Multimedia for the Zine

1

• Multimedia for the Zine
• Carol Schwalbe
• November 9, 2006

2
Improve scan-ability

• Users are impatient, so 8 in 10 scan
• Catchy head and deck
• Enticing pull quotes (callouts)
• Short, meaningful subheads
• Subheads can help organize your story
• Subheads help users find info quickly
• Sidebars
• Aural Urges
• Sidebar of helpful links or info
• Home Is Where the Mold Is

3
Multimedia

• Music (if appropriate) or other audio
• Scott MacIntyre A view from the outside
• Sometimes we have to get creative
• Freeway Blogosphere
• Or even symbolic
• Trapped in Health Care Limbo
• Multimediastory, photos and video with music
• Closest Thing to Flying

4
Interactivity

• Stats and quizzes are fun
• Taste the Memories
• So are recipes
• Turning the Tide
• Show readers how to calculate something Charts
  and tables are informative too
• Battle of the Bulge
• Timelines are helpful too
• Victory at Last Surviving Vietnam

5
Spokesman-Review (5/05)

• After a three-year investigation, the Spokane
  (Wash.) Spokesman-Review caught/trapped the mayor
  in a sex scandal
• Extensive online coverage included e-mails,
  transcripts, interviews, videos and sound
  recordings
• Web site provided a more detailed look at
  unfolding developments than newspaper stories
  could
• Spokesman-Review Investigative Report

6
Spokesman-Review (5/05)

• Notes the editor-in-chief made during a phone
  interview with the mayor were linked to the
  resulting article, showing how an interview
  develops into a story
• An update box at the top of the sections main
  page linked to breaking stories
• Hundreds of comments from readers were posted for
  everyone to read
• Transparency via daily briefings

7
Dallas Morning News

• DMN put a unique twist on a big (and growing)
  problemfinancial exploitation of the elderly
  through a personalized narrative
• One in five elderly Americans will e victims of
  financial exploitation, losing at least a third
  of their assets
• For each case reported, 12 to 15 cases are
  believed to go unreported
• Dozens of footnotes lead you to the evidence on
  which the story is basedadds credibility
• Mary Ellens Will
• Multimedia

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Your zine story

• Think about words, visuals and sounds
• Photos, video, audio and graphics can make your
  story more informative and interesting
• Think about how to use multimedia and
  interactivity

9
Links in your zine story

• Provide meaningful hyperlinks to additional info
• Links should add info to your story and be
  relevant
• Link to credible sites (.edu, .gov, etc.)
• Too many links in the story look bad and confuse
  users
• Could use footnotes or put links in a sidebar

10
Keep it human

• Dont forget the human touch
• Facts are just facts unless you relate them to
  people
• Good writing is good writing, no matter what the
  medium
• Words and photos can support each other
• The Final Salute