Saturday, 12 March 2016, 4:45 p.m.
As more people turn to Facebook, Twitter and even Snapchat for news, journalists are creating and distributing data visualizations that are native to those platforms. In this session, learn about the nuances of short-form, mobile-first storytelling and why "snackable" graphics are essential to engaging younger audiences.
- Yvonne Leow, Vox.com
- Aaron Williams, Washington Post
- Breeanna Hare, CNN
More and more people live on social media. Our stories live there too.
- People are busy, esp. on Mobile
- Short attention spans
- engagement
- Newsroom Efficiency
- we want the broadest reach
Teasers tease an already-done graphic. Stand-alones fit the platform, you can dig deeper if you want.
Know your platform, know its audience.
Talk about dark money? Have to talk about SuperPACs, can't assume 13-year-olds know about SuperPacs.
That's what works.
But you get enough info to tell you all you need to know.
"How healthy are kids meals?" vs. "Dairy Queen's kids menu is still super unhealthy"
Pop. of Flint, one line, tells the story.
US' largest police departments are getting smaller. A bunch of lines, unclear.
What each party is talking about.
If you do tight, compact graphics, they translate really well. How can we chunk things?
Keep it simple.
Big annotations.
Also maps are hard on social. Animation is effective for time series.
When to use animation? The carousel effect. You don't want to throw people off if they look at it in the middle, and then it's gone again.
20-minute exercise to take a WaPo graphic and make it more snackable.
You don't have to give them all the info at once. What makes you chuckle, what's the strongest image, what makes you want to share?
Q: What's the process of creating a snapchat package for every day?
A: Breeanna Hare How much space do we need? Can't link out. A lot of factors go into the decision. Schedule "special editions" for weekends when people might want a deep dive.
Yvonne Leow: Script it. Make sure the text tells the story. Comprehensive project.
Q: What's the storyboard process like, especially when collaborating.
A: Aaron Williams: Big on drawing. Sit down w/ reporter, let reporter draw too. Just because they don't build graphics doesn't mean they're not visual people.
Yvonne Leow: Ask "what's the takeaway" for every bit of text.
Q: If you're not on snapchat discover, how do you put stuff on snapchat?
A: Breeanna Hare: Some orgs have found hacks. Work where you can: Intimate one-on-ones with camera-ready people breaking down the story. Lo-fi drawing. Day in the life of coverage.
Yvonne Leow: Polished dataviz sometimes doesn't work well on snapchat.
Q: Are there maps that work better on social?
A: Aaron Williams: Simplify.