13 Apr 08 Online features round up

I think this will be something of a feature I want to do once or twice a week. Just a quick round up of the current online feature or breaking news stories using some sort of online-exclusive component. This could be anything; a flash piece, audio, video, graphic or even clever use of photos.

• Catholic Views, Catholic Voices (NY Times) - A piece that uses Flash and audio interviews to get Catholic views and opinions on the even of the Pope’s U.S. visit. I’ve been impressed with the NY Times’ use of audio and would be curious to see what sort of ROI they get on their pieces (meaning hire me please.)
• Al Jaffee Fold-ins, Past and Present (NY Times) - This was is a few weeks old actually but I felt the need to mention it. A clever use of Flash that let’s readers go through about a dozen of MAD Magazines famous fold-ins by artist Al Jaffee. This went along with a larger profile of the 80-year-old artist.
• Deaths in Iraq (USA Today) - This is a very intensive database/Flash piece that that I imagine USA Today has been consistently updating. It’s not only searchable, but each block represents a soldier and when you rollover them with your cursor, an information block pops up for that particular soldier. I’d be curious to know how diligently they track down the photos and other detail not released by the military and what the update process is. Probably not much different, but far more complicated, than our own homicide map at The Orlando Sentinel.
• What’s Old is New at the Newseum (USA Today) - The USA Today interactive team must have been working overtime. This is an interactive graphical walk-through of the Newseum that opened in Washington D.C. The buttons detail each floor with small information boxes. But, if you’re feeling lazy, you can just click on the video tour instead.
• Another country by Scott Strazzante (Chicago Tribune) - Tribune photographer Scott Strazzante chronicled the life and death of a farm near Lockport, Ill. They used a Flash slide show to do side-by-side comparison photos spanning seven years. I liked the idea but It feels like it was released prematurely (despite being seven years worth of photos). They should have had a audio component, perhaps some of the people narrating aspects of life on the farm, playing over the photos. Flipping through them in silence is a little creepy.  The navigation could have used some work too. Not being able to skip ahead multiple photos is a bit of a chore.  Last nit pick, if there is a feature story that goes along with the photo story, it should be linked somewhere on this page for continuity. They are great photos however.

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Tags: news, online journalism, Sunday, technology

Reader's Comments

1. Scott Strazzante | 14 Apr 2008 1:32 pm

   Thanks for the comments about my “Another Country” slideshow that is on chicagotribune.com. I agree that the presentation would be better with a video and audio component so that’s why I am currently working with MediaStorm on a piece that will debut with a 6-minute prview at The Festival of the Photograph in June with a full length piece to be finished sometime in the Fall of 2008. All the best!

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