What is a cover story? With the New York Times, it depends on where you look. – Media Nation

Unlike the Boston Globe or the Washington Post, the New York Times doesn’t have a true replica that lets you read the paper online as it was in print. The Times does offer a rough version through Press Reader, but it’s difficult to access and even more difficult to use.

Instead, the Times website and apps offer a digital listing of the day’s print articles, called Today’s Paper. During the week, I usually start with the homepage rather than page one, but on Sundays I like to read the day’s paper.

This morning, I noticed a story I wanted to read in a picture of today’s front page. It was headlined “On the rise of a vice president who is quietly making a name for herself” and was by Peter Baker and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, one of our outstanding Northeastern alumni. I quickly went to the list of stories in today’s paper – and the story wasn’t there.

Well, I didn’t have to look far. When I went to the homepage, it was the cover story. It’s smart and insightful, by the way. You should read it. Here’s a free link.

My point, however, is that the Times should pay more attention to how its customers experience its digital products. This is the second time this has happened recently. If I had just relied on the listing in Today’s Paper and not bothered to look at a picture of the front page of the print edition, I wouldn’t have even known the story existed.