Friday, December 23, 2005
Stop Treating Multimedia as the Stepchild
Julian Gallo, a professor of new media in Argentina, has written an
important essay
about how online journalism needs to become something completely new in
its way of telling stories. This one is definitely worth your time.
One of Gallo's principal points is that journalists, even those who
work in the online realm, tend to still be stuck in text-first mode.
They may present a story with accompanying multimedia components --
audio, interactive graphics, slide shows, video, etc. -- but text is
the driver and the multimedia stuff is off to the side.
What he's proposing is that we adopt a new way of thinking,
incorporating multimedia content -- when appropriate -- into the main
presentation. His essay offers an example of this: It is a mix of text,
audio clips, slide shows, and video. As you read down through the
piece, you'll reach a point where the next sequential piece of
information is an audio clip, so you click to hear it.
Most stories that include multimedia components treat them as
"sidebars." Let's incorporate them into the central presentation, Gallo
suggests, or even tell the whole story in multimedia if that's the best
choice. But let's get past being so stuck on text.
An important message. Thanks, Julian.
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