!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> Streamline Training & Documentation: 21st Century Journalism XXIV: Multimedia Reporting

Thursday, September 20, 2007

21st Century Journalism XXIV: Multimedia Reporting

Earlier this week, Nora Paul and Laura Ruel, a judge and the coordinator, respectively, in the Society for Newspaper Design's 2007 Best of Multimedia Design Competition, posted an article summarizing the trends they noted while participating in the judging process.

Especially useful are the examples they offer of the five types of entries that came in:
  • Animated infographics — "informational graphics that explain a sequence of events in an accident, or the steps in a process or show how something works." For example: The New York Times interactive graphic recreating pitcher Cory Lidle's airplane flight that ended in a crash into a Manhattan building.


  • "Infotoys" — graphics that let you customize the data presented. For example: An interactive New York Times graphic that lets you change the assumptions and variables underlying an analysis of whether it is better to rent or buy your living quarters.


  • Narratives — "self-contained packages that follow a single — somewhat linear — narrative thread." An increasingly common format is a set of still photos with an audio overlay. For example: A feature by the Palm Beach Post on train jumping, with audio in both English and Spanish.


  • "You are there" — "packages that give users a [customizable] sense of location and exploration" by incorporating high-level graphics and embedded POV/panoramic images. For example: An animated 3D graphic published by ELPAIS.com showing the make-up of a Formula 1 racing car.


  • BOPs (aka Big Ole Packages) — "large compilations of storytelling materials such as ... text, videos, audio slide shows, animated graphics and interactive applications. These ambitious packages tell complex stories with many layers of information." For example: a class project carried out by students under the guidance of Alberto Cairo, an assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The students' work documents life in the Atacama Desert of Chile.
Anyone, including trainers, can benefit from studying the approaches and techniques used by the creators of the multimedia examples Paul and Ruel highlight. (There are four additional examples in their article in addition to the five cited above.)

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