The Huffington Post masters multimedia

Although The Huffington Post is not the place to visit for fair, unbiased news, the blog combines multiple elements in each story to create multimedia packages that keep readers clicking from one link to the next.

Design

Overall, creators of The Huffington Post successfully produced a professional look that makes it stand out from the typical blog that displays plain text and one or two long, skinny columns.

One of the few rules of online writing that the blog does not adhere to is to keep it simple with lots of white space. Instead, there are two rows of tabs on top, three columns of stories, and lots of links scattered throughout. Despite the home page’s abundance of features to click on and lack of white space, the site is not overwhelming or difficult to navigate through.

Here are some other things that work for The Huffington Post’s design:

• Large pictures that include people’s faces. A close-up photo of Sarah Palin practically fills the whole screen when users open up the home page.
  


• Bolding text and using color. All headlines are bold, and the text is even red for the more significant stories.
  
• Active, catchy headlines. “Palin: Katie Couric ‘annoyed’ me” is straightforward, but still piques a reader’s interest.
  

Stories

The Huffington Post improperly labels itself as an “Internet Newspaper” despite its blatant liberal slant as it neglects to tell fair, balanced stories. However, after acknowledging the fact that it is a blog, and stories are therefore subject to opinion and bias, one cannot deny the dynamic stories encourage users to click to their heart’s delight.

The blog includes useful elements such as…

• Video. There are many stories regarding interviews with Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her performance at the vice presidential debate Friday. Each one conveniently allowed users to watch and judge for themselves.
  
  
• Pictures and Slideshows. These elements accompany almost every story on The Huffington Post, adding engaging visuals to the text.

The Obama's Anniversary Album

The Case Against the French Braid

• Links. At one point, I found myself clicking so effortlessly from one story to the next that I hardly realized I ended up on a different blog. The Huffington Post effectively uses links to keep readers busy with information.

TMZ: Following All the Rules

We've been talking about how to optimize text online. Writers need to use bullets, bolded words, and subheads. The actual page needs to be:

• Reader-friendly. People should be able to get the gist of all the stories you're advertising just from glancing at the page. They should know what stories are being advertised.
  
• Easy to navigate. That quality can ensure readers stay on the page for a long time because they can find everything they want.
  

One website that follows the rules that make for a good online page...TMZ. Say what you want about its content, but TMZ rocks.

It's easy to navigate
There's a tab on the top of the page, detailing all the different categories available for viewing. You can see videos and photos, learn the hot celebs, and figure out what's been shown on TMZ the TV show.


The stories are short
They rarely have more than 10 sentences, and the sentences are also short. This makes it really easy to digest and doesn't take very long to read. People who want to the latest in entertainment news can learn everything that's been going on in a short period of time since the stories are so short.


Lots of pictures and videos
Interactivity makes a website more fun. You can click to play a video, go through a slide show, even both. Because there are a ton of pictures and videos, those who love celebrity news will get their full share of gossip.


It's easy on the eyes
TMZ.com doesn't bombard you with information all at once. Some websites want to put so many stories on their homepage that it's gets too cluttered. Others have so many ads, flying or grounded, that you can't figure out what's the main focus. Both can annoy readers.

It's like other news sites
Just because TMZ covers entertainment news, that doesn't mean its website is totally unlike that of hard news organizations. It has some of the same features:

• the most recent _______
  
• top rated _______
  
• most popular _______
• hot ______
• the "search" tool
• links to other stories and categories
  

In summary, TMZ is a good blog website. It follows the most important rules of online journalism, making it interesting, easy to digest, and one that can keep its audience's attention.

Seeing and Hearing is Believing

Why use video in my project?

I'm doing a project on the construction of the new Ronald Tutor Student Center, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010 (right after I graduate). Video has the capacity to combine both sight and sound... so what better way to tell a story than to both speak to an audience while showing them what you're talking about at the same time?

What will video add to my project?

I have recorded interviews with people making decisions on a daily basis about the new campus center. Without the use of video I would have to write down a couple of their quotes, and it would be hard to show emotion in doing so. By having these people on camera there words can be heard and their emotion for the project can be felt much more effectively.

What elements will I have in my video?

In general, more elements makes a story more interesting. In my video I have footage of the old commons, and plans for what the new student center will look like. I also have interviews with USC staff involved in the project, as well as members of student groups that will be affected by the new building. 

Why Video Works

When televisions became commercially available in the 1930s, television news quickly overtook print newspapers and radio as the primary source for daily news. This medium is appealing to viewers because it accomplishes many things that newspapers and radio cannot:

• Combines words, pictures and sounds 
  
• Give a more realistic experience for the audience
• Adds a visual element
• Moving pictures can sometimes be more powerful than still photos

Now that the video can also be displayed on the Internet, online news sources are able to further diversify the way they tell their stories. Many online newspapers will have not only text and photos but also videos to supplement their articles. 

The Complete Story

Border Stories, a video documentary on relations between the U.S. and Mexico, is a great example of video storytelling. The website allows viewers to watch several short video clips each telling a different part of the larger story about the U.S. border with Mexico. 

One of these stories, "Tijuana: TJ Remixed," describes norteña music, a polka-like traditional Mexican sound that has been combined with techno to create a genre called "nortec." 

While there is text that goes along with the video, this story is not as powerfully told without the video element. Because the main subject is music, it is important for the audience to hear the sounds to fully understand the meaning and implications of this fusion of music genres. 

These sounds, mixed with the visuals of Tijuana, create helps the audience visualize the atmosphere that this music creates and the background from which this music emerged. 

No Frills

Another website that professionally displays video in a way that adds to its content is the Des Moines Register site. 

It's Video Special Report: Insights into the candidates shows that while video adds the extra element of a visual, moving picture, it can be simple and informative in a way that does not distract from the message being conveyed. 

This special asks 15 major-party presidential candidates 10 questions in 10 minutes without time to prep their answers. The result is a real look into the personalities of the people who could potentially run our country. 

Voting for a presidential candidate is an important decision, one that must be made after serious thought and consideration about each of the candidates. This medium for introducing the candidates is much more effective than reading an article about their policies or facts drug up about their past lives. 

The interviews are set up very simply:

• Close shots
• Black backgrounds
• Few CGs or other graphics

The result is that the audience immediately focuses on the candidate and what he or she is saying. 

The charisma and energy surrounding a politician is sometimes equally as important as the policies they claim to support. And these qualities can only be judged when one hears or sees the candidates speak. 

These interviews are far more compelling than a several hour debate or a news article discrediting one candidate by revealing his personal flaws. 

Online video works. This is why it is changing the way online news sources present their news. 

Internet Video and Politics-Helpful or Hurtful?

The advent of the Internet, combined with the popularity of video sites like youtube and collegehumor have made it an especially exciting election year. Tina Fey's impersonations of Sarah Palin have been viewed millions of times. Every time a politician makes a mistake caught on camera, it's bound to end up online and therefore, replayed over and over again. 

Whether this helps or hurts a candidate is hard to say. Videos making fun of candidates or portraying them negatively are more widely viewed and shared. But if both sides are the victims, does it come out equal?

The videos I'm comparing are the Des Moines Register's "Insights Into the Candidates" and Slate.com's "Hillary's Inner Tracy Flick."

Insights Into the Candidates

This video feature, created almost a year ago, included 15 major presidential candidates. Each candidate was asked 10 questions, and had to respond on camera. The site claimed that the candidates did not have time to prep before being asked the question.

What works:

• The candidate is placed in front of a black background, with just their name appearing on the screen. This makes the candidate's face and gestures the focal point, so it's hard to get distracted by other elements in the video. It also makes it seem more real and natural.
• The questions asked were unusual, such as "Have you ever reneged on a promise that you've made as a public official?" or "What other contemporary person would make a good President?" Voters often don't get to see candidates address those more personal topics.
• Candidates from smaller parties are also included, not just Republicans and Democrats. Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich appeared right along with McCain and Obama. 
• The site allows the user to view based on the question, to compare each candidate's answer, or by candidate to view all of their answers, to learn about a specific candidate. 

What doesn't:

• The screen is small, and users don't have the option of making it bigger. 
• The black background makes candidates the focus, but when they start to talk too much, as politicians do, it's easy to wander away to other areas of the site. We're always warned about the danger of talking heads -- they can bore the viewer.
• The video itself is sometimes slow to load, and some had sound problems.

Hillary's Inner Tracy Flick

Slate.com made a video comparing Hillary Clinton and Tracy Flick, the high-strung, motivated student in the movie "Election." The video on Slate's site was not working, so I found it through youtube. 

What works:

• The video is entertaining, and raises a comparison that is relatively accurate and humorous.  
• It juxtaposes clips from the movie with election video of both Obama and Hillary, heightening the comparison.
• The production of the video itself is well done, it uses Reese Witherspoon's monologue railing against her competition as the backdrop for election video that exemplifies what she's talking about. 
• The video is short, so it's easy to watch. There are no jump cuts, and transitions are made smoothly so as not to detract from the video. 

What doesn't:

• The video doesn't provide any actual information about candidates or their positions. 
• It makes Hillary look childish, and almost reduces the race between Clinton and Obama to a high school popularity contest.  
• Using Reese Witherspoon's monologue, it seems as though it is her that is fighting against Obama, not Hillary Clinton, which could misrepresent and mislead viewers. 

The videos I compared are very different-one is purely informational, the other is purely entertainment. Informational videos are easier to skip over because they may not offer much in the way of entertainment. Humorous videos are more widely viewed, but can skew an individual's perception of a candidate in an inaccurate way. Whether one is more important or more valued over another is hard to say, but what is clear is that video, especially on the Internet, will play a significant role in shaping this election. 

The Internet-Seriously, What Can't it Do?

Day after day, webpage after webpage, it seems the Internet is continually laying the smackdown on print journalism. That becomes even more apparent when one looks at the use of videos online.

There is no doubt that words and still images can carry an immense emotional impact. Both have the ability to transport a viewer to another time and place, exposing the viewer to new information and experiences along the way.

It is arguable, however, that video does that even better. The combination of narration, images, and sound can take a story to a whole new level. If its done well, an online news video can both inform and viewer and transform them.

Two news video sites that do just that are Travis Fox at washingtonpost.com and borderstories.com.


Travis Fox-Why it Works

The news videos that Travis Fox produces show just how good an online news video can be in a number of ways.

1. Production-It's a clearly well made video. There are no jarring jump cuts, nauseating pans, or zooms that make you feel queasy.
2. The rule of 3-Fox clearly understands the potential impact of a well framed shot. When the viewer sees a shot of the brilliant blue sky, imposing mountains, and young men playing football beneath palm trees and the American flag, it seems that the whole story is wrapped up in that one well framed image.
3. The narration- No one wants to watch a news video in which the narrators voice is so jarring that one would prefer to have the sound off. Fox's calm and even narration allows the viewer to totally relax and passively absorb the information.

What Doesn't Work

A sign of Fox's great talent at video journalism is that the only complaint I have has nothing to do with his video but instead has to do with the layout of the website where the video is featured.

To me, the star of the web page is Travis Fox's video. Unfortunately, one cannot tell that by looking at it. The video is dwarfed by a column on it's right side that shows pictures and descriptions of more videos. More attention seems to be paid to videos that a viewer is not trying to look at as opposed to the video they have actually selected to watch.

Border Stories- San Diego: Fence Jumpers

While Border Stories does a fairly good job at producing informative videos, its clear that the production cost was not as high as that of Travis Fox. Let's switch it up and see why it doesn't work first.

Why it Doesn't Work

1. The Website- for one reason or another two of the three story links did not work for me. It was quite a disappointment.
2. Camera Work- quite a few of the shots were rather shaky. Unlike Travis Fox, who clearly had more than one camera man due to the different angles he produced, this story only had one camera man and therefor pretty much had the same basic angles and shots.
3. Interviews-the doctor interviewed for this particular piece definitely provided good information, but I couldn't help noticing that throughout his interview he seemed to be looking off into the distance. It was slightly distracting. Also, it would have been interesting to have another voice in the story, perhaps someone who had actually sustained injuries from jumping the fence.

Why it Works

1. No narrator-I thought the lack of narrator for this story actually worked in its favor. For a story that could have been politically loaded and manipulated by a narrator, the lack of one allowed the facts to be the only thing presented
2. Information-I was quite happy to see that below the video the website gave background information on the subject. I thought this was really helpful, as it helped put the video in context.
3. The story itself- I personally had never taken the time to think about the injuries that those jumping the border fence potentially faced. This definitely gives the website some extra points for teaching me something I knew nothing about.

While these websites both show how good videos online can be, not every website is putting videos like this out there. For every well done video there is a grainy one with poor sound quality right behind the corner. Hopefully one day in the near future the Travis Foxs' of the Internet videos will no longer be the exception to the rule but will instead be what is expected.

No words needed

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a video worth? In many cases, even a million words could not effectively describe what a video portrays. Two great examples of video that eliminate the need for words are the works of Travis Fox and of Border Stories.

Travis Fox doesn't just want to hear his own voice.

In his video Reminders of Agent Orange, the New Victims part of the video reels the viewer in much more than the wordy article does. But Travis Fox also knows that narrating a story for five minutes can lose an audience just as fast as a lengthy written page can. Therefore he lets the story tell itself, while still giving the video a professional vibe. Here are some instances of sounds that replace Travis Fox's voice in his Agent Orange video:

• boy child's laughter.
• a rooster crowing.
• motorcycle as father returns home from work.
• girl child's laughter as she walks.
• boy child crying.
• dogs barking.
• TV playing for the children.
  

Travis Fox knows there is just no way he can give viewers a sense of this family's everyday life with words. Therefore he directly immerses the audience in this family's household using images, but also strong sound. Not even a photo could give the same impact.

Border Stories helps eyes and ears become dance partners.

The story Tijuana: TJ Remixed is a sound-filled story by nature. No one is going to narrate the whole video when the story is about music. But the images also seem to come more alive because they are matched up with the tempo and words of the music. Here are some shots that are shown to the beat of the music:

• People dancing.
• Man adjusting dials in the studio.
• Cars driving by on the freeway.
• Police car lights flashing.
• Tijuana sign.
• Man hosing down building.
• Crosswalk counting down to red hand.
• Quick shots of TJ changing with the beat.

Once again, viewers get to experience something much more fun and interesting than a bunch of words thrown at them. Having both images and sound offers them an experience closer to the real story than words could ever offer.

Pieces of a Puzzle

I imagine a great and compelling story as a compilation of perfect elements like how individual pieces fit together to form a puzzle. For video, sound and sight are additional elements that can trigger the ooh-la-la factor in viewers.

As powerful and descriptive words may be, nothing is as precise or clear as listening to the helpless moans of a suffering drug addict or the light crackling of coffee beans getting tossed in a wicker basket. The visual element of seeing the green and lush backdrop of the Rwandan countryside or needles puncturing skin is far better a storyteller than black monotonous-looking words.
Travis Fox's "Women's Work"

I watched Travis Fox's story on the rising role of women in Rwandan society since the genocide. The story was particularly captivating because I recently read a book called We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families that detailed the war between the Tutsis and Hutus from a journalist's perspective (Philip Gourevitch). However, unlike the story, there was a happy outcome in which women were thriving and finding a place for themselves in society and in the econony. |

What worked:

• landscape images of Rwanda's countryside (forests, fields, habitats)


• very intimate, closeup shots of people's faces and objects
  

• outsider narration

• central character (Jeanette) who viewers followed from beginning to end


• high res. camera


• intimacy with the central character (close up on her eyes as the opening shot)

Border Stories - "Tijuan, Staying Negative"

I also saw a drug-health case from Border Stories. It was about the troubling state that Tijuana is in with high numbers of cocaine and crystal meth addicts as well as prostitutes. HIV/AIDS is skyrocketing due to shared needles and unprotected sex, yet many of its citizens are apathetic.

What worked:

• Wide range of shots from different angles, height and distance (ground shots enhanced story)

• entire package was based on personal accounts of the issue (all SOTs, no VO)


• Raw, unedited footage


• Very real experience

• More angles to the story (help of UCSD medical team, soccer, streets of Tijuana)

• camera was not as clear
  

Essentially, both of them were very similar in that the videographers only used one camera, but the style of the shots and the overall package gave off different vibes.

For Travis Fox's Women's Work story, it was more like a short film than a news package. It was more 'profesionally-produced', but it was not something the audience could experience.

For the Tijuana story, it felt like we were living through the lens of the camera. What the camera showed us was what we felt and had to endure, whether the sweltering heat seen from the waves on the ground or the despair of those dying to get their next fix of drugs. Both stories wouldn't be as compelling if it wasn't for the video (sound and sight elements) that accompanied the writing. Video in online journalism right now is an accessory, but soon will become a necessity.

Adding Another Dimension with Video

Online journalism has the rare ability to combine the best aspects of print journalism and broadcast journalism. It has the ability to tell the most powerful and lengthy stories that print journalism has, yet is done in a way that modifies it to adhere to the online reader, by provide bolded sub heads. In addition, with the capabilities of adding video, it is able to reach out and provide the power that only video can provide to a story. It allows the reader to delve a new dimension into the story by often times seeing who the story is about or at the very least the people affected by the key figure in the story.

How does video help?

- It can provide new information that makes it seem more powerful coming from a different perspective ie. an experts opinion on something.
- It provides a power and an emotional appeal that words alone cannot provide.
- It helps bring the story to life and/or full circle by adding the first person human element
- Pictures help summarize a story. Video tells the story and gives the reader/viewer a sense of comfort in its legitimacy


How will video help my project?

- Specifically my story deals with club athletes and their struggles to balance out their school work with practice schedules
- Video of the athletes in action gives them new life, and also helps the viewer relate to them
- A soundbyte from one of the athletes will bring a sense of realism and feeling into it. It will allow the viewer to literally both see and hear their struggles.
- It will allow the reader to take a break from what can turn into a lengthy read. For example, I could either show video of who I will be talking about to help the scanners of the online world, or on the other hand I could help bring to life a character I had just finished talking about.

A SIMPLE DISTRACTION

The ultimate test of good video is to watch it with NO SOUND.

If the video alone still draws you in...still makes your throat squeeze up a little with some emotion...then you can be sure it's good.

The power of video comes from its ability to totally immerse the viewer in its story. You are virtually transported to a new world and, not only can you see what's going on in a single moment, but you also follow along as a scene develops. Add sound and immersion is complete.

Both Border Stories and the videos by Travis Fox pass the no-sound test with flying colors.

Even without audio, one can feel the pain and the mercy in the stories about drug addicts on the U.S./Mexico border. Even without audio one can still hear a mother screaming for her child lost in the destruction of the Sichuan earthquake.



WHY THE VIDEO IS GOOD

1. It flows smoothly...no jarring transitions

2. The video appeals to the emotions. EX: Instead of just using footage of rubble, Travis Fox shows a mother wailing for her daughter.

3. Humans connect with humans and animals...not things

4. Keeps shots aesthetically pleasing; observe the rule of thirds and the eye's natural affinity for symmetry.

5. Spend enough time on emotional shots to draw out the emotion, but don't stay too long on shots that are merely for B-Roll.

6. The story should be generally understood from video alone.

7. The video is SIMPLE


A COMPARISON

Both the Border Stories videos and those by Travis Fox were similar in that they employed a simple, raw DOCUMENTARY STYLE that is naturally very appealing.

There was no fancy film work, no special effects, to interfere with the reality of the story being told. The simplicity succeeded in drawing emotion rather than boring the viewer.


A CONTRAST

The main difference came from the general presentation of the video on the website. Whereas Travis Fox's page featured numerous videos in a rather generic list, the Border Stories page immediately slammed you straight into the video.

Personally, this made the video even more appealing. Like a movie theater, the dark background provided no distraction from the video and I was able to immerse myself even farther into the story, whether it was a better quality or not.

On the flip side, the Travis Fox videos were accompanied by text and links and sidebars that drew my attention away from the stories. In his case, though, the stories were enthralling enough to counteract any distraction.


IN SUMMARY

It is evident when comparing the Travis Fox videos and the Border Stories videos that not only the video matters, but also the space surrounding the video. Humans like to escape and too much distraction, too many choices, hinders that ability. In regards to both the shots taken and the format in which the video is taken, SIMPLICITY IS KEY. Do not distract the viewer from the story you are trying to tell. If it is a good story, it will prove to be all the distraction needed.