I sent a link to an interesting article to one of my coworkers about the need to confirm photos found on social media as real. But he didn’t read the most interesting part until I asked him if he read the last graph.
The article had been updated, and the update was located in the last paragraph of the article. There was no indication higher in the story there was an update nor was it in the headline of the story. And most people, whether they’re reading online or in print, don’t necessarily read to the end of an article.
So it got me thinking about where an update should be placed in an article. It’s probably minutia, but if you want to make sure you readers find the important information it’s something to think about. If you put the update at the end, your readers may miss it.
So where’s the right place to put the update? If you put it at the top, you’re giving new information that could be out of context. Do you put it at the end with a note at the top?
Personally, I would update the article in line with a tag with the update. Readers then saw the old and new information right next to each other. And I’d change the headline to say “updated” so people knew there was new information there. Or you can just change the headline in general or the photo to indicate something has changed in the story too, although that’s much more subtle.
What is your preference in how an article should be updated? Tell me in the comments about your preferences and some of the best practices.
