Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
New Orleans of Future May Stay Half Its Old Size
New Orleans of Future May Stay Half Its Old Size
By Adam Nossiter
This article, which has been adapted for the Web, was originally published in the New York Times on January 21, 2007. Get the full text here.
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 20 — Is this what New Orleans has come to — a city half its old size?
But some economists and demographers are beginning to wonder whether New Orleans will top out at about half its prestorm population of about 444,000. At the moment, the population is well below half, and future gains are likely to be small.
“It will be a trickle based on what we know now,” said Elliott Stonecipher, a consultant and demographer based in Shreveport, La. “I would say we could start losing people, especially if the crime problem doesn’t get high visibility.”
The new doubts, surprisingly, are largely not based on the widespread damage caused by the flood, but rather crippling problems that existed long before Hurricane Katrina.
Before the storm, some economists say, New Orleans may have had more people than its economy could support, and the stalled repopulation is merely reflecting that. The city was already losing people at the rate of perhaps 1.5 percent a year before the hurricane.
Political leaders, worried about the loss of clout and a Congressional seat, press for people to return. But a smaller New Orleans may not be bad, some economists say.
Large-scale concentrations of deep poverty — as was the case in New Orleans before the storm — are inherently harmful to cities. The smaller New Orleans is almost certain to wind up with a far higher percentage of its population working than before Hurricane Katrina.
“Where there are high concentrations of poverty, people can’t see a way out,” said William Oakland, a retired economist from Tulane University who has studied the city’s economy for decades. “Maybe the diaspora is a blessing.”
Others, however, worry that permanently losing so many people threatens the city’s culture.
“Culture is people,” said Richard Campanella, a Tulane geographer who has written extensively about the city’s neighborhoods. “If half the local people are dispersed and no longer living cohesively in those social networks, then half of local culture is gone.”
The low population figure, 191,000 was reported by the Louisiana Recovery Authority in November last year in the most credible survey to date.
“Our expectations were just wrong,” said James A. Richardson, an economist who directs the Public Administration Institute at Louisiana State University. “I don’t believe it will ever be 450,000 again.”
With no real place for the poorest of the evacuees in the economy before the storm, New Orleans may have permanently lost that part of its population. Supporting that notion is an unpublished analysis by Mr. Oakland, the former Tulane economist, which shows unusually low rates of participation in the labor force before Hurricane Katrina.
The statistics compare the number of people actually working with the total working-age population. Employment had dropped sharply in the city from 1969 to 1999, Mr. Oakland writes.
“The job mobility was very low among the poor, so they just stay where they are, and the social welfare system shored them up,” Mr. Oakland said.
Looking to the future, another 50,000 people might eventually be added to the city’s population, Mr. Oakland suggested, but there are no guarantees.
“The longer it lasts, the more likely it is that our population is plateauing, the longer the uncertainty continues,” said Janet Speyrer, an economist at the University of New Orleans.
As for the graphic to accompany the story, I would take the information removed about unemployment rates and put it into an informational chart or diagram so readers could see the effect over time. Another idea is that there could be a map of the city with unemployment rates and population rates over different neighborhoods so readers could make the connection between densely-populated areas and worsened unemployment. I would also include some photos of the devastation that still exists and compare to photos from before, so readers would have a basis for understanding why all those people were not returning to the city. Many of the statistics in the story would be understood more easily in chart or graph form, and it would be more likely to catch the readers' eye. If there are too many numbers in a story, readers skim right over them. If they are in an interesting or interactive graphic on the side, a reader might take an extra minute to read them over.
By Adam Nossiter
This article, which has been adapted for the Web, was originally published in the New York Times on January 21, 2007. Get the full text here.
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 20 — Is this what New Orleans has come to — a city half its old size?
But some economists and demographers are beginning to wonder whether New Orleans will top out at about half its prestorm population of about 444,000. At the moment, the population is well below half, and future gains are likely to be small.
“It will be a trickle based on what we know now,” said Elliott Stonecipher, a consultant and demographer based in Shreveport, La. “I would say we could start losing people, especially if the crime problem doesn’t get high visibility.”
The new doubts, surprisingly, are largely not based on the widespread damage caused by the flood, but rather crippling problems that existed long before Hurricane Katrina.
Before the storm, some economists say, New Orleans may have had more people than its economy could support, and the stalled repopulation is merely reflecting that. The city was already losing people at the rate of perhaps 1.5 percent a year before the hurricane.
Political leaders, worried about the loss of clout and a Congressional seat, press for people to return. But a smaller New Orleans may not be bad, some economists say.
Large-scale concentrations of deep poverty — as was the case in New Orleans before the storm — are inherently harmful to cities. The smaller New Orleans is almost certain to wind up with a far higher percentage of its population working than before Hurricane Katrina.
“Where there are high concentrations of poverty, people can’t see a way out,” said William Oakland, a retired economist from Tulane University who has studied the city’s economy for decades. “Maybe the diaspora is a blessing.”
Others, however, worry that permanently losing so many people threatens the city’s culture.
“Culture is people,” said Richard Campanella, a Tulane geographer who has written extensively about the city’s neighborhoods. “If half the local people are dispersed and no longer living cohesively in those social networks, then half of local culture is gone.”
The low population figure, 191,000 was reported by the Louisiana Recovery Authority in November last year in the most credible survey to date.
“Our expectations were just wrong,” said James A. Richardson, an economist who directs the Public Administration Institute at Louisiana State University. “I don’t believe it will ever be 450,000 again.”
With no real place for the poorest of the evacuees in the economy before the storm, New Orleans may have permanently lost that part of its population. Supporting that notion is an unpublished analysis by Mr. Oakland, the former Tulane economist, which shows unusually low rates of participation in the labor force before Hurricane Katrina.
The statistics compare the number of people actually working with the total working-age population. Employment had dropped sharply in the city from 1969 to 1999, Mr. Oakland writes.
“The job mobility was very low among the poor, so they just stay where they are, and the social welfare system shored them up,” Mr. Oakland said.
Looking to the future, another 50,000 people might eventually be added to the city’s population, Mr. Oakland suggested, but there are no guarantees.
“The longer it lasts, the more likely it is that our population is plateauing, the longer the uncertainty continues,” said Janet Speyrer, an economist at the University of New Orleans.
As for the graphic to accompany the story, I would take the information removed about unemployment rates and put it into an informational chart or diagram so readers could see the effect over time. Another idea is that there could be a map of the city with unemployment rates and population rates over different neighborhoods so readers could make the connection between densely-populated areas and worsened unemployment. I would also include some photos of the devastation that still exists and compare to photos from before, so readers would have a basis for understanding why all those people were not returning to the city. Many of the statistics in the story would be understood more easily in chart or graph form, and it would be more likely to catch the readers' eye. If there are too many numbers in a story, readers skim right over them. If they are in an interesting or interactive graphic on the side, a reader might take an extra minute to read them over.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
flash assignment 3
A slideshow with text. These photos are of National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, Winter 2005. If below does not work, try clicking here.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
pink is the new visual aid
The photos in newspapers and background footage on the news on TV often cannot do justice to the full depth and range of a story. With the popularity of internet multimedia visuals, the average news consumer has a much better chance of getting a more varied source of news with different facets to the reporting.
On the New York Times Web site, www.nytimes.com, there is a whole page for multimedia projects separate from the articles that go in print and are adapted to the web. For example, they have one particular visual, a photo slideshow narrated by a reporter in the background, that tells the story of a particular army unit in Iraq. The story, “The Reach of War,” has a feature where you can scroll through the photos and read the captions at whatever pace you choose while listening to the reporter, and by clicking on tabs at the top can follow previous stories done on the unit. This type of visual is important because it allows readers to connect with army personnel and get a personal connection to the story they might not have if they were just reading vague facts in print.
Another example of a visual aid can be found at www.newsweek.com, where curious web searchers can view slideshows of the week’s top celebrity photos. Viewers of “This Week in Celebrity Sightings” can browse through the week’s photos and read captions at whatever pace they choose. There are many popular blogs, like pinkisthenewblog.com, where viewers can get their share of salacious celebrity gossip in the style of the shameless celebrity stalkers and gawkers. For a more dignified look at celebrities performing, acting and on the go (as opposed to baring their underwear as they drunkenly stumble out of a Las Vegas nightclub), a legitimate news site with tamer star footage is a welcome alternative.
In the near future, the State of the Union address on Tuesday will be a chance for lots of visuals on a variety of sites. Newspapers, magazines and television stations will likely use the address to re-post certain clips and quotes and have a variety of interactive web features on different aspects of the address, campaign promises and doubts from both major political parties, and ramifications domestically and abroad.
On a less serious note, the Academy Awards in February will likely provide another opportunity for news outlets to come up with photo galleries of grinning winners, graceful losers, congratulatory nominees, and the after parties. And of course, what is any awards season without a Best Dressed list, complete with slideshows of incriminating photos?
On the New York Times Web site, www.nytimes.com, there is a whole page for multimedia projects separate from the articles that go in print and are adapted to the web. For example, they have one particular visual, a photo slideshow narrated by a reporter in the background, that tells the story of a particular army unit in Iraq. The story, “The Reach of War,” has a feature where you can scroll through the photos and read the captions at whatever pace you choose while listening to the reporter, and by clicking on tabs at the top can follow previous stories done on the unit. This type of visual is important because it allows readers to connect with army personnel and get a personal connection to the story they might not have if they were just reading vague facts in print.
Another example of a visual aid can be found at www.newsweek.com, where curious web searchers can view slideshows of the week’s top celebrity photos. Viewers of “This Week in Celebrity Sightings” can browse through the week’s photos and read captions at whatever pace they choose. There are many popular blogs, like pinkisthenewblog.com, where viewers can get their share of salacious celebrity gossip in the style of the shameless celebrity stalkers and gawkers. For a more dignified look at celebrities performing, acting and on the go (as opposed to baring their underwear as they drunkenly stumble out of a Las Vegas nightclub), a legitimate news site with tamer star footage is a welcome alternative.
In the near future, the State of the Union address on Tuesday will be a chance for lots of visuals on a variety of sites. Newspapers, magazines and television stations will likely use the address to re-post certain clips and quotes and have a variety of interactive web features on different aspects of the address, campaign promises and doubts from both major political parties, and ramifications domestically and abroad.
On a less serious note, the Academy Awards in February will likely provide another opportunity for news outlets to come up with photo galleries of grinning winners, graceful losers, congratulatory nominees, and the after parties. And of course, what is any awards season without a Best Dressed list, complete with slideshows of incriminating photos?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
the evolution of journalism is common sense?
This chapter from “We the Media” talks about the evolution of journalism, from “yellow” journalists and muckrakers to the open source media that allows bloggers and writers on independent news sites to voice their opinions. It’s true that this atmosphere is changing the way the world views journalism. People are more likely to get their news online than in a newspaper, and blogs are just as prominent – and, one could argue, relevant – as “serious” news outlets like the New York Times and CNN.
The author also talks about how individual people have changed the way people get their news in small steps – first the creation of the Web for businesses and college campuses, then the internet, HTML, personal computers, and eventually the “all-access” situation we have today. I am sure more advances will be made and the way people get their news will continue to change. He mentions September 11 specifically as a turning point, but I almost think that all those changes had already occurred, and the events of 9/11 were just the catalyst to make them obvious to the rest of the world.
Part of the article that I found really interesting was were he said that he was glad to get this chance to work on actively “making [his] journalism better” (18). Many journalists lament the end of “true” journalism. They believe that these online amateurs are not producing valid journalism sanctioned by a major outlet. I thought it was pretty refreshing to see him admit that even though he is a professional, all those amateurs out there could still teach him a thing or two. The popularity of this new media doesn’t need to be the end of traditional journalism, it can instead be a way to change it for the better.
The author also talks about how individual people have changed the way people get their news in small steps – first the creation of the Web for businesses and college campuses, then the internet, HTML, personal computers, and eventually the “all-access” situation we have today. I am sure more advances will be made and the way people get their news will continue to change. He mentions September 11 specifically as a turning point, but I almost think that all those changes had already occurred, and the events of 9/11 were just the catalyst to make them obvious to the rest of the world.
Part of the article that I found really interesting was were he said that he was glad to get this chance to work on actively “making [his] journalism better” (18). Many journalists lament the end of “true” journalism. They believe that these online amateurs are not producing valid journalism sanctioned by a major outlet. I thought it was pretty refreshing to see him admit that even though he is a professional, all those amateurs out there could still teach him a thing or two. The popularity of this new media doesn’t need to be the end of traditional journalism, it can instead be a way to change it for the better.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
a flash movie
You have to click to see, but these photos are from a trip to Asilah and Rabat, Morocco in October 2006.
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