Choose a Client:

What is your market?
Global News
Local News

Who is your user? Create a user archetype.

News Reporters, Doctors, Researchers, Scientist, Teachers, Lawyers, Law enforcement
Who are your competitors? Put together a list of (at least 3) competitors.

E News, TMZ, The New York Times, Daily News, NBC, MSNBC, abc

and provide a visual audit

Create screenshots of your competitors website homepages.

Overlay the websites grid on top of a screenshot of it.
Create a color palette.
Identify the typefaces used (names, sizes, hierarchy).
List all the media types used (images, videos, audio, interactive embedded assets).