As newspapers flail about for survival, many are placing more emphasis on their online properties as the LA Times has just done with a reworking of its website. The new site has a wider layout as practically no one lives within the constraints of 800 X 600 screen size any longer, better access to service features, more access points on the homepage and a “most emailed story” feature. But, as if responding to a defining, “Hello, is anyone home?”, the site still does not supply RSS feeds. Granted, everyone doesn’t consume media through an RSS reader but the ones that do are the ones that can dramatically influence traffic, hence, salable page views for the paper.
Assuming the LA Times wants its site read, one might assume it would employ all methods at their disposal to drive traffic to the site. RSS is an extremely simple method of attracting readership or, at least, providing content in a format that an increasing number of readers prefer. It’s inexcusable that any online news site not provide RSS feeds.
