Hey, what are you looking at?

If you're a regular reader of online news like I am, you've probably developed a routine, visiting certain sites first and certain sections of those sites in a certain order. But along the way, we've probably developed a few unconscious habits we'd have difficulty detailing off the cuff. Do you look at text or photos first? Do you read the headlines, then the summaries, or vice versa? Do you glance at banner ads or breeze by them entirely?

Two years ago, the Poynter Institute and Stanford University joined forces to learn more about the habits of people who regularly read online news sources. The research results are being posted at the Poynter Institute's Web site at http://www.poynter.org/eyetrack2000/

The study tracked the eye movements of 67 participants, using lightweight, head-mounted devices with little cameras attached to monitor reading activity. The participants were news junkies who regularly read online news as well as conventional treeware versions.

The research, which will provide a baseline for future studies, is generating interesting and sometimes surprising results. Many of us do glance at banner ads. The same percentage of women and men read sports news online, but more women than men read local news. And 30-year-olds were more likely to read local news than 60-year-olds or 20-year-olds.

I'd recommend that reporters and editors for both online and traditional sites take a look at the research results. In some instances, the research throws cold water on the assumptions many of us have held about the habits of Web readers. If you're interested, you can sign up for e-mail notices when new information is posted.

If you haven't already, be sure to let your eyes wander the rest of the Poynter Institute site, too. It offers a wealth of information for journalists and news junkies.

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