As the student media organizations at ACU mull over how to serve 1000 iPod touch/iPhone-enabled students with campus news when they arrive this fall, it may be informative to look at what some professional outfits are doing with their handheld and mobile sites. Below are links for news from a wide variety of sources, each of which have developed touch-practical interfaces for this new generation of devices.

Some of these sites are content with just a list of the top stories appearing on their Web site, while others have engineered some pretty snazzy pulldown screens and graphics that really help on a handheld. If nothing else, the sites on this list offer a helpful set of examples for how a variety of news organizations are conceiving of touch-ready interfaces — and that may prove handy for you as you consider interfaces for your own projects.

And though it’s a small thing, the best part about this may be the custom icons many of these sites sport. Now the New York Times and Fox News can sit side-by-side in non-partisan solidarity on your home screen for easy access, each with an attractive button. Unfortunately, prettier icons don’t equal better news…

Just to help you get started, here’s a roundup of some of the more popular iPhone-formatted news sites, with data on which sites feature true mobile interfaces (as opposed to no-frills text lists — often used with OMA/WAP interfaces) and whether they automatically recognize when viewers are using iPhones or iPod touches (the “device meta-tag”):

CBS News (mostly AP text stories)
Mobile interface: yes
Device meta-tag: yes
Customized icon: yes

CBS News video (companion video site for mobile CBS News; videos are in 3gp format — technology by Transpera)
Mobile interface: no (OMA/WAP)
Device meta-tag: no
Customized icon: yes

Chicago Sun Times (headline browser with content links to regular site)
Mobile interface: yes
Device meta-tag: yes
Customized icon: yes

The Chicago Tribune
Mobile interface: yes
Device meta-tag: yes
Customized icon: yes

CNN
Mobile interface: no (OMA/WAP)
Device meta-tag: no
Customized icon: no

ESPN
Mobile interface: yes
Device meta-tag: yes
Customized icon: yes

Fox News
Mobile interface: yes
Device meta-tag: yes
Customized icon: yes

Houston Chronicle (mobile site development outsourced to Advanced Mobile)
Mobile interface: no (OMA/WAP)
Device meta-tag: no
Customized icon: no
Los Angeles Times (mobile site development outsourced to Crisp Wireless)
Mobile interface: no (OMA/WAP)
Device meta-tag: no
Customized icon: yes

The New York Times
Mobile interface: yes
Device meta-tag: no
Customized icon: yes

Time Magazine
Mobile interface: no (OMA/WAP)
Device meta-tag: no
Customized icon: yes

Washington Post (surprisingly “uncool” for a tech leader; mobile site development outsourced to Crisp Wireless)
Mobile interface: no (OMA/WAP)
Device meta-tag: no
Customized icon: yes