The time has come for the endless fluff pieces that 'remember' 2012. I'm confident that almost every day I will see a new list on my Twitter feed touting that it has the "10 Most Shocking Celebrity Feuds" or "Best Movies of 2012." I have a love-hate relationship with these types of articles. Yes, they're interesting and I love me a great recap piece. However, the slideshows are slow to load, the captions are usually cliche and the content selected is boring more often than not. The LA Times posted in their editorial section a compilation of "What we'll miss most" that I found an extremely interesting read. The content was a great balance of serious and light-hearted events from 2012 that are noteworthy and should be remembered as we enter into a new year.
The LA Times included the loss of David Beckham never adorning his short-shorts and futbol uniform again. Let's face it, Beckham and his fabulous Posh Spice wife are kind of a big deal. They have reached a certain level of celebrity that is beyond most pro-athletes and their families (not including the now famous 'Basketball Wives). Beckham was not only important member of the L.A. Galaxy, but also played a big role in renewing American interest in the sport. His retirement is news worth including.
When it was announced that the popular snack-brand Hostess will shutter its' doors, I, along with countless other people, had flashbacks of happily unwrapping plastic-wrapped treats. Thousands flocked to stores and began hoarding Twinkies. The photographs caption comically referenced the "Twinkie defense," but also mentioned the important issue of 18,000 jobs that were lost.
Global warming is an issue that's been important to me since my fourth grade science fair project. In light of other natural disasters over the past few years, the melting of our polar ice caps have slightly been put on the back burner. Including this slide was a nice wake up call and reminder that human decisions drastically impact the environment.
What would you include in your list of things you'll miss in the upcoming year?
Business pieces are often filled with jargon or information a surprising amount of Americans do not understand. Terminology about shares, profits and acquisitions are explained as carefully as possible, but the concise and brief nature of news prevents the author from providing a fuller understanding for those who are not business-savvy.
Enter The Chart
Charts are arguably one of the most helpful tools available to readers. I've been reading charts from a very young age. We spend most of our elementary to middle school careers analyzing or making our own charts that varied in difficulty and amount of information.
The bottom line is obvious: charts tell stories in clear, visual terms.
Moreover, charts show and demonstrate change over time in a way that words cannot. The LA Times' recent article about Sprint in its'"Tech Now" section is a great example of how including a chart can help the reader understand exactly what the article is saying.
As a reader who hasn't heard about Sprint since the age of Nextel popularity, I am prompted to ask "so what? Aren't they a non-factor in the US mobile industry nowadays?" Reading the article, I am given a slightly better clue as to how Sprint is actually still the third-largest service carrier. Really!? Cool. I then get a few quotes on how Sprint's shares and competitive position have improved. Well, that's nice I guess. Finally, at the very bottom, I see this:
Now why didn't you show me that in the first place!? This chart shows a dramatic change in the Sprint corporation over a mere seven months. Now that's a visual that leaves an impression and makes me think "Wow, Sprint must really be stepping up their game and becoming a force to be reckoned with. Maybe I should find out more info." A chart is universal and easy to understand. More journalists should be including them in their online media, especially reporters covering tech and business.
Do you think charts effectively explain concepts and facts?
Online news outlets have been amping up their holiday news coverage, particularly articles involving shopping trends, gift guides and creative ideas for our friends and family members that may have a specific niche interest. In the spirit of online, multimedia and tech, I checked out the LA Times' round up of fun and helpful mobile apps.
Irene Virbila, a Times' reporter, compiled a list titled
"Upgrade your cooking skills? There's an app for that."
I believe that most of these apps could be great gifts to any food or cooking enthusiast, as well as a helpful tool for anybody getting ready for endless company and numerous holiday dinners or pot lucks. Here's a list of some of my favorites in the article:
1. Easy as Pie featuring Evan Kleiman
For me, nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a warm baked pie. Unfortunately, nothing says "Caution: Difficult to pull off" like a fresh, homemade pie crust. My mother, daunted by the challenge of whipping out her rolling pin, believes that the best way to serve a pie is either purchased from the bakery or purchased frozen. Perhaps this app would give her some cooking confidence!
2. Bread Baking Basics with Michael Ruhlman
Have a friend who loves experimenting with recipes and new foodie challenges? Know a blogger searching for a new project? Want to encourage your spouse to wake you up to the tantalizing scent of freshly baked bread? This app seems like a great gift for all of the above.
3. Speakeasy Cocktails
Now this is a tool for any 21+ friend, colleague or family member. Who doesn't want to learn how to mix specialty cocktails right in their own home? New Years Eve is just around the corner from Christmas and I'm sure any party guests would appreciate a drink more interesting than a flute of champagne. This app will give its owner the chance to take a chic yet out-of-the-box approach to their evening's libations.
Although a great, comprehensive gift guide, I do think the author took a few short cuts that made this article a little less functional or useful to the reader. Links to where the App was available, a demo of the app or even a screenshot of the featured chef or App graphics would help the reader choose which mobile app is the most appropriate for whatever purpose they're hoping to serve. However, I did like how the author included important information such as the price, publisher and a detailed description.
Would you ever purchase a mobile app as a holiday gift?
My favorite aspect of online journalism is what I like to call "click-ability." I can't even begin to count the amount of times I started reading one article, and ended up with 5-10 other tabs and windows open with related links and information. The power to just click and find out more information is not only convenient, but also has become an essential aspect of being informed citizens.
Whenever media is dominated by an extremely controversial news story, consumers and citizens spend several hours scouring the web for as much information as possible. News outlets that compile the information and update the most frequently with "breaking" details have the most clout when it comes to reporting these types of events. On Friday, December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at an elementary school located in Newtown, Connecticut. This tragedy, which involved the loss of several innocent children and their lives, is unprecedented in the United States and has sparked endless controversy regarding gun control, parenting and mental illness.
Despite where you personally land on the spectrum of the debate, I believe that the LA Times does a great and effective job in covering the events. They update their page consistently with either hard news information or relevant feature stories with a softer angle. They also take an inside glimpse into the shooter's life, his mind and what type of person would commit such an atrocity.
One of their most recent articles is "Upset by divorce? Outsider? Seeking clues in school shooter's past." This online content is a prime example of media convergence. At the very top, the author includes a video report that discusses the suspect and the relationship with his mother.
Then, a little farther down the article, the author links to a
slideshow of photos from the event. In a side column, the article links to several other stories such as a piece on who the victims were, a transcript and video of Obama's speech and an interactive timeline of the deadliest massacres in the U.S. There's also a link to a "Full Coverage" page that compiles all of LA Times articles relevant to the shooting in one place. Their amount of coverage is quite extensive and provides a wide breadth of information for any reader interested in finding out more information about the tragedy.
Shocking events such as the Connecticut shooting have national impact and immense news value. The LA Times has definitely followed through on its responsibility to inform the public while successfully employing various multimedia techniques.
In the light of the recent tragedy, I'd like to take a moment of silence for the victims, their families and the entire Newtown community. Words cannot express my feelings as I hear more and more about what has happened. I hope and pray for a better tomorrow.
While living abroad in Ireland and working at Food & Wine magazine, I learned a huge deal about the importance of cooking and eating locally and seasonally. During my initial interview with my soon-to-be supervisor, Ross Golden-Bannon, he said something that really stuck out. It was along the lines of:
"Seasonal cooking is exploding as a trend, but we've been doing it in Ireland for ages."
After that experience, I paid special attention to how mainstream U.S. media covers emerging food trends. For the average American consumer, seasonal cooking is a relatively novel concept that may initially seem complicated or difficult to understand. Writers are not only faced with the challenge of explaining the seasons in terms of cooking, but helping people understand how they can participate in the local and seasonal food movements.
On December 14, LA Times writer David Karp wrote a very interesting feature titled "Farmers Markets: Yes, there are seasons in Southern California." The
strengths of this article, I believe, come from the links the author chose to
include that help the reader understand the different seasons available in
California.I also think that the author does a good job of referencing different ranches that produce seasonal items such as carrots, grapefruits, nuts and avocados.
The author does a nice job of explaining the "seasonal rhythm" of crops and how certain growers are able to harvest them and lengthen their season. Including the maturity release dates from the California Avocado Commission was a nice touch because it lent an official and authoritative source of knowledge.
Overall, I thought this feature was a great resource for seasonal eating in California. However, I think the author could have taken it a step further and included other multimedia content such as photos of current in season crops and an interactive map of farmer's market locations (or at least a link to a list). Online journalism has the unique opportunity to provide more in-depth and useful information that readers can access with an easy link. Journalists should continue to push the limits and try to use their online articles as a medium for providing as much help and knowledge as possible.
"Capturing the world through photography, video and multimedia."
That is the motto of the LA Times' Framework page. I've referenced this page several times before because it is the single portion of the media outlet devoted specifically to the most vivid aspects of online journalism: photos and video.Sure, we can add links and SEO optimize all we want, but the content is what compels individuals to return time and time again. The photographs capture both the most mundane and most extraordinary aspects of life, elevating them to a form of art that all humans can appreciate. Videos record movement and sound that transplants us from our living room or local coffee shop and places us into the action.
The Framework blog is truly a celebration of the technology that allows us to share and immerse ourselves in experiences from all around the world. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how I’ve been able to utilize this website while tracking the L.A. Times. I’ve come up with a list of pros and cons.
PRO: Throughout this class, it has been a great tool.
I’ve been able to find specific stills and videos of events that I wanted to write about. When searching for online media to critique, this was my home base. The images sometimes linked to longer, in-depth articles that I could include and in general, the content was always colorful and interesting.
PRO: The page is a rich resource of “Hey, here are examples of amazing photos and videos and how to do this thing we call multimedia storytelling RIGHT.”
While working on assignments involving taking my own photos and video, I sometimes found myself lost. I was unsure how to get into the action and really snag a moment. I didn’t know how to take interesting B-roll and wasn’t too fabulous at pairing relevant imagery to my reporting script.
CON: Zero Convergence
We all know that old adage: “a picture’s worth a thousand words.” Yes, I agree, but a thousand words without context can be a dangerous thing. Framework has weekly roundups where they include captions or brief descriptions. While heartwarming and eye-opening, these were never satisfying. I wanted to know more. Who was the subject of this photo? What exactly is going on? When did this happen? The Frameworks blog definitely had the “collecting” part down, but lacked the component of convergent storytelling.
CON: Didn't Distinguish Between Hard and Soft
As a reader, I found the leap from serious to soft content to be extreme and often jarring. I love comical relief, but seeing photos of families grieving and controversial rioting next to a montage of little kids dressed as Santa’s helpers is slightly unnerving. When put so close together, I am unable to fully appreciate any of the photos because they represent something so opposite. Perhaps categorizing their weekly round-ups differently could be an easy solution to this problem, or maybe I’m just sensitive to presentation, but I definitely think how the content is organized can be improved upon.
You may have heard of The Amazing Race before. You know, that awesome reality television game show on CBS where duos team up and race around the world for a million dollar cash prize. You may have even recently watched Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge, two life partners and goat farmers, be crowned the winners of the official Amazing Race.
The pairs often have a pre-existing relationship with one another and their bonds, which may already be fragile, are put to extreme tests such as frying eggs in their hands or scaling really tall buildings. Now take that framework, shake it up and place it on the scale of Boston University and the greater Boston area.
According to Boston University’s 2012 Annual Report, there are approximately 33,000 students currently enrolled at the university. With such a large number of students comes a diverse, eclectic spirit that rages through every event, lecture and classroom on campus. Although BU embraces individuality, the administration also focuses on uniting the student body, faculty and staff under one umbrella movement: “Do What You Love.”
“Do What You Love” is the mantra for the Student Activities Office,
a department under the Dean of Students that provides resources for students hoping to actively engage in campus life and participate in one or many of the 516 registered student organizations. One of the many functions SAO holds is planning events that will draw a large percentage of the BU community together. On December 2, 2012, SAO hosted Boston University’s 2nd Annual Amazing Race, an exciting competition that gives students the chance to explore Boston, bond with their friends and win a variety of prizes.
The rules and regulations were pretty simple: Find five friends who attend BU, sign up on SAO’s YouDo website and hand in official release forms before the day of the event. Other than that, there were no limitations on who could participate.
“We wanted to make sure anyone who wanted to be involved could be. Not everyone is in a registered student group, but that shouldn’t disqualify them from participating,” said Taylor Sevigny, a Coordinator of Programs at the Student Activities Office.
Sevigny and her committee of 10 student employees and professional staff began planning The Amazing Race back in September, almost immediately after the school year began. Together, the committee carefully selected 13 locations and seven pit stops for teams to find and complete challenges. Although finding these locations based on clues may not be too difficult for somebody knowledgeable about the Boston area, students were required to leave all technology including cell phones behind during the race, a curveball that proved difficult for the 23 participating teams.
"I quickly realized what a crutch my smartphone is. I couldn't Google any of the clue details and we definitely couldn't use a GPS. We had to do it the good, old-fashioned way: hopping on public transit, running and relying on strangers for directions. It was definitely interesting," said Eric Baker, a senior at BU and member of the third place team, "General Biographers."
The race's route expanded over 10.5 miles around Boston. In order to get to the first location, students were required to trek to the South End and visit the Medieval Manor. From there, students raced to popular locations such as the SoWa Open Market, TD Garden and the Museum of Science. The race took approximately seven hours to complete and several teams, including the previous years' champs, Students Helping Honduras, dropped out due to exhaustion.
James Ligot, a member of "Arvin's Acrobatic Angels," said that although the race was grueling, he and his team enjoyed themselves.
"One of our members sprained her ankle early on in the day. Even though the volunteers were willing to make an exception and allow us to continue on without her, she didn't want to give up. We carried her the whole way and made it to the very end. Even though we didn't win, it was such a cool and motivating experience to see a teammate push through despite injury," said Ligot.
What could possibly motivate students to spend an entire day racing around Boston in rainy weather? A hefty cash prize is what kept most teams going. For individuals that were competing on behalf of a student group, the prize would be $3000 dollars deposited directly into their student group's bank account. This is a significant amount for student groups that often rely on the university's limited funding to program and plan events. For teams of friends that were competing independently, they would be given $1,500 to split among themselves.
After a long day of harassing strangers, embarrassing challenges, and
many uses of Boston public transportation, the
Razzle Dazzle Rompers came out on top as The Amazing Race 2012 champions. The members of the winning team were Anna Wolf, Shannon Johnson,
Jack Long, Jason Gan, Steph Braman, and Helena Van Troy Duran.
