Session 2: Digital Storytelling
Posted June 5, 2010 
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Comments(0) More than multimedia: the basics of hypertext storytelling. Breaking free from paper conventions: context, length, and links. Topic pages. Interactive story case studies: NYT jobless rate story, Prison Valley, Iraq and Afghanistan casualties, Niemanlab paywall revenue calculator. Information visualization.
Readings:
- A quick guide to the maxims of new media, Mark Coddington
- The Case for Context, Matt Thompson
- The Jobless Rate for People Like You, Shan Carter, Amanda Cox and Kevin Quealy, New York Times (interactive story)
Other interactive stories we looked at:
- CNN launches interactive visualization of Iraq and Afghanistan, Tracy Boyer, Innovative Interactivity
- Behind the scenes of Prison Valley, Tracey Boyer, Innovative Interactivity
- Behind the Veil, The Globe and Mail
More on the ideas we discussed:
- Cut This Story , Michael Kinsley, The Atlantic. Newspaper writing style doesn’t cut it online.
- The 3 key parts of news stories you usually don’t get, Matt Thompson
- A Tale of Two Audiences, Steve Yelvington. Who is your audience online, and why topic pages are useful.
- The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Chapter 1, Edward Tufte (handout)
- The Google-China hacking case: How many news outlets do the original reporting on a big story? Jonathan Stray, Nieman Journalism Lab
- Journalism’s Digital Transition, Josuha Benton, Nieman Journalism Lab. Video, all about the centuries-long history of aggregation.
Blogs you might want to follow:
Homework: come up with a pitch for a story that cannot be told well with plain text, audio, video, or slideshow. Bonus marks if it’s an ongoing story.