Visual Journalism and
Multimedia Planning
Michael Roberts, The Arizona Republic

Visual Journalism and
Multimedia Planning
 Form vs medium
 Match content to medium
 Combine medium to form
 Slide shows, Video, Flash

Form vs Medium
form (noun) -- the visible shape or
configuration of something, arrangement
of parts; shape.
medium (noun) -- an agency or means of
doing something.

Online mediums
• Slide shows
• Video
• Flash

Story forms
• Beginning - middle - end • Inverted pyramid
• Three acts • Block
(1) Characters + complication
• Wine glass
(2) Develop complication
(3) Resolve complication
• Layer cake

Story forms
Movie capsule review
Identify movie and telegraph judgment
Recap movie
Conclusion: Explain judgment

Story forms
Business entrepreneur profile
ID person and accomplishment (10%)
Context of accomplishment (15%)
How person did it (60%)
Lessons /what’s next (10%)

Online mediums
• Slide shows
• Video
• Flash

Select medium
Time: How much time to publication
Resources: People, man hours, equipment
Shelf life: Amount of effort vs return
Interactivity: Opportunities for users to
control what they see and hear

Slide shows
Time: Quick to create & edit
Resources: One person; easy to learn
Shelf life: Short or long
Interactivity: Yes; easy & popular with users

Video
Time: Consuming (plan, shoot, edit)
Resources: Extensive training; videographer
Shelf life: Short or long
Interactivity: Very limited

Flash
Time: Very time consuming
Resources: Considerable staff time; can
require text, photos, video, graphics
Shelf life: Should be long
Interactivity: Extremely interactive

Exercise: Select medium

Combine medium with form
Slide shows

CUTLINE 1: (Petri dish)
Take a rare tour inside an anthrax lab. Northern Arizona University has the world's largest collection
of anthrax with about 2,000 strains. This photo shows gray colonies of Bacillus anthracis, the
bacterium that causes anthrax.
CUTLINE 1 REVISED: (Keim and vial)
Professor Paul Keim of Northern Arizona University played a key role in analyzing anthrax from the
2001 letter attacks, the worst biological attacks in U.S. history. Twenty-two people were infected
and five died. Keim’s work made his NAU laboratory one of the leading anthrax research centers in
the world. Keim is moving to a new NAU lab in 2008 that will allow him to expand his research on
other dangerous germs. Keim is pictured here with a magnified photo of a vial that contains a
sample of spinal fluid taken from a Florida photo editor who died of anthrax in the 2001 attacks.

Teens + discipline; military plans; teamwork.

Deer Valley High School's Air Force JROTC program offers students a chance
to learn military customs, discipline, leadership skills and teamwork. This year
85 students enrolled in the elective program, some with the goal of joining the
military after graduation. The program can be demanding and not everyone
makes it to the end. Here cadets march in the Heart of Valor Veterans Day
parade in Phoenix, including Jake Suss (front), Michael Campos (left), and
Ethan McMannis (right).

Living in Room 202
Play Slide Show

Combine medium with form
Video

5 Video Story Forms
Event: One-time event. Ongoing, recurring event.
Guide: Tour. Orientation. Consumer or participant
information. How-to.
Profile: Person. Place. Organization.
Slice of life: Sights and sounds, often of the familiar.
Man on the street: Quotes and views from people.

Video story forms
Event Guide Profile
Slice of life Man on the street

Combine medium with form
Flash

Morning Morning
Advance News Post Update Update Print
Story 1-2 graphs Story (A) Story (A) Story (B)
Photo Photo (new lede)
Video Photos Photos Photos
Alt story form Slide show Slide show Alt story form
Video Video Online links
Blog Blog Poll results
Alt story form Alt story form
Link set Link set
Live feed Live feed
Guestbook Guestbook
Poll Poll

www.slideshare.net/michael.roberts