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?
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