Gustav

One of the best features of the Soundslides program is its ability to produce publishable work quickly. At the (Richmond, Va.) Times-Dispatch, tonight, the editor in charge asked that a show be put together of the top AP photos of people preparing for Gustav to hit in New Orleans. Then, after putting together a narrative from the related AP stories, he recorded the voice track. Sometimes, the images are synced to the audio points, but not tonight. The result, "Preparations for Gustav," can be seen here. It was linked off the home page as part of the storm package:

A story, a latte and a connection

Jodie Mozdzer of the Hartford Courant has a story today on how online-only news organizations are having a larger presence in journalism (fyi: East Hampton is on Long Island in New York):

The Island Traders coffee shop in East Hampton is not a traditional newsroom. It's a relaxed, colorful place with palm trees and bamboo shades, rather than a dingy office with ringing phones and clicking keyboards.

But news flows through this small bistro nonetheless.

This is where Cristina Johnson, editor of the online community newspaper East Hampton Today, often sits with her laptop and notes, tapping out updates on East Hampton politics and events.

Johnson is part of a growing trend in journalism: online-only news reporters. To file stories she needs nothing more than a place to set her laptop computer, a connection to the Internet, and, if she's lucky, a caffeinated beverage. ...more

All in the eyes of the reporters...

OJB, or the Online Journalism Blog (a British publication), presents a series of cartograms -- pictures representing the world in terms of what was reported in 2007.As the blog explains: "These maps allow you to grasp several media trends at a glance."

Great Documentary from Frontline

I happened upon this Frontline documentary on Monday night when I got home. It traces the Iraq war from the beginning up until 2006 or 2007 (I can't remember which). It was called Bush's War. It was incredibly disturbing. What the administration thought they could do and how it spiraled out of control really puts the whole situation in a different light. The thing that was very cool was that they have all the complete interviews on their website and all kinds of other features that they kept promoting during and after the documentary. Also, you can watch the whole thing on line. I haven't had a chance to explore the website, but I thought it was a good example of broadcast taking advantage of multimedia.

Following Helen O'Neill's story...

I just did a Google News search and found one site that packaged the story with many related stories -- many were on your idea list from last night. So my first contribution to this "sighting collection" is from ABC News.The Guardian merely carried her story. And we had such high hopes!

Interesting way to display photos at the Charlotte Observer.

WOAI in San Antonio just shoveled three stories onto a Web page, one on top of another.

Sadly, a paper in Hays, Kansas, didn't even bother with a headline:

Slate's candidate tracker

The elections, as was hoped, have spurred some interesting multimedia reporting tools including this one from Slate that maps where candidates are across the country. When you click on map markers, you're directed to local news reports of the event and you're given where/when information in a pop-up. My husband's overseeing multimedia coverage for a Virginia paper of this event that senators Clinton and Obama will attend. Security concerns prevent the shooters (photographers or videographers) and reporters from leaving the event, even to go back to the newsroom (which is nearby), should there be equipment failure; each journalist takes his or her laptop along with other gear, such as a camera, mic, recorder, etc. They are expected to file (send in their stories, pictures, etc.) digitally from the site. Yesterday, one reporter was issued a new computer with which he's not yet familiar; he'll take a backup laptop as well.

Video and newsprint: the multimedia journalist

This links to a really nice blog post (in Media Nation) about the editor of a newspaper, Cathryn Keefe O'Hare of the Danvers Herald, who first captured video on Memorial Day and now uses it as a routine part of her job. The post includes links to a slide show, an audio interview and several videos, including one she shot. The text is well hyperlinked and chock full (I've never used that phrase before; where did that come from?) of information about the equipment and software the paper uses. And here are some words to live by from O'Hare:

"The thing that remains true, whether it's in print journalism or the Internet or video, you have to tell a story," says O'Hare. "And you have to tell it as true as you can make it. And you have to try to speak for those people who can't tell their story."

Video promo for newspaper/online series

Guys: We’re launching a series called Unequal Justice this weekend – in print and online – but to capture the Web audience we launched our Web-exclusive case files Thursday. And heck we couldn’t resist doing a video trailer. Check out the You Tube link down below. Makes me wanna plunk down $9 to go to the cinema, not just $1.50 for the Sunday paper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmxzQrRzOFA

Also the series “case files” are at www.dallasnews.com/unequaljustice until Saturday night when we redirect that link to the series splash page.

Interested in what everyone thinks of the package and the trailer.

Anthony Moor | Deputy Managing Editor/Interactive | Dallas Morning News |

A Kentucky mother's struggle through drug court

Al Tompkins, of Poynter, has a full writeup of a weeklong project by the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader that will, in his words, "consume 18 inside pages, 15 minutes of online multimedia and more than 130 photos." Tompkins explores how the project came together -- it took four years.

Bringing Myanmar home

Myanmar, the former Burma, has been in the top news for months now -- but how many of us know why, much less the context? Part of that I'd chalk up to infoglut (too much information bombarding us all the time; too little prioritization of incoming facts). But a large part is due to a lack of what beginning reporters used to learn early in their careers: localization. Multimedia offers journalists new ways to connect with people. Video's forte is visual interest and emotional connections. In this video, Roanoke.com takes a local connection -- a family of Burmese refugees -- and lets the "experts" do the talking. The result: greater awareness of the world around us and our place in it. This is the kind of "hyperlocal" I'd be proud to produce.

Video part of WP report on upcoming Iowa vote

Another example of the growing "norm" of multimedia reporting with multiple points of entry. The text story, "Iowa a key test for Democrats," is packaged with the video and reader comments and is well larded with hypertext links throughout. ADDED: And you can see the same story run on a CBS News Web page -- no video, though. Guess CBS welcomes the writing but keeps the video production to itself?

Digi-reporters staff new bureaus

On Romenesko this morning:

ABC News opens mini-bureaus in India, Africa, other places
Hollywood Reporter
The small offices in Seoul; Rio de Janeiro; Dubai; New Delhi and Mumbai, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Nairobi, Kenya are staffed by a reporter-producer with the latest in hand-held digital technology. They cost a fraction of what it takes to run a full-time bureau.

Living to the end

The story of Lovelle Svart's death ran in the Oregonian today, the culmination of months chronicling, in multimedia, the last months of a woman who chose to end her life legally under Oregon's Death With Dignity provision -- and who suggested the series. The project incorporates videos -- the last one made about half an hour before Ms. Svart took her final medication -- as well as stories, photographs and document reproductions. Probably the best way into this moving work is through the introduction, although I read the "obit" first then had to know more. UPDATE: Considerations on running the project are in the Editor's Blog.

Video of Florida student, Taser, Kerry Forum

I read about this, I tsk-tsked, I moved on. A few minutes ago, though, I watched a video of the student and the Tasering (you don't actually see it, but you hear it and you're close to where it's happening) and I must say, it's very disturbing. Makes me very happy that we're reporting online and with more than words these days. This is both more and less than the buzz that's accompanied it. An article from Editor & Publisher is here. The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun uploaded the video, which was made by one of its freelancers, to YouTube. What's even more fascinating is looking at some of the other videos made at the same time, shot at different angles, and also uploaded. For example, this one. If you're allergic to bad spelling, be warned, though. The errors in the word-overs could put you into a coma. UPDATE: Here's a CBS report (text and video) on the ensuing debate.

Google launches Australian election package

I was clued into this multimedia reporting package by Alan Mutter's Newsosaur. Here's what he has to say:

Google is road-testing a major initiative capable of hijacking a good deal of the web traffic the mainstream media ordinarily would get during the 2008 election in the United States.

There are Google Map mashups of voting districts (with satellite views), collections of YouTube candidate videos, and ready-made search buttons. It makes so much sense. See what you think.

Believe this?

Slate V has been posting short videos where audience reaction is charted over what they are viewing (see the squiggly lines in the image of Vick's apology). Another Slate video "reports" reaction to Hillary Clinton's first ad. The surveys were done by MediaCurves. Survey info is given at the start of the videos. For the "ad," 450 people were monitored. Enough to generalize? Probably not...