WAMU 88.5
12|28|2006
WAMU 88.5 is one of the top five NPR affiliates in the United States serving the greater Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area.
Objective
The website exceeded five thousand static HTML pages containing text, graphics and audio, which were poorly maintained. The design and the backend needed a serious overhaul which would reflect the dynamic, professional nature of a flagship NPR affiliate.
Solution
The first step was an exhaustive audit of 100 public radio and media websites and a detailed review of internal department and external audience feedback, generating a completely new information architecture, design and production flow. A custom content management system was built for the web staff, radio program producers and other support staff to collaboratively produce content. Finally, the site and its subsequent mini-sites were deployed using web standard and accessible design techniques, which created a flexible foundation for new services like podcasts and online community tools.
Technology
PHP/MySQL, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript
Notes
Frank Hamilton was specifically hired in 2002 to overhaul the site and manage the station’s Internet strategy as the Senior Web Producer. He left the position in 2006.