Being new to journalism I think that I have more of an objective view of what journalism is, what really constitutes effective storytelling. Journalism isn't what I plan on doing for a career or something I am really all that much involved in outside of class so I haven't formed an ego towards "being a journalist." I don't necessarily mean in terms of egotistical as a negative connotation, but none the less wanting to be a journalist a person will have some sort of attitude of themselves as being an effective writer and being able to tell what effective writing is. Therefore my ego doesn't cloud my judgement on certain processes or tools a journalist uses to get their story across. All I see is the story that is published and I only have to ask one question. Does it work for me?
To tell if something works for me I look at a number of things: are the pictures captivating, do the captions grab my attention, is it current, and does it make me think of an idea in a way I may not have before? So for this weeks homework blog, finding an effective multimedia editorial and news story, I basically chose the top things that popped up on Google and decided if they really deserved to be on top.
The first editorial I found came from the New York Times website after I Googled "editorial," it was third on the list after the definition of editorial and another story from the same site. The story I found Editorials: The Aftermath of 9/11 just happened to be on a sidebar. Now this page is just an overview of editorials about September 11, 2001, but I think its more interesting how they set this up than the stories themselves. Mostly because this is the first thing a reader will see and it tells a story all its own.
The positives: the pictures, though not on every article, are tasteful, detailed, and capture my attention. The timeline is chronological. I can follow the editorials from the day of the attack until the end of last year, so still fairly current. Another positive this page has is simple ease. I can scroll and find the exact type of story I'm looking for quickly and without opening different tabs for hours. Finally, this editorial page about editorials tells the complete story of the attack and actions taken after from start till now. The reader can get the story without going through all the other stories. I honestly wish that every news website was built like this editorial page.
Now, an effective multimedia news story I found was on the National Geographic website. The article is about a new specie of fish discovered off the coast of Tasmania that uses its fins to walk along the ocean floor rather than swim. Obviously, I am always drawn to new species discovered, mostly because they are the definition of current, but this one really got me.
Why this works for me. First off, the first image they chose is absolutely epic. Even though the fish is only a few inches long the picture made the fish look enormous. Sci-fi make up cannot even touch the creepiness mother nature creates. I could just see this animal crawling towards me, mouth agape and frowning, "hands" grasping objects, while slowly dragging itself towards me. Second, the headline "Nine Fish With "Hands" Found to Be New Species. The headline tells it all in intriguing glory. What fish with hands? I have to see this. Third, the sentence structure is quick, plain so anyone can understand, and efficient. Pulling the reader through and giving jump off points so they can research on their own (unlike the novels I post.) The article tells a story and works, good enough for me.
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