ManchesterOnline: Review and rate
ManchesterOnline is a daily, online local newspaper site that brings all of the latest news from the Manchester City area. It currently holds the award for the 'best daily newspaper Internet site' from the newspaper society new media awards. This article will provide a review on this newspaper.
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Local paper
Manchester Online is very much a local paper in terms of the types of stories that they run. The sports section is fairly extensive, but there are also specific sections dedicated to business, health and travel issues. The local news is very good and there seems to be a big focus on schools and what we would call, 'positive news.' By this, it means news that talks about local people's achievements or upcoming events or changes that are going to be occurring in the area. This is quite refreshing as most of the news that we encounter these days tends to be negative.
Focus on jobs
At Manchesteronline, they are hugely dedicated to advertising jobs for their readers. There is an extensive job searching section as well as a section for employers to advertise jobs to its readers. There is also a CV station which enables readers to apply for jobs and upload their CVs so that potential employers who are browsing the sites can search for candidates. The jobs section section is extremely good and the newspapers dedication trying to get its readers in to employment is very creditable.
Newspaper extras
As well as the standard features that the website offers, they also offer more niche sections. For example, there is a dating section where readers can advertise themselves in order to meet a potential suitor, as well as bingo section.
Motor and weather section
There is also a motor section in which readers can advertise and buy cars and other motor vehicles. This section is fairly good and offers a good selection and the dating section is fairly average, but the bingo is nothing to shout about. The weather section is a nice feature that is not found on all local newspaper websites, however, the online shop seems to be a rather pointless extra on the site.
TheStudentRoom.co.uk
The website also provides a link to the online newspapers sister paper, the TheStudentRoom.co.uk which offers a similar number of features as the ManchesterOnline website.