Woman on the Street Interview Assignment
Posted on | November 18, 2010 | No Comments
Final edited interview
Raw interview footage
Print Designer Launches Self into Cyberspace: Story at 11:00
Posted on | November 17, 2010 | No Comments
My greatest challenge as a new media journalist is that I am not actually a journalist at all. I am a graphic designer. But in cyberspace, where people want their visuals with movement, sound, and interactivity, the old distinctions of the print world blur and fade away. Read more
Identifying and Analyzing Video Shot Sequences
Posted on | November 16, 2010 | No Comments
When airtime is purchased by the second, every shot counts. Ads tend to be tightly cut and deliberately engage the viewer with emotion-laden images that speak directly to the subconscious mind. This Johnnie Walker ad linked in our class notes is a great example of that. Read more
Testing Dipity’s Timeline Feature
Posted on | November 13, 2010 | No Comments
Testing Embedded Video
Posted on | November 13, 2010 | No Comments
A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words: NPR’s Interactive Graphics
Posted on | November 10, 2010 | 7 Comments
The beauty of radio is that I can enjoy it at times when my eyes are otherwise occupied, like when I’m driving. But there are times when I need to see something to understand it better. The visual enhancements offered on NPR’s website add dimension to a story that can only be hinted at in a few minutes of air time. Read more
Creating Interactive Graphics
Posted on | November 6, 2010 | No Comments
View UM Campus in a larger map
Map of the UM campus, with 3 destinations marked and a route shown between 2 of them.
Data found online can be used to generate a map on ManyEyes. Frustratingly, the software provides very little control over the map generated. The darkest states here are actually the ones that get the LEAST aid, and the lightest are the ones that get the MOST aid, so the map appears somewhat misleading. Unfortunately there is no way to change that.
This word cloud shows the frequency with which key words were used in Pres. Obama’s speech following the midterm elections.
Apparently readers love completely unscientific online polls such as this one.
Crowd-sourced Music Discovery: Is “Second Stage” NPR’s “American Idol”?
Posted on | November 3, 2010 | 4 Comments
In brainstorming potential crowdsourcing projects in our Social Media for Journalists class, our group developed the idea of a “garage band” contest where participants could submit their own music or that of their favorite band to compete for regional and national stardom. In scanning NPR’s “All Songs Considered” site, I discovered that it has a similar program.
Wearing Your Words: Commenting in NPR’s Virtual Community
Posted on | October 28, 2010 | 8 Comments
“We’re trying to keep discussion on NPR.org civil, open and smart,” says NPR’s Community FAQ in explaining why it does not allow anonymous comments. “We think using real names allows for more human interaction.”
Building and engaging a virtual community is clearly important to NPR, which knows that its content generally attracts intelligent listeners who want in-depth analysis and that this audience is one of its greatest assets, on whom it literally depends for its survival. Read more
NPR on Facebook: Who Can Argue With 1.3 Million Fans?
Posted on | October 21, 2010 | 8 Comments
Facebook both baffles and terrifies me. As a veteran of the Vietnam War-era protests, I have a deep-seated skepticism about making personal information about me and those dear to me too easy to find. I still remember the shock we felt when an old friend FOIAed her FBI files and discovered that someone in our women’s consciousness-raising group had been an FBI informant. Really??? They thought we were important enough to infiltrate a half-dozen young women sprawled on bean-bag chairs in someone’s living room talking about our personal relationships? Seriously??? Read more