- Chapter 4 - USE VISUAL JOURNALISM FOR NEW NARRATIVE FORMS
Just a few years ago, few newspapers would have imagined themselves impeding on the turf of television and broadcasters. But now, with the democratization of high-speed Internet access and low-cost video equipment, most newspapers – big and small alike – have boosted their video offerings. Whether produced in-house or through syndication with video professionals, video has become one of the most popular mediums on the Web, and has even single-handedly led to increases in average time spent on news sites. However, the increasing importance of video on newspaper sites is only part of a more general trend towards visual journalism: around the globe newspapers are taking their first steps in implementing more complex interactive graphics, picture-based narratives and new forms of visual navigation.
ARTICLES
Is video newspapers’ business?
The question remains, for most newspapers that have embarked on the video crusade, whether they can monetize a typically costly activity, which can require video shooting and storage equipment, a video editing team or even an in-house studio.
Can journalists and newsrooms support the extra workload?
As more editors expect their journalists to be platform-agnostic and produce their own videos, many newsrooms are reshaping their workflows to accommodate the extra workload.
"That's a problem that has yet to be fully resolved," said Ian Vaile, Director of Fairfax Digital Productions, admitting that "inevitably it's more work and / or different work to what they have been doing."
Visual journalism grows but won’t replace text (yet) Will newspaper readers come to see a day when their
publications are textless, based entirely on visual journalism?
Although this isn’t likely in any foreseeable future, “I’m convinced
visual journalism is one of the rising trends today, in traditional
media but also in so-called new media,” said Eric Scherer, Director of
Strategic Planning and Partnerships at Agence France-Presse.
“A good picture and animated graphics can be worth 1,000, 2,000, even 3,000 words if you want.”
“I’m not saying no text at all” in the future, he said. But “I believe
maybe very soon text will take a second place, and you’ll first have
first pictures, video and animated graphics.” Video is not just video, it’s a user experience
As newspapers worldwide learn how to produce engaging video content, many are still struggling to grasp the intricacies of this new medium. A few news organizations have already experienced the shortcomings of poorly conceived newspaper video: TV-style shows, long-format news bulletins and videos with a journalist on-screen – all of which were engines of success on television – do not captivate Web users. Although the importance of quality video content remains important, newspapers’ primary interests concerning video should be to make it user-friendly and adapted to viewers’ specific Web usage.
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