Virginian-Pilot not online?

The Virginian-Pilot has always had a very good Web site and has produced some strong packages, but the site, Pilot Online, seemed to be MIA Tuesday night -- especially odd since the site bills itself as "The breaking news service from Hampton Roads' best newspaper."

More than half an hour after the polls closed in Virginia, the site still led with: “It's Virginia's day to vote: Virginians go to the polls today for a Democratic presidential primary, making choices that could be pivotal for the party’s national ticket.”

All the major networks and AP called the race at 7 p.m. ET, and according to the time stamp on the cover, the site had been updated at 7:38 p.m. – but the news was nowhere to be found.... unless you scrolled down the page to the box of headlines from AP under "U.S./World headlines." (The cover finally updated with the story as the lead at 7:48 p.m.)

Meanwhile, the much smaller Hampton Roads Daily Press got the news up much quicker.

A major newspaper should be able to file its own story to the Web about the presidential primary...but if staff resources make that impossible, at the very least the site should be able to elevate the wire story to the lead spot on the page when polls close.

February 10, 2004 | BY JONATHAN DUBE