news – Page 4 – Online Reporting, Research & Writing

The gateway to online reporting

Twitter is used by millions of people in the world, and many people receive their news from Twitter alerts. The social media platform is used for entertainment, news and business.

The Associated Press takes advantage of this opportunity by releasing multiple tweets a day. They not only attract people with their headlines, but they link their articles to bring people to their website. AP includes photos and videos, catching consumer attention immediately.

People are able to receive information about what is going on in the world by turning on push notifications for any news organization on Twitter and any other social media. It helps to get information instantly, especially if in an emergency.

However, receiving emergency alerts can sometimes be bad because there is a slight possibility that it may not be a real alert. For example, the situation in Hawaii where there was a false alarm for a missile and everyone from several different places received this alert.

Census.gov provides demographic data for all to use

Census.gov is a great resource for providing demographic based data for a variety of stories.

For example, one chart provides data for the poverty rate over time. Screenshot (18).png

This information could be included in an article that attempts to discuss Donald Trump’s claims about the economy, perhaps indicating that the decreasing poverty rate is attributable to more than his claim of making the economy great. As it can be indicated that the poverty rate in recent years has been in decline.

There are a number of ways that this information could be used, but this may be the most relevant given Trump’s recent State of the Union address.

Census.gov also provides a far wider variety of data including information about health, economy, and education.

Examining our future of walls

In an increasingly divided world, The Washington Post’s, A New Age of Walls offers an extensive insight into the lives and perspectives of those most affected by the changing global political climate.

The interactive series is effective dually, both in its biting critique and in its presentation.

Each of the three episode in the series are filled with haunting black and white clips both of personal perspectives and topical news clips, accompanied by a soundtrack that in its sum is somewhat reminiscent of Schindler’s List.

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In addition to the touching videos, interactive data sets visualize information in a clean and easily understood fashion. Screenshot (16)

In total the project cleanly provides information, but more importantly gives the information feeling. It makes the news relatable and personal, in a way that can connect with the audience unlike a standard news story.

CNN makes content easy to absorb on YouTube

In a world where visual information is beating out written, CNN is publishing primary sources of news directly to YouTube.

On top of posting clips taken directly from the station’s many shows, CNN often posts videos of original news sources, (clips of actual events without a reporter digesting the information for the audience), to YouTube.

One example is the recent Larry Nassar trial, where a distraught father attempted to attack Nassar in the courtroom. The incident was caught on video, and uploaded to YouTube by a variety of news outlets, including CNN.

The video uploaded by CNN went viral, reaching YouTube’s trending video’s page.

Many internet viewers do not want the hassle of watching a 30 minute long television program in order to get their news. Information in its most digestible format is the preferred method of the internet.

And what is more digestible than a direct link to the source.