Interactive chart lets you play, learn

Today I will talk about an interactive chart showing the average debt by the time of a student’s graduation as part of a series from the New York Times. I suggest that you play with the chart first. You can type in a university to follow its path, mess with the buttons on the left to see different categories and how each university stacks up.

What’s different about it?

The chart is really intuitive and I find something new every time I mess with it. (This time around I found the Athletic Conference tab) There are plenty of articles and other little interactive things that are a part of this series but I think this is a great tool used to compare and show the rise in tuition while weighing them against other universities. If you see the chart, I can bet you’ve seen nothing like it.

Why I like it.

I like it because it’s the only way you can give a story with this many numbers and categories justice. You can’t write a text story with all of this information and think the audience would No. 1 want to read it or No. 2 not get confused.

Why you should like it.

Can you imagine how much work went into this? This wasn’t made by selfish people. This wasn’t a simple 700-word story a writer finished half-asleep at 3 a.m. This chart took time, wo/man power and was made to be easy for an audience member to use. Give it a go.

Allowing the audience to see documents firsthand

Have you ever thought ‘I wonder where they got that information from?'

I have too. That’s why I truly believe the media should give their audience full access to their documents they quote (if they can). Here’s an article from the Chicago Tribune using DocumentCloud to tell a story about pension payouts. 

What’s different about it?

If you scroll down the story, you can tell this isn’t your typical text story. As the writers explain what happened, they show you exactly what’s in the document by taking out excerpts from the document.

Why I like it.

This is where online journalism can flex its newly formed muscles and grin. While a newspaper or broadcast could potentially show their audience the raw documents, it wouldn’t be as presentable as online. I love proving to people that journalists are out to use their rights, do some good and get information to offer to the public.

Why you should like it.

This kind of document sharing is great because many people don’t trust the media and by giving them the raw details and information, they will have exactly what the reporter has in front of them to read word for word if they like. This is also great because, really, how many people are going to sign up for an account to get these files and dig to find the right one? Not many. This is where journalists come in and hand it their audience on a pretty silver platter with the Bill of Rights sitting next to it.

P.S. I did something similar to this when TCU 360’s managing editor and I sourced a police report following the arrests of multiple TCU students and athletes in Feb. 2012.

Be informed before you vote or die

Election season is upon us. Texas Tribune has an interactive election bracket that allows users to follow races easily and also offers a little bit extra.

 What’s different about it?

I’m about to give you a total rundown. You can see tons of races, bracket-style, and see by how much candidates won or lost by and who is running against whom. You can pick and chose which races you want to follow and also enter your zip code in the top right corner to give you races that affect you locally. You can also click on the profiles of the candidates to learn more about each of them. (Downfall: some profiles aren’t updated with as much same information as others)

Why I like it.

My 18^th birthday present from my mom was a voter registration card. I feel that we are blessed as a country to have the right to vote and choose our representatives (and this bracket system is just sick.) This is type of data journalism is also something I consider doing after I graduate, which Texas Tribune does a really good job with.

Why you should like it.

If you plan on voting in any of the upcoming elections, you should start keeping up with the races now. This bracket is an easy and interactive way to have all you need at your finger tips. I think young voters will appreciate something like this that’s easy to follow along. Also, this is perfect for those visual people out there.

You deserve more as sports fan

*Full disclosure: I work as the Executive Editor for TCU 360.

Texas Christian University showed their new Big 12 Conference partners what they could do in a newly renovated stadium on Saturday.

TCU 360’s adviser created a livestream to capture all of the happenings during TCU’s season opener.

 What’s different about it?

I’ve never seen anything like it, so that’s exactly why I think it’s different. If you scroll down you’ll see strategically picked tweets and posts pop up. The live blog is pinned to the top for viewers to keep an eye on the score. TCU 360 chose to include other tweeps’ posts, photos and also links to off-field stories.  They tried to hit every viewer’s interest in order for them to feel like they were really at the game.

Why I like it.

I’m from Texas and I love me some football. I usually just watch the game and if I can’t watch, check my Twitter for score updates or follow a live blog. The livestream encompasses those two and offers even more for the non-sports fanatics.  

Why you should like it.

If you give some new idea like this a chance, it will only make your experience as a sports fan better. Enough with the simple ticker or standard “TCU 56 - GSU 0” tweet. You want more than that. You deserve more than that. If the technology is there for you to get the ins and outs of a game, you should be able to catch that perfect pass and run it all the way down the field.

Using video like a champ

Welcome to my second blog post!

Today I will show you this awesome story a fellow student journalist suggested to me.

Autistic and Seeking a Place in an Adult World

What’s different about it?

The story keeps the standard text story and has a longer video package attached to the top. This is very typical for most broadcast sites and various print-based sites as well. On the left hand side of the page, you can see the links that encourage more interaction like help lines, separate videos and photo slideshows. The side links alone are very useful and shows great thought from the reporter. The thing that is special about this piece is the videos that are embedded into the story. As the reporter describes parts of the subject’s life, there are videos that give the reader a closer look into his life.
Why I like it.

I am a broadcast journalism major and I think video is really the new way of journalism that professionals should start leaning toward. In my mind, something as simple as 15 seconds of video describing your words is just as easy as having a recorder on the table with only audio. This is very innovative and lets the reader choose whether they want to become a viewer or stay a reader.

Why you should like it.

You have the power to decide. This story gives you options. If you have time, you can look at every element in the article. If you’re at work, you can solely read the article and be satisfied. People think if there are so many options to choose from that they all must be half way done, but this shows that with a little extra effort, you can masterfully tell a story on multiple levels.

See you next week! Tell me if you see anything you'd like me to feature next.