Distracting animations and irrelevant stock photography of smiling people do not help journalists who are in a hurry to find facts. If journalists cannot find what they are looking for on a website, it could impact whether they include information about that company in the story. Journalists repeatedly said that poor website usability could reduce or completely eliminate their press coverage of that company. If I had a choice to write about something else, then I would write about something else. I might avoid the subject altogether.
Many journalists are freelancers or work from home, typically using slow dial-up connections.
Many have old computer equipment and do not feel an obsessive need to download all the latest software. Thus, non-standard data formats like PDF, Flash, and Shockwave tend to clog their limited Internet connections and sometimes even crash their computers. It is wise to ensure that all your Web pages work on low-end home computers running several years' old software. We recommend that sites present all press information as simple, standard HTML, designed for minimal download times. The Web has arrived as a basic research tool for journalists.