Murray: At first glance, the Austin American-Statesman site appears rather drab. No photos or illustrations were available, or at least they would not appear in the boxes when I clicked on them.

In "It's your call, America," staff writers Ken Herman and Ken Foskett gave more space to Al Gore than to Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Herman wrote a story about the Bush camp and its hour-by-hour watch. Leah Quinn wrote a story about a local election judge and the work involved. "It's not 'Springer,' but TV networks counting on just as much drama" was a catchy headline over a story about Election Night coverage.

One interesting story was about Lyndon Baines Johnson and his quest for votes in 1937. Although also drab, the CenTex Voter's Guide is informative and includes information on national, state and local levels. All of the writers have e-mail addresses listed. The site includes links to various sections. An editor from the newspaper told me about two weeks ago that the paper is working on expanding its online operation. As of now, most of the content seems to have been taken from the newspaper.

Markos: I have tried to form my first impressions about Tennessean.com without clicking on anything. I thought that the home page should be doing all of the work if we are talking about first impressions. And since there isn't much of a content on the home page, most of my first impressions will depend on format rather than on content.

Now, what do I think of the Tennessean.com home page? My first impression about Tennessean.com is that it is a "standard" website. It has lists on the sides and story introductions in the center. Almost every newspaper website I know has the same format.

I am asking the same question about Tennessean.com that I have been about all the websites which have endorsed this format. Newspapers (print) place their most important stories at the top right, and in rare cases at the top left, but never (to my knowledge) in the center. Why do websites always place their stories in the center?

I know these are questions that are least appropriate to ask a few hours before election results are to be announced. But if you ask me why I am asking them, it is because the Tennessean.com format is so similar to most other formats I have seen that my first impressions are hardly different from my impressions about other sites.

Markos: You mentioned Gore getting more space than Bush. Has that given you any impressions about the website's impartiality? Or what is your guess that it's trying to do?

If it were completely up to you to edit the website, what would you do about the drab appearance? Photos will certainly help, but how would you reorganize the text to make it more attractive?

Would you say the website has a lot of links, or did you feel it was trying to to tell you everything itself?

Murray: Since [Texas] is Bush's current home of residence, where he has been governor for six years, Austin's audience might feel saturated with Bush. I am unaware if the newspaper endorsed a candidate, but on Election Day it appears to be giving an impression of balancing its content. I do like the idea that the site offered a mix of local, state and national coverage. If I were editing the website, I would add some color photos and perhaps graphics, especially as states went in favor of one candidate or another. This web page has numerous links, especially to other departments such as sports. As I mentioned earlier, the staff has plans to expand and redevelop the site. I wish that could have happened before the national election.

Murray: Austin360.com has a link labeled Interactive Features. I clicked the link and found a section on Gov. Bush's White House bid. Under a headline that Perot endorses Bush and Bush admits DUI conviction was the question: "Will this affect your vote?" Bush was leading Gore 49 percent to 42 percent in a poll that showed Nader with 6 percent. More than 41,000 viewers had responded to the poll. The site offered a message area to discuss the race. People can click and chat about various topics, including Campaign 2000 as well as Elvis Lives! The site offers a wide selection of links to click on. The site appears to have some interactive opportunities.

Markos: The Tennessean.com has a forum where you can send your comments. There are long e-mails with no graphics or pictures, so people are not likely to be drawn into them. Also, the messages are full of opinions, written by unidentified people, so readers are obviously not expected to trust these pieces.

But certainly, Tennessean.com is using its forum to keep people glued to its website, engaged in debates, and sometimes in name-calling and all sorts of comebacks. Whatever, but that keeps them in the Tennessean.com website, and they will get to read the latest updates as soon as they are posted.

Tennessean.com also invites visitors to join in its e-mail news update service, which is an attempt to get readers into the website while they are checking their e-mails.

So, in a nutshell, interactivity is more of a marketing device for the Tennessean.com.

Murray: Interactivity appears to be one of the keys to attracting and retaining viewers on a website. As you know, in order for communication to be successful, the receivers must be afforded a chance to provide feedback. Those persons who are attracted to a site by chat rooms or opinion polls might also decide to read various news items and perhaps even advertisements on the site. As I have mentioned, the Austin site has some pretty solid content but it is unattractive to look at. Notice how some of the more nationally oriented websites have several devices to attract attention. The Austin site offers some interactive selections, but the site had not been updated as of 7 p.m.

Markos: Right, people won't turn on their PCs, log on to your website and eat dinner while they wait for your latest update (like they would do with TV), so you have to give them a reason not to click and move on to some other site, or not to shut down their computers and watch TV instead. Right now, there are hundreds of people in the "forums" fiercely battling over all sorts of issues. I think interactivity is doing a great job getting people's attention.

Markos: One story about The Tennessean's political milestone in Tennessean.com is very cleverly written. With years used as subheadings, the writer, Larry Daughtrey, narrates the state's most significant political landmark events. The sentences are short (15 words on average) and very short paragraphs no longer than five lines. Plus, a chronological way of narrating a story tends to keep readers going. The headline, "From the state's beginnings to Al Gore, a look at Tennessean's political milestones," tries to indicate the relevance of Tennessean's political history on election night.

In all the stories I read, there are virtually no passive-voice sentences. The writing is quite formal.

Markos: I noticed the same thing in Tennessean.com. They haven't even updated the page for hours now. When Gore won Florida, the St. Petersburg Times posted the news minutes after the news was broadcast on CNN. But Tennessean.com hasn't been that fast when Bush won Tennessee.

Murray: The Austin American-Statesman writers write well, but if one observes the site tonight, he/she would think they all took the night off. I wonder when the election coverage stories will be posted. Some Texans probably really enjoyed the feature story about LBJ in his younger days.

Murray: In summary, effective websites, in order to attract and retain readers, must be attractive and informative. They must offer updated information that readers want or need. If they shut down early, especially on occasions such as Election Night, they take the chance that readers will turn to more accommodating sites and might be tempted to return there. Writing should be crisp and tight, and the site should be as interactive as possible to allow readers a sense of participation.

Markos: Tennessean.com is a local-oriented website, but considering that the state is Al Gore's home, this site should have been shining. But even something as unusual as Bush winning Gore's home state is not moving this website. Yes, these people must be off!