I’d just finished reading a very good post by my colleague Dave Cushman on the death spiral of newspapers and how to avoid extinction in the online world. I think he’s totally on the money about the two key missed opportunities of the print industry (Missing the quality advantage and missing the R&D advantage), and I agree there’s a slim but closing doorway of opportunity for those brave enough to make the change in the face of falling profits and a global credit crunch.
And in a wonderful bit of coincidence, my RSS feeds pulled in Mindy McAdams moments later, pointing to the winners of the Society of News Design multimedia design competition.
Both of the Gold Awards (See full details of all winners) went to the New York Times for two pieces which really demonstrate the power of online reporting and design, and the advantage a different thought process can bring.
The Crane Collapse in Manhattan shows brilliantly how animation and design can really add to the understanding of an event unfolded, particularly for anyone not familiar with how cranes work. Meanwhile Climbing Kilimanjaro is beautifully simple, using graphics and video for a personal account with a real personal touch.
The lesson isn’t that online journalism has to always include amazing graphics and design (but they help!). The lesson is that a different approach and understanding of the online world leads to a huge amount of success. Something which some of my colleagues have started utilising with great results, and something which is the norm amongst the most popular content sites (newspapers, blogs, and anything else) on the web.
I want great writing. I want great images. I want great video. I want great conversations. But I only want any of those things when they’re relevant to me and the need I have at that moment.