• March 14.2008

Recently by Katie Ratcliffe

Flash graphics take part in US election coverage

Posted by Katie Ratcliffe on November 6, 2006 at 3:24 PM
In the run-up to the US mid-term elections, many news organizations have been using interactives in their website coverage, and often taking advantage of Flash technology to do it.  Are these graphics effective?  Are they worth all the trouble?  Digital media experts Alberto Cairo, Mindy McAdams and Laura Ruel give their assessment, and offer tips for future news website content producers.
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Can you put an infographic on the front page?

Posted by Katie Ratcliffe on October 13, 2006 at 9:52 AM
Independent race mapLast week, a map of Britain took up The Independent’s entire page one, showing the location of the country’s population by race.  Yep, that’s right.  They put an infographic front and centre with no other stories around it.  Although an atypical move for newspapers in general, The Independent is following a long-term trend towards design modernization that shows no signs of slowing. 
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Comic books, databases, and other infographic innovations

Posted by Katie Ratcliffe on October 3, 2006 at 1:44 PM
Visual forms organize information and explain complex concepts, whether via maps, charts, diagrams or illustrations.  They simplify the message.  They clarify the news.  Can a comic book timeline do the same?  Can an automated database or three-dimensional illustration?  Innovators in media think so. 
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What’s wrong with repurposing?

Posted by Katie Ratcliffe on September 19, 2006 at 6:53 PM

At Public Eye, Judy Muller writes, "My favourite new word to hate is ‘repurposing’", and gives examples of what she considers popular terminology justifying unethical journalism.  So, what is repurposing?  And, how does it make you a plagiarist?

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Watch out! Graphics can damage your credibility, too.

Posted by Katie Ratcliffe on September 13, 2006 at 6:33 PM

With all this talk about ethical lapses in photojournalism, one thing is clear: it is easier to pledge yourself to a value system than it is to live by one, especially in a fiercely competitive, mercurial industry.  Such is the environment facing the code of ethics proposed by the US-based Society for News Design (SND) earlier this year.  For, although commendable, I can’t help wondering how it is going to trickle down to the newspapers and websites who need it most.

 

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Expert tips for journalists working in a visual, multi-media world

Posted by Katie Ratcliffe on September 7, 2006 at 4:57 PM
Bloggers posted a great deal of expertise on visual journalism this week directed at helping prepare journalists for dealing with new media, in summaries of presentations they attended at the Society of News Design's annual workshop in Orlando, Florida.  

Topics covered in the blogs include: changing media priorities, news story packaging, working with Flash, Photoshop do’s and don’ts, and the future of infographics.  

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Is Text vs Graphics an irrelevant debate?

Posted by Katie Ratcliffe on September 4, 2006 at 3:57 PM
Which is more important in a newspaper: text or graphics?  Is visual media real journalism, or simply window dressing?  In a commentary entitled “Oversized Graphics: Invasion of the Space Snatchers”, Gilbert Cranberg at Nieman Watchdog resurrects a classic debate, and sparks heated and in-depth responses from professional visual journalists.  Yet, in today’s media environment, the issues he raises seem out-of-date and irrelevant.

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Visual journalists spin their web

Posted by Katie Ratcliffe on June 19, 2006 at 3:31 PM
Just this month, I stumbled upon the beginnings of a truly global web community all about infographics.  Blogs, forums, tips, critiques.  And suddenly, I don’t know where to start with the one thing I’ve been craving for the past 10 years.
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