We’ve come a long way since Snowfall, baby.
The New York Times’ massive multimedia project went live in December, 2012 and set the tone for an amazing 12 months of online journalism.
Yes, I know, we’re about a week into 2014, but it’s worth looking at some of the great multimedia journalism from 2013.
Looking at some of these amazing examples of online journalism, it’s exciting to think about the continued evolution of online storytelling.
The Globe and Mail put out its own list of its best multimedia stories, including Crossing the Line: Chronicling Mexico’s drug war; The last moments of Lac Megantic; The untold story of how Canada survived the financial crisis; The data behind R.A. Dickey; Student Aid: How one school board is defeating bullying, one friendship at a time.
The National Film Board also had some amazing interactives, the most impressive of which was its collaboration with The New York Times on Highrise, ‘An Emmy-winning, multi-year, many-media, collaborative documentary experiment at the National Film Board of Canada, that explores vertical living around the world… If you’re not already sold, how about this pitch? ‘Dig in to 2,500 years of vertical living through an interactive storybook, with rarely seen New York Times photos, as well as animation and games.’
The Toronto Star’s multimedia project One more jump tells the story of Lonnie Bissonette, who broke his body a decade ago jumping off a bridge. ‘Today he continues in the sport from his wheelchair, all in the pursuit of an experience most of us will never understand.’
The New York Times also touted its best work. Among its featured multimedia items were A Game of Shark and Minnow, Riding the new Silk Road, The invisible child, The Jockey. The Times also had fantastic data visualization, including Constellations of directors and their stars; Where poor and uninsured Americans live; Housing’s rise and fall in 20 cities; and many, many, many more. Give yourself an afternoon to dive deep into this excellent selection of online journalism.
It’s impossible to list all of the amazing journalism that The Guardian is cranking out. By Jan. 7, the news organization already had seven interactives under its belt for 2014. This is merely a handful of its fantastic 2013 projects: 2013: The Year in music; Download deathmatch: compare internet speed worldwide; How prostitution is dealt with across Europe; A century of change in the Antarctic; Canada’s dwindling polar bear population; Miley Cyrus: Who’s for her and who’s against her? and one of my favourites, Doctor Who: every Doctor and every companion.
The Economist told Nelson Mandela’s life story and highlighted its archival coverage with its interactive feature Mandela’s Walk. The project is a reminder that a timeline doesn’t have to be a predictable linear scroll.
Time’s Lightbox compiled its favourite acts of photojournalism in 2013, and introduced it with this preamble: ‘From the tunnels deep underneath Moscow to the storm-ravaged aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the halls of the White House and the chaos in the Central African Republic, TIME photographers captured some of the year’s most compelling images.’
If you’re still unsure if journalism is heading in an amazing direction, you can check out The National Press Photographer’s Association site for its selection of 2013 multimedia winners.
Josh Stearns also compiled this great list of online storytelling on his blog, Groundswell. While he has mostly U.S. examples, it’s worth a look. He writes:
But 2013 also saw innovative journalists and newsroom developers taking interactive, multimedia storytelling in new directions too. And while I don’t cover them in-depth below, there were
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Great efforts covering breaking news (See the Boston Globe, New York Times, MPR, )
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Terrific uses of maps (See NPR, WNYC and ProPublica), and
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Amazing data driven projects (See WAMU, Chicago Tribune, and the Miami Herald)
I can’t wait to see how we’re telling stories online in 2014.
This is list is by no means exhaustive. What’s your favourite multimedia feature/data visualization from 2013?