Windows to the World

By: Rich Kane

The world is dominated by two types of mobile phone platforms: Android and Apple. And then there’s Microsoft and its Windows phone, with a mere 3.6 percent of the U.S. market share, according to stats released in September by comScore.

But if you’re the Seattle Times, and an opportunity arises where you can partner up with Microsoft on a newly redesigned newsreader app for its Windows phone, you ignore the statistics and focus on the positives. Since Seattle is basically a Microsoft (and Amazon, and Starbucks) company town, with its headquarters in nearby Redmond, a partnership with the Times would seem serendipitous.

“Microsoft has a small share of the phone market, but with the Seattle Times, that’s not an insignificant share,” editor Kathy Best said. “It’s a lesson that we can apply as we assemble on multiple platforms, and a great way to go forward.”

Unlike many other newsreader apps, the Times app, released in June, highlights the paper’s photography in addition to—but not at the expense of—more familiar text layouts.

“We knew we wanted it to be visually compelling and highlight our journalism, and also our visual storytelling, something that showcases our photography and video space,” said Denise Clifton, visual strategy editor.

“The app allows us to showcase content in ways that we don’t do now,” Best said. “Visuals are really important, and the app takes advantage of some of the ease of navigation. It’s easy to get to sections of the paper that you want to, there’s customization of fonts, and you can keep photos accessible wherever you are in a story.”

All this is a precursor to a major Times website overhaul coming in January, which will also include significantly goosed-up Times apps for Android and iOS, Best added.

“The January updates will provide a much-improved user experience,” said John Frey, senior programmer of information technology. “You’ll see a major improvement in our Web experience on all platforms.”

But shouldn’t a newspaper in one of the tech capitals of the world be constantly at the cusp of new innovations that would improve their product? Best offers a substance-over-style answer.

“We always want to do something yesterday, but we also want to make sure we do it right, and make sure we’re producing something that meets our standards,” she said. “But since we’re family-owned, we don’t really have deep pockets, so we wanted to make sure we get the biggest bang for our buck. The family wants to position ourselves in the best place for the future.”

“We want to be serving readers wherever they are,” Clifton said. “That’s our most important role—giving our readers the most pleasant story reading experience.