Zach Wise is currently a multimedia producer for the New York Times. Before going to the Times, he was the senior multimedia producer for the Las Vegas Sun. Before he left the Sun he finished this great multimedia piece on Nevada’s water woes. Great navigation, interactive elements throughout and great reporting are all part of this report. Click on the image above or go to the story, and then read about how Zach put it all together.

(1) New York Times: We love the general feeling of the NYT site, which is pleasing to the eye and easy to navigate. The site is loaded with great features, and the website is rumored to be dropping its annoying pay wall, TimesSelect, in the coming months.
(2) Washington Post: Not only do we like the design and the navigability of the Post’s website, but we really love its database applications, which provide interesting tidbits of information difficult to find elsewhere. The Post’s website has been a huge success, and is one of the best examples of newspapers creating an online product that is significantly different from its print product.
(3) USA Today: Social networking. Social networking. Social networking. Did I mention that this site has the most robust social networking features out of any of the newspaper websites we researched? Oh yeah. And this site has social networking.
(4) Houston Chronicle: We like the non-newspaperish feeling that this homepage exudes. It’s significantly different from any other newspaper site. Chron.com offers its users interactive features such as comments and blogs, has a great RSS system made available right on the homepage, and looks good while doing it.
(5) Denver Post: The homepage of this site isn’t much to write home about, but registering with the site automatically gives you your own blog and your own photo gallery for uploading and sharing photos. When you add in some interesting political features, including a voter’s guide and a poll for picking candidates and combine that with alternative content views, internal and external bookmarking features, as well as links from stories to relevant materials, you’ve got all the ingredients necessary to build a great website.
(6) Knoxville News Sentinel: I’m not sure a newspaper website could look any better than this one. When we talk about de-cluttering sites and making them look “clean”, this is what we mean.
(7) Fresno Bee: Great homepage, interesting CrimeMap feature, and overall just a solid site with lots of technology and an easy-to-use format.
(8) Austin American Statesman: We really like the unique layout and coloring of this site’s homepage. We’re also giving this site points for allowing anyone to blog and for linking to many of the site’s blogs directly from the homepage.
(9) Tennessean: The blog-like feel of this site’s homepage helped it make our list. We also like the strong presence of multimedia on the homepage.
(10) San Jose Mercury News: On this homepage, we like the simple layout of the article headlines and descriptions. I also like the inclusion of the box with blog headlines, user photos, forum titles, and podcasts toward the top of the homepage. The site loads a bit slowly and is a little light on the features, but it does have all the core elements of a good site.

He quotes a Pew Research Center for the People and the Press study that found the Web audience is “… younger and better educated than most Americans and far more dissatisfied with their country’s news media.” Many people are pointing their browsers overseas to British online media outlets that give them the content they desire. He also quotes Joseph Epstein who states that Wired magazine now defines a new word, “… ‘egocasting’ as ‘the consumption of on-demand music, movies, television and other media that cater to individual and not mass-market tastes.’ The news, too, is now getting to be on-demand.” Reaching that micro audience as multimedia producers is another aspect of our job that should be explored. How we define a “micro” audience and how we tailor content to reach as many people as possible within that structure will be an interesting exercise.

I like how Rutten finishes, with the hope that some type of “hybrid” publication, “… in which an online edition that’s focused mainly on breaking news and service works in tandem with a print edition whose staples are analysis, context and opinion.” The challenge is to make sure that the multimedia stories we produce are quality in-depth pieces that help showcase and explain the human condition. Here’s an excerpt from Rutten’s article:

“Sooner rather than later, the newspaper you’re holding in your hands will be very different from what it is today. Different in what way is the fair and obvious question. The honest answer is that nobody knows for certain, but the odds are it will be a hybrid publication in which an online edition that’s focused mainly on breaking news and service works in tandem with a print edition whose staples are analysis, context and opinion. The former almost surely will have a lot more video and interactivity than it does today; the latter will have to be much more thoughtful and far more intensely and carefully edited. It’s a difficult — though not impossible — transition, and the scandal of cable news’ failed transformation provides a cautionary example. As Fox and CNN demonstrate to the rest of the news media, it’s possible to save your financial skin and forfeit any claim on respect.”

This is a great piece on aging and sexuality called “Never too old.” Good editing, narration, and sound. I love the way StoryBridge.tv has taken a sensitive topic in a not so exciting venue (classroom) and made it riveting. I showed this in my visual communication class the other day and the students raved about the quality of the story and laughed continuously. Enjoy!

“Never Too Old“

How old is too old to learn about the birds and the bees? Never — if you’re part of a popular human sexuality class for seniors. And we’re not talking about college seniors. If you don’t think octagenarians are interested in sex, you could learn a thing or two from this class. You’ll never look at aging the same way again and that’s a good thing! A warning — if you’re shy or uncomfortable with frank content, this story may not be for you. These seniors are funny, feisty and honest!

OJR’s ‘five guide’ to do-it-yourself website usability testing
Use these steps, and these forms, to test how readers will react to your new multimedia project or website design.
By Laura Ruel and Nora Paul
You’ve put months of work into a special multimedia project. The time-consuming processes of creating and editing text, audio, photos, video and animated graphics has been arduous, but rewarding. You’ve learned more about Flash programming and debugging than you ever intended. And now that there’s an end in sight, you are more than ready to get the package online and out of your life. Enter the spoiler — the person who utters the words “usability test.” “Why bother?” you think. The site works, you know that. You’ve been showing it to your newsroom colleagues along the way. You’ve listened to their feedback. You’ve made changes you thought were necessary. What more could you learn? What more? How about 80 percent of the problems with the package? How about architecture flaws you never considered? How about the differences between a good design and a great one? -more

About JayCut: Development of the advanced technology that makes JayCut’s online video editing possible began early 2006. In December 2006 a technology demonstration was put up on the Internet. It attracted quite a lot of interest, both from users and newspapers, and movies of everything from parties to gardens were created. In February 2007, the company JayCut AB was founded. In May 2007 closed beta testing of the beta began, and in June 2007 the open beta was launched.

Submission Guidelines
To submit a story for publication in American-Journal, send a copy to the editor at the address on this page. Stories must be written in AP Style, demonstrate clean prose and fit within the mission of American-Journal to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to refuse any submitted material. Prospective slide shows must have audio and be created by the photographer before submission. Sufficient background information on the show must be included. Submit shows to the photo editor at the address on this page. Prospective photo columns must be written in AP Style and be clean and concise. Images must meet professional standards and not be digitally manipulated in any way other than what is considered to be acceptable in the photojournalism community. Submit shows to the photo editor at the address on this page. – more

Buffalo Rising is a colorful CJ site run by a company called Hyperlocal Media. Their motto is “Local matters”, which tells you a lot about their focus. Buffalo Rising is described as using “hyperlocal content produced by a team of contributors to market the city to itself–to remind people why they live there.” They cover Buffalo, the second largest city in New York – which has a population of 250,000. Buffalo Rising has 7,000 registered users, they get a little over 24,000 visits every weekday and serve 250,000+ pages/weekday. – more

’10 That Do It Right’ No. 4: ‘The Roanoke Times’
By Jennifer Saba July 12, 2007
NEW YORK Every summer, E&P selects its “10 That Do It Right” from the nation’s daily and weekly newspapers. This is by no means a “10 Best” list but rather a hat tip to a variety of publications which have, through excellence or innovation, shown the way in one area or another, such as news coverage, circulation, design, diversity or online. Today we continue spotlighting this year’s picks (also available for subscribers on this site in the Print section). The fourth selection, The Roanoke (Va.) Times, follows.

Mark Glaser’s 10 Reasons There’s a Bright Future for Journalism

1. More access to more journalism worldwide.
2. Aggregation and personalization satisfies readers.
3. Digital delivery offers more ways to reach people.
4. There are more fact-checkers than ever in the history of journalism.
5. Collaborative investigations between pro and amateur journalists.
6. More voices are part of the news conversation.
7. Greater transparency and a more personal tone.
8. Growing advertising revenues online.
9. An online shift from print could improve our environmental impact.
10. Stories never end.

This is an excellent read from Henry Jenkins. The book makes excellent points on the change in power structures between producers and consumers. Media power is no longer just in the hands of those with a printing press and a platform.

From the Introduction: Don’t expect the uncertainties surrounding convergence to be resolved anytime soon. We are entering an era of prolonged transition and transformation in the way media operates. Convergence describes the process by which we will sort through those options. There will be no magical black box that puts everything in order again. Media producers will only find their way through their current problems by renegotiating their relationship with their consumers. Audiences, empowered by these new technologies, occupying a space at the intersection between old and new media, are demanding the right to participate within the culture. Producers who fail to make their peace with this new participatory culture will face declining goodwill and diminished revenues. The resulting struggles and compromises will define the public culture of the future. -more

In a recent piece by Alex Iskold on “The Physics of the iPhone” on Read/WriteWeb, which is a follow up to a recent article, Iskold says that:

“The iPhone is not only a breakthrough handheld device, it is a device that brings a mesh of digital and physical to the masses. Apple achieved it by turning a phone (and ipod, video player and more) into software that creates a life-like experience, but also adds a digital lightness and playfulness. It is likely that we are going to see more devices that let us interact with information in this way.”

Iskold is right on target in that we will see more and more devices that can bring the viewing public the rich multimedia content we produce. Thinking about how we can brand our content, get it to the consumer, and continue to create meaningful stories with new technologies should be part of our future conservation.

In this interview by the Online Journalism Review’s Sandeep Junnarkar of Ted Anthony, the founding editor of AP‘s new asap multimedia news portal, Anthony talks about how the new portal was staffed and the importance of visual communicators to the entire process. “I have always believed that the visual specialists in the newsroom are as pivotal and as insightful if not more so than the word specialists,” Anthony said.

Reconceiving storytelling at the Associated Press
Q&A: Ted Anthony talks to OJR about how the AP is trying, through its asap portal, to meet the needs of readers who want to access information in different ways.
By Sandeep Junnarkar

Ted Anthony has played many roles for The Associated Press, from national correspondent to China news editor. Most recently in 2005, the AP tapped him to be the founding editor of asap, its multimedia news portal.

We were looking for people who were flexible in their storytelling–and by that I mean people who wouldn’t say, we don’t do things that way. Too many news organizations in today’s world are populated with many people who say, we don’t do things that way. Those people are not going to be doing things at all if they keep up that attitude. We have to be willing to acknowledge that there is a certain core group of values and skills that we have, but that beyond that we are in this brave new world and we have to be able to think critically about how a story should be told and whether a story will resonate, will echo if it’s told in the best way. I really was aiming to hire people who are willing to say, “okay, we will not be bound by convention.” -more

The Future of Citizen Journalism
By Rory O’Connor July 3, 2007 (Excerpts)
No one should still wonder about the possibility, much less the efficacy, of ‘citizen journalism.’ But, more importantly, we should ask if more participation and better information will make us happier. Can ordinary citizens actually function as journalists? Or, as many in the mainstream media would have it, is journalism some sort of priesthood of professionals who venture, Moses-like, to mountaintops and then return to deliver the news as divinely revealed truth to the rest of us earthbound mortals?

Oh Yeon-ho set the stage with his welcoming message, which accurately noted, “The question looming large is increasingly less about ‘digital opportunity’ and more about how we can best manage the abundance of content, Web platforms and user participation” now pouring forth. Oh also laid out “a host of pressing issues” including the need to balance user-created content with editorial accountability, as well as to identify business models to sustain citizen journalism during an age of ever-more rapid commercial and technical transitions and unclear revenue models.

… can citizen journalism really change the world? Many skeptics still doubt it can even change the news industry, and still question, despite much evidence, whether ordinary citizens can really function as journalists. But why not? After all, I’ve been a professional journalist for decades — yet I never took a course in it, received a license for it, or even got anointed on high. So here’s my advice — if you don’t like the news, report some of your own! -more

“Hyperlocal” News Sites Take A Hit
by Doug Caverly
A lot of big companies – from Google to CNN – are interested in “going local,” and, to be honest, it seems that those companies have the money to do whatever they want. But “going local” isn’t easy; Backfence.com, which focused on a number of smaller communities, is going out of business. The Guardian Unlimited’s Jemima Kiss describes Backfence as a “network of citizen journalism sites in the US,” and notes that it was “touted as one of the big web hopes for the development of participatory media.” Backfence’s passing has elicited comments from such sources as BusinessWeek, American Journalism Review, and VC Ratings. But despite its apparent popularity, Backfence is indeed dead. Paul Farhi writes, “The failure of Backfence may offer no greater lesson than the old one about pioneers being the ones with arrows in their backs. New ventures fail all the time. But it could also sound a cautionary note about the present – and immediate future – of hyperlocal news sites.” -more