Different audiences lead to different uses of media in journalism

For this assignment I went to three different news sites, Forbes, BuzzFeed and CNN and looked up articles which i found relatively interesting and analyzed the way that multimedia journalism enhances the story.  The CNN article, written by Chris Isidore, “Craft beer isn’t as independent as you think” begins with all of the sharing options (Facebook, Pintrest, Email, etc) and then a ninety second video about a brewery which has sent their yeast up to space.  The article itself goes into more of the business side of the craft beer industry, throws plenty of numbers out there, and within the story offers links to many related articles.  The end of the article features an active comments section where readers can share their thoughts on the issues brought up by Isidore.  

I found an article on Forbes called “When The Recruiter Said This, I Wasn’t Interested Anymore” written by contributing writer Liz Ryan.  The article begins with Ryan’s information (a photo, tagline of her writing mantra and a link to follow her of the Forbes website.)  The first half of the article is a letter to the author about his experience with a recruiter.  Though there are no pictures to accompany the letter, midway through there is a link to some related articles which Forbes recommends.  Then there is a slideshow/ “image gallery” about interview tips when the interview isn’t asking the right questions.  The second page of the article is Ryan’s response (also in letter form) and is straight text and ends with an illustration by the author herself titled “When the Headhunter Calls.”  There is a link to comment of the story, more recommended reading and promoted stories (which are advertisements and not actual Forbes articles.)  

The final article I chose was from BuzzFeed, “Elton John Says He Got A Call From Vladimir Putin On Gay Rights”, written by BuzzFeed World News Editor Hayes Brown.  Not unlike the Forbes article, it begins with a picture, information about and the contact info of Mr. Brown.  There are then sharing links.  The article begins with two sentences in a bold and large font.  Then a huge picture of Elton John is embedded.  One more sentence in the same large font and a photo embedded from Sir Elton John’s Instagram.  The next sentence of journalism features a link to an article from The Guardian and then an unrelated gif from Marvel Comics.  This pattern continues, with photos every one to three sentences and a few more links for further reading within the article.  At the conclusion of the article are the same links to share that were at the beginning of the article and more BuzzFeed news.  

All three of these articles were about very different subjects and were directed to different audiences.  However, all three authors employed several different types of media within multimedia journalism to get their points across effectively.  The CNN article began with an interesting video which illustrated the innovation in the craft beer market.  Although not the main focus of the article itself (which was more about the business end of it) it effectively got the reader interested in what was being reported on later in Isidore’s piece.  The unique aspect of the Forbes article was the photo slideshow midway through it.  The text-heavy letters did not feature links within itself, due to the nature of the piece, but still was able to offer supplemental features like the slideshow to offer the readers a more visual aspect.  Hayes’ article relied heavily on photos as well as links to other sources to report effectively of the John/ Putin exchange.  

All three authors were effective in how they incorporated different media in their pieces.  I believe that since BuzzFeed is for a younger, and perhaps more social media savvy, reader, it is necessary that Hayes could hold their attention, and did this with the inclusion of photos and gifs.  I think that the CNN and Forbes reader are more similar, and while there were still photos and plenty of links there was more text, since I think that that audience has a longer attention span and can read more actual words per sitting, without the respite that an image can offer.  All three pieces used links and offered additional reading.  This was probably done to keep the reader of their site.  The comment section and the option to contact the author creates a sense of community within the site.  Although reporting on vastly different topics and targeting to different audiences, all three authors were able to effectively get their point across with the help of different media in their reports.  

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2015/09/16/when-the-recruiter-said-this-i-wasnt-interested-anymore/

http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/16/news/companies/major-brewers-craft-beers/index.html?iid=ob_homepage_money_pool&iid=obnetwork

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hayesbrown/hakuna-vladata#.flw8kavWq

Are News Websites Using Multimedia Effectively?

Handcuffed for Making Clock, Ahmed Mohamed, 14, Wins Time With Obama

          This first article uses three different types of media, those being text, video, and interactivity. The text goes very in depth on what the article is about, giving a lot of details and information. The video gives more of a summary of the story, and then the interactivity of being able to share, comment, tweet and etc.
          The text was very informative, giving every detail that we need to know about the story and all that happened around the story like the celebrities that supported the kid and gave him nice advice and compliments via Twitter. The video was a nice touch to have the basic information about the article and also the view from the police on the story and why they arrested the kid.
          I feel like they should have used more pictures throughout the article to make it more interesting and less massive with the very long and "scary" text. I don't believe that I'm the only person who gets discouraged to read an article that simply has a very long text. They could have used the pictures of the tweets that were mentioned in the story, that alone would already make it more attractive

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/us/texas-student-is-under-police-investigation-for-building-a-clock.html?_r=0

Chile rocked by deadly 8.3 magnitude earthquake

          This article also uses three types of media, text, videos, and the interactivity with other things throughout the article.

          The text this time is not so long, or at least doesn't feel as long as the text on the first article because it is broken in parts by other videos and pictures, which makes it more attractive. The article starts with a video in the beginning, again the video summarizes what the story is about, and another video in the article, a Instagram video from a citizen, shows the reaction of the people while the earthquake was happening. There is one picture used in the middle of the article that shows a map specifying where in Chile the earthquake actually happened. The text has many hyperlinked words that takes you to other related stories, making you spend more time on their website. The interactivity of the website is very effective, giving you many option to interact with the article, the writer and the public. They give you the option of sharing it in different social media websites, email, tweet, and also comments on the article, which in my opinion gives it a lot of interactivity to the piece.

          One thing that I think that could be improved on this website is to make the comment section more obvious and visible, so people can easily see it and leave some comments to interact with other people about their different opinions on the article. Another thing to be improved is to use a few more photos, I believe that photos always give more depth to the story, it makes people feel more connected to it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tsunami-warning-issued-for-hawaii-after-chile-earthquake/

Wildfires destroy hundreds of California homes

          This article uses text, video and pictures, and some interactivity.

          The article starts with a video explaining the story and summarizing all about it, and also giving the reader many emotional scenes, which makes people feel more connected to the story. The same emotional aspect is used in the pictures throughout the article, very sad pictures make people stay on the page to know what happened and why those people were so sad, I think the public feel very connected to a story when they see other people sad and in need of help. The text is very explanatory and detailed, giving even some statistics at the end of it. The is some interactivity in this article, people are able to share the story on a few different social media websites.

          This site is lacking on interactivity, they are missing a comment section, which is terrible because people nowadays love to make comments of the stories, just to be able to get other people's reactions and opinions. And I also think they could have added more videos to the story to make people at least stay a little more on the website and get more interested in the story.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34261611

Gustavo Comonian

Assignment # 1

Arlene Mencia

Multimedia Journalism

Proff Luther

            Story 1: “Plus-size model Ashley Graham brings her #iamsizesexy body to New York catwalks”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/new-york-fashion-week/plus-size-model-ashley-graham-hosts-lingerie-catwalk-show/

In this article all media components were used video/text/interactivity was used.

The article it self was eye catching because in NYC fashion week all you see are thin models, you never hear about curvy models. Ashley Graham shows courage in being a plus size model and encourages models that you can be a size 16 and still be sexy. Then there is a video of her being interviewed and her experience doing a catwalk on a fashion week stage. The reporter is very enthusiastic and the model’s excitement is genuine. The image that was posted was a screen shot of her instagram and her caption say’s “History was made! Curves took over the runway at #NYFW. Thank you to everyone who made this possible! And thank you to all the delicious curves that strutted their stuff and who showed the world what #iamsizesexy means!” this made me smile because its not every day that the media shows plus size models and their work. There is no audio without video but I don’t think this particular post would need that. I wouldn’t change anything but I would have added more text to have more information about the whole experience.

Story 2: “Trump to Bush I Could Have Owned You if I Wanted!”

http://www.tmz.com/2015/09/16/donald-trump-jeb-bush-republican-debate-money-video/

In this story there are two videos, some texts and no audio with out video.

This caught my attention because I have heard about this election with trump and I don’t feel like he is fit to be president but that’s just my opinion for numerous reasons. The strengths of these two videos is Trump going back and forth with Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina, Trump believes that he could have owned Bush, Bush had claimed that Trump has offered him money to support gambling in Florida but trump states that it was a lie. Trump then tries to defend himself in the first video, the two go back and forth and I found it amusing in one part because Bush kept interrupting Trump and Trump says “Excuse me!” and the crowed starts laughing. It was effective because it shows you the way he gets defensive with these accusations.  The next video showed Trump and Carly Fiorina face to face because of the comment Trump made about Carly’s face being an insult to woman. He then says that her face is very pretty meanwhile he stated previously that her face was an insult, the crowed was confused. Trump says one thing and then does the other in my opinion.  What I would change about this article was the fact that there was barley any text, they could had covered more and the videos could have been longer, could have been a must see.

            Story 3: “Apple News Is Better Than Newsstand, But That's Not Saying Much”

http://gizmodo.com/apple-news-is-better-than-newsstand-but-thats-not-sayi-1731180439

This article uses text and audio video. This article was interesting because the evolution of technology is incredible. Apple has evolved into the biggest thing out making new stands irrelevant.  Most people read their news on their phones of their tablets or any type of device, the traditional way seems like its being lost as the years go by. The strengths of this article is the text and video apples apps and ios 9 is making everything easier as they state in the article and the video was effective because it shows you just what there talking about, even showing images. I completely agree about the new technology making the old way of reading the news obsolete soon.

Assignment No.1 Dates, Hazing, and Tsunamis?!

A. Greatest 10 First Dates
1. The different types of media used in this article are mostly photos and text. There is also a lot of links that can be clicked on to provide further information about what the article is about. There is also interactivity (sharing on fb, twitter, etc,.) which is an easy way to communicate and share out to others on other platforms of social media. The print also has some areas highlighted to show points of possible focus for the reader. This is effective because you can read over and over again and see what the article is saying in front of you. Along with the title, there is also a subheader which further leads the reader in in this case, by allowing one to be different with the dates, so makes you want to know more. There is also a form to contact the author, as the email provided.
2. The strength of the text is that it provides readers with a ton of information for different creative ideas for dates. Also, as mentioned before, some areas of the text are highlighted or italicized, which brings the reader in and can be clicked on for further information for the reader. The text in this article is very well laid out along with an image. There are also photos provided in this article, which allows us to see the places that are mentioned in this article and give us an idea. Along with most of  the photos is text describing what the image is. As for interactivity, one can easily share the article via different social media platforms.
3. For this article, I would say there is enough media coverage, as there are details about pricing, locations, menus, phone numbers, and websites.

http://www.lohud.com/story/life/2015/09/10/fall-date-night-guide/71514628/


B. Hazing at Baruch College
1. The different types of media used in this article were mostly text along with some photos. There is also a video present with officers describing what happened at the college.
2. The strength of the text is that one has every detail very specifically laid out in front of them. You can go over and re-read something several times if necessary. You can specifically find all the W's answered in text. The strength of the photo in this article is  you can see what happened, as the victim of this hazing death tragedy is portrayed giving us a mental image of the victim, Chun Deng. As for the video, we can hear with audio and pictures what happened and we can hear the tone of voice if there is one, in this case there is, which can stimulate our emotions and help us understand the case better. Along with these forms of multimedia, there is also forms of sharing the article via FB, Twitter, etc,.
3. For this specific article, I don't find the need to add any other form of media because there is already text, photos, and a video present which all convey the same message, but in different forms. as far as media coverage, enough detail was present to learn and inform me about the story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/nyregion/baruch-college-fraternity-hazing-death-case.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0


C. Tsunami Alert in Hawaii
1. The different forms of multimedia used in this article are photos, text, and video. There is also interactivity to leave comments and share.
2. In this article, the text provides us again with physical facts regarding this tsunami alert for Hawaii and California after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake hit Chile causing mass flooding and destruction and 1 reported fatality. This allows us to have a better idea of what went on with FACTS. There are also more facts in bold under the title, stating more facts and attracting the reader to read them because they are so close to the title and are in bold. The photos provide us with a visualization of what happened, we see the destruction of the earthquake. There is also interactivity on this article. The video in this article allows us to see what happened in motion.
3. For this article, I felt all uses of the multimedia were very effective, once again conveying the same message but in different ways which are effective and may give readers different ways to understand it, depending on the reader. Maybe some ways are more effective and easier for certain readers to understand.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3237708/Tsunami-alert-Hawaii-powerful-8-3-magnitude-earthquake-hits-Chile.html

Events Taking Place in the U.S. (except for one)

Story 1: Bernie Sanders 'stunned' Over Polls

This news article uses the three most common forms of media on an internet news source: video, text, and interactivity. There's a reason why these three forms of media are used so often in a news story; they are independently immersive but together make a powerful source of information. The video is blunt and gets straight to the point of what the article is about while the text gives the reader more information and context to what the video entails. And finally, the article surrounds the reader with related stories that creates the perfect environment for the he or she to be consumed by the events taking place and brought up to date with popular culture. One thing I would have been interested in seeing is a comments section to see what opinions people had other than just being spoon fed a story.  

Story 3: NY $15 Minimum Wage For Fast-Food Workers Gets Green Light

What I found interesting about this story is that it uses audio without video. This isn't as common in visual news articles mainly because it isn't as personal or immersive and most of all it's somewhat uninteresting. Now this article does use text and there is other related content that you can choose to read at the bottom of the article, that is, if you so happen to bother reading it. The problem with this specific article is that the text is almost word-for-word of what the audio informs the reader on. Although the information is being given there is no reason for the reader to continue any further research on the news source which, in turn, will cause the reader to most likely not return to the site for the little it has to offer.

  Story 2: Hungary Declares State of Emergency Over Refugee Crisis

Unlike the first story, we can see a photo gallery that presents an emotional connection to the Syrian asylum seekers stuck at the border between Serbia and Hungary. Because the photo gallery is the first thing shown it forces the reader to want to read the rest of the article in order to completely understand what is currently taking place during a time of desperation for the Syrian nationals. What further strengthens the article is the fact that after reading just a few small paragraphs there is a video that continues its pursuit on informing the reader. It is placed perfectly within the article so that the reader never gets a chance to become bored of he story. Something is always happening within the article and one may choose to read more on the related stories section or even reply down in the comment section below.

Assignment #1 Renno Jeon

Assignment#1

   http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/08/21/world/videos-isis-recruits.html?ref=world


  This article is about how ISIS recruits, containing three short videos of how young people become extremely radical and join ISIS. There are 3 types of media observed: Text, Video, and Interactivity. Each works greatly its own job to help readers better understand its content. Text, though little, is seen at the introduction, giving a sense of what will be talked about in the article. Because one of the strengths of text is that it can articulate in detail and can be re-read at any time. In addition to that, the three videos featuring people who either have friends that have joined ISIS or almost fell into their recruiting) strongly hit me with reality. Because we can virtually see the people who have fallen victim to the extreme group. For example, when I was reading and watching the story, I found the story so compelling that it put myself in their shoes and I just sympathized with them for their losess. Also, by clicking the share button on the side of the page, people could have discussions with friends, exchanging thoughts regarding the story. Though the story itself was good with the videos, if I was the journalist, I would open up the comment section so that readers could have an open forum offering ideas of how other people think of this matter.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/world/middleeast/egypt-mexican-tourists.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share

   The second article is about the Egyptian military that accidently killed a dozen people on a Mexican tourist trip. As with the article above, there are three types of media observed: Text, Video and Interactivity. This article is quite long and dense. It clearly shows the basics of journalism: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Since it’s lengthy, it takes time for people to absorb the information of the article because people are required to literally read, whereas people can just flow with the radio or TV. The message, however, may be more accurately understood and more thoroughly received. Along with the text, there are pictures and a video embedded in. They give us a clear idea of what’s going on beyond what we can see. As for the video, it shows how the authorities are responding in regard to the killing. It brings up the credibility of the article by showing the appearances and voices of the actual people involved in the situation. Also, since it’s a video, we can just flow with it without having to pay as much attention as we would have to when reading. What’s more, the comment section is available here, unlike the article above, enabling us to share thoughts with others. Reading down some of the comments, I picked up a deeper insight into the stances that the both sides (Mexican government and Egyptian government) are taking. If I was the journalist, I would add more pictures not of the dead bodies but of the bombed (airstrikes) site in an attempt to deliver a message of what really the situation was like.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/14/world/middleeast/palestinian-youths-israeli-police-clashes-al-aqsa-mosque.html
 
 In this third article, the writer talks about a clash between Israel police and Palestinians. As with the two articles above, there are three types of media seen: Text, Video, and Interactivity. Text tells readers what happened with other detailed information. Since it was text, for people like me whose native language is not English, not only did it make me able to refer to my English dictionary as I was reading the article but I was free to read, over and over again, this religion based battle that I, as a person with no religion, wasn’t familiar with until it came clear to me. Aside from that, the video delivers the intensity of the clash and it’s a lot better than somebody describes the clash his/her heart out. Though the comment section is not available, the share buttons are there for people to share the story and discuss with other people. If I was the journalist, like I said, I would open the comment section.

ASSIGNMENT #1 Theodere McReporter

Assignment #1

Story #1: http://kotaku.com/hideo-kojima-says-goodbye-to-metal-gear-solid-and-its-1728135026

Title: Hideo Kojima's Sad Farewell to Metal Gear

1.  Three different types of media components used in this article are Video, Text, and Interactivity. 
2. The video used for the story revolved around the director of the Metal Gear Solid Video Game franchise, Hideo Kojima and his farwell to the gaming industry. It recapped not entirely on his history as a director in gaming but the impact he has made on his fans and also the impact his fans had on him and his team through making the latest game MGSV: The phantom pain. Now while the author described this as "cliche" It is what the end of the video that really captured our emotions. A visit to a family of a special fan who unfortuantely passed of cancer before the final creation of this franchise.
3. The text was very breif but impactful and summarized why you should watch this "debreifing" Not only did this open up the stage to have the viewers watch the video but also offered interactivity as well between the website in which the video was posted and also on youtube from which the video was originally uploaded. Opened up the comments to give omage and reminise their favorite games and moments from Hideo's franchises. Also provides options to share to other social media platforms.

Story #2: http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/09/technology/apple-photoshop-woman

Title: Apple criticized for photoshopping smile on woman's face

1.  Video, Text, and Interactivity were the three media components used in this CNN article.
2. Apple's demo of the new photoshopping like feature on their new device at their press conference raised "heat" for photoshopping a smile on a womans face. In addition to showing the video recap they grabbed tweets from twitter and compiled them into the article as photos to show some of the many people interacting with that demo although negatively. Alongside the tweets, quotes were also stated in the text of the article showig the disgust people had towards the intial demo. To expand on this, the author talked about the diversity in their press conference comapred to others and in tech overall which has proven to be a difficult issue in that industry. 
3. All of this compiled has pulled in interactivity over twitter to CNN. Also has options to share to other social media platforms.

Story #3: http://www.dailydot.com/esports/lilbow-wins-wcs-season-3-2015/


Title:  For the frist time ever, a non-Korean wins a WCS Premiere Season

1. Text, Video, and Interactivity were all used in this eSports article posted on dailydot.com
2. the WCS, since its format into seasons 2 years ago it has become grwoingly difficult for anyone non-Korean to win. This past weekend proved otherwise. Following that weekend, the article recaps how the weekend up to the win had gone. In addition to the recap the author posted the recap of the entire stream as a VOD for the viewers to catch the win of this frenchman over the rest of the world. In addition to this they also included a quick cast of the coverage of the event as well. Interactivity wise, they included ways to post the article to other social media platforms. 

ASSIGNMENT #1: Reporting on Three Effective Multimedia Journalism Stories

Report on THREE current online multimedia news stories (with at least 3 of these media components) that you think are effective:

• • Print/Text
  • Video
  • Audio (without video)
  • Interactivity

 Use the following questions as a guideline for your response to each of the THREE stories you highlight:

•       1.) Identify and specify the different media in use by actively and completely consuming it

•       2.) What are the strengths of each type? Why is this video/text/sound/interactivity effective?  Partake of each media type fully and completely and address your experience in your response.

•       3.) Is there any type of media coverage you would add and/or change?

***

•       Be thorough – the total word count for this assignment should be around 500.

•       WORKING LINKS FOR EACH STORY ARE MANDATORY!

•       Be prepared to share with class - DUE 9/16 BY MIDNIGHT THE NIGHT BEFORE OUR NEXT CLASS (9/17)

•       POST YOUR WORK ON THE CLASS BLOG WITH A UNIQUE POST TITLE/HEADLINE AND THE POST LABEL OF "ASSIGNMENT #1"

•       I want you to focus on the presentation of multimedia news stories from ONE site for each of the three stories as opposed to pulling the elements from different places. For instance, don't reference the video from one site, the article from another, and the interactivity from another - be certain you use stories in which all the main elements are presented on the same page.

•       The purpose of this assignment is for you to start analyzing your existing web activity for good (and bad) examples of multimedia journalism, as well as explore your existing understanding of what "multimedia journalism" is.

•       The instructions are also on Blackboard but your work is to be posted on the class blog