ll still be full of shite.

I get their daily email bulletin, and the first one for 2007 is a vast improvement over what I used to get. Good layout, embedded front page, photos. Much like other papers around the country have been doing for a few years now. So perhaps they are seeing the light?
But on the subject of CT incompetence, a few weeks ago I said OK to a trial 5 week subscription for $10 they were hawking outside Magnet Mart. It ran out middle of last week, although I didn’t realise the trial was up and rang to report no paper delivered. I said to the person I was surprised no-one had called to advise it was about to happen and she said the telemarketing team were all on holidays. So how well organised is that? Gives me time before being asked to resubscribe to get used to NOT being semi-woken by the delivery vehicle roaring up our street at 3AM every morning.

Another interesting experience to the trial was you get a phone number to call if your paper hasn’t been delivered by 6AM. I called to report this once at 6.30AM, but then the paper was delivered some time after that (so we got 2 that day). The next morning the delivery guy roars up the street, tosses out the paper and sings out “fucking liar!” and roars off…

the CT website is a disgrace. It is useless, and not even worth going to for any reason. It’s even worse than the paper CT.
I suspect the SMH is more read (in paper and online) in Canberra than the CT.

I cannot fathom why, in this age, the CT continues to run such an awful website.

I didn’t know the rural press was part of Fairfax.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.