Page 105 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

References

and what does it mean for the reader? These types of questions often
lead to discovering graphic potential within a story, and by presenting
the answers in a graphic manner, you provide readers with a quickly
accessible and easily understood context for the rest of the story.
Finally, once it has been determined that a graphic is needed, begin
conceptualizing what form the graphic should take as well how the
graphic might change across two or three platforms. If it’s a print
graphic, you’ll need to be conscious of how much space is available,
and you’ll need to keep in mind that all of the information will be
presented in one space, all together. When developing the graphic for
the Web, you’ll want to consider which type of interactive—narrative,
instructive, explorative, or simulative—will be the most effective way
of conveying the information. What form will be most helpful in the
audience’s efforts to understand the information at hand? How will
animation and interactivity affect a user’s navigation of the content?
Finally, if you’re also developing a graphic for broadcast, you must
figure out how to synthesize the information into 20 to 30 seconds.
How will the script for the audio explanation read? How will animation
and pace affect understanding? 95
Given the time and talent it takes to develop information graphics
for any medium, finding the answers to these questions isn’t always
easy. Depending on the nature of the story and the time frame of
the deadline, the creation of graphics for any format could take any-
where from a few hours to a few weeks. Information graphics are
an extremely powerful storytelling method for all kinds of journalists.
They often take us where cameras or reporters cannot. They simplify
complicated information by giving it a visual context, capitalizing on
the fact that most people tend to understand better when text and
images are combined. As they make their way across multiple media
platforms, information graphics can optimize the number of people
who not only encounter the information, but possibly the number of
people who engage with more than one media outlet. As advances
in technology, such as faster Internet connections and better 3D and
animation software, continue to occur, the storytelling potential of
information graphics reporters is becoming limitless.

References

Nichani, M., & Rajamanickam, V. (2003, September). Interactive visual explainers—A
simple classification. Retrieved October 14, 2004, from http://www.elearningpost.
com/features/archives/002069.asp