Continuing with my analysis of public media station websites, this time I'm going to look at good examples of local news on the home page. I would guess (and would love to see real statistics about user behavior) local news stories are probably one of the biggest draws to a station's site (and provides good feedback about what visitors are interested in, giving stations a better connection to the community). On the home page, one of the biggest challenges for a news-concious station is striking a balance between the news output, featured content, and outreach. You can also browse the full gallery of public media websites.

WBUR (Boston, MA)

WBUR has a lot of things going for it -- a large (and devoted) community, significant local and national production capacity, and some tech-savvy people on the back-end. WBUR uses the NPR API to pull in national content, mixed with local content and productions, as well as web-original material ("HubBub"). Besides a well laid-out page (and good typography), I like the section headers which provide context (and make it easier to do curated sets of content).

KPCC | Southern California Public Radio

KPCC has a lot of local content and does a great job highlighting it, between the local and state coverage, in-depth reporting, and KPCC blogs, all featured on the front page. Like WBUR, there is a content block devoted to most viewed stories, which is a great way to expose recently popular content without sacrificing space.

WXXI (Rochester, NY)

Unlike WBUR and KPCC, most stations probably can't support such a singular vision especially when their identity is fragmented over multiple outlets. WXXI, in my opinion, does a good job balancing the television and promotional material with a simple, brief news sidebar. I like WXXI's two-tiered approach to news; lead stories are published with iconography and a brief blurb, while other reporting is posted with just a title. I'm also curious to see how Argo content produced by the InnovationTrail project will feature as that project grows. Digging into the site, they split the two tiers between locally hosted material and the Public NewsRoom service (I wonder how that is working out for them..).

Arizona Public Media

Like WXXI, APM also has to balance the challenges of being a joint-licensee, but as a state-wide network. Arizona clearly has significant local news gathering capacity and is able to feature a wide variety of news and featured content on the home page. The distinct sections should make it easier to support in-depth reporting or curated content as needed.

WKSU (Kent, OH)

I like WKSU's center column, with a lead story and the days other news prominently featured and the older features sliding down the page. Separating news and features removes some tension between reporting and promotion.

Vermont Public Radio

The VPR home page is simple and to the point -- categorized headlines with a couple areas for call-out items. While I'd like to see longer blurbs, I think this website works and provides a quick, at-a-glance view of state news without distracting elements.