The Way We Work Online, CBC
November 24, 2002
An in-depth treatment of the Canadian workforce in transition. The CBC’s Web site tell peoples’ stories in their own words: about being unemployed, about looking for work, about work culture, about where they work and why.
PBS.org: Moyers on Dying
November 21, 2002
“End-of-life” tools and more, based on a PBS program with Bill Moyers. Winner, Service Journalism: Affiliated, Online Journalism Awards 2001. The judges said: This package, based on a Bill Moyers special TV report, did more than just repurpose a TV show. It became the center of a strong community project tied to the show. The judges said they found the guide for doctors on how to understand and handle diversity especially compelling. Said one judge: “They pulled it off like nobody else could.”
Finding Diverse Sources
November 21, 2002
A key to writing fair and accurate news stories is making sure you incorporate diverse voices. But finding them can be challenging, particularly when it’s so easy to fall back on the usual sources on deadline. Here’s a wonderful resource that makes finding diverse sources much easier.
“Baggage screening,” MSNBC.com
November 20, 2002
“Baggage screening: Can you spot the threats?” MSNBC.com. A clever game designed to show people how difficult airport baggage screening is. Users view real baggage x-rays and must determine whether they contain explosives, knives or guns. Then their performance is graded. Winner of the 2003 Online Journalism Award for Creative Use of the Medium.
November top news sites
November 20, 2002
Behind the Scenes: Fiore’s Animated Cartoons
November 20, 2002
When one thinks of online journalists who are doing innovative, enlightening work that truly takes advantage of the medium, Mark Fiore is one of the first names that comes to mind. Fiore recently won the 2002 Online Journalism Award for commentary and was a finalist in the Creative Use of the Medium category. In a Q&A with CyberJournalist.net’s Jonathan Dube, Fiore explains why “technology doesn’t make the cartoon” and that the key to making an animated cartoon effective is “having something to say.” Continue reading…
The Big Picture, MSNBC.com
November 16, 2002
Poynter’s Steve Outing says MSNBC.com’s The Big Picture election guide “is a ground-breaking piece of multimedia that moves the industry further along the evolutionary scale in digital storytelling.” What makes it notable, he says in an essay on Poynter.org, is that the presentation can be as interactive as the viewer wants it to be: you can either click through the parts you are more interested in, or sit back and watch the entire package. “There’s a significant lesson here for multimedia content designers: allow for user interaction to control the experience, but account for the many people who just want to watch without doing anything.”
Telling the Story Online: Aids in the Caribbean
November 16, 2002
The online version of this award-winning story provides a glimpse of what’s possible when online staffers are given sufficient notice of upcoming projects to get involved in a meaningful way. Here’s a Q&A with the producer of the package.
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Finding info by playing with URLs
November 14, 2002
By playing around with Web addresses using common sense and educated guessing, you can often save time and find documents you otherwise wouldn’t, as outlined in this tip on Poynter.org. But before you go too far, here are some URL Cautionary Tales. If it’s in The New York Times, it must be true, right? Maybe not…
Online Impact of CNN-ABCNEWS Merger
November 8, 2002
Rumors continue that executives from ABC and AOL Time-Warner’s CNN are pondering a merger of their news networks. While the move would be significant to the journalism and television worlds, the move would be equally significant to the online sector, according to this report from comScore Media Metrix. “Without question, a combined CNN-ABC News online news network would make it the leader in its category - particularly in the U.S.,” the report says. “Collectively, these online news networks reached (an unduplicated) 24.7 million unique visitors in September 2002, putting the combined entity ahead of AOL News (a CNN sister company) by 5.1 million visitors.” Continue reading…