A panel of visual journalists said news Web sites should focus on the content – and their readers – and not on the technology and tools.

By Arianna Davis
Latino Reporter

Visual journalists at a National Association of Hispanic Journalists Convention seminar discussed what’s working in today’s online journalism newsroom and what needs improvement.

Almost two dozen NAHJ members hunched over laptops attended the session about improving the access and usability of online news sites.

“People are so focused on the technology and the tools that they aren’t thinking about how to present the content,” said Elio Leturia, a professor at Columbia College who coordinated and moderated the panel. “We need to be talking about not just having a medium, but how to make it work.”

The presentation featured four panelists, including Sara Quinn, a visual journalism faculty member at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

Quinn focused on page design, giving tips on how news organizations should use clean, simple design to draw readers into their sites. She highlighted important design building blocks such as simple typeface, white space, restrained color and making sure that the visitor has a clear sense of how to get around.

“Design is communication and not decoration,” Quinn said.

If viewers had difficulty returning to previously visited Web sites, they will leave, she said.

“And you don’t want to lose readers,” she said.

Quinn also talked about ethics in online news, saying that newsrooms should talk about how online content can possibly hurt or offend its readers.

“The question we all have to ask ourselves is, ‘Just because we have the tools, should we use them?’” she said. “And have we set ourselves up to talk about these things in our newsrooms?”

Ken Irby, a visual journalism group leader who also works at Poynter, talked about the importance of good photography and graphics and how they can make or break a Web site.

“Photography is a source of engagement,” Irby said. “Online, people can choose how they want their entertainment and how they want to spend their time.”

Irby presented videos and slide shows on MediaStorm.com, an online showcase for media storytelling, including a video about wildlife in Africa that featured animation through sequenced photography. He also showed three multimedia videos, each with the same visual elements but each with different background music.

“One thing you really have to take into consideration is the presentation,” he said. “Each [of these three videos] gives you a completely different feel, and you have to sit down and talk about which one is right.”

El Nuevo Dia’s multimedia director Hector Vega presented information about Flash and how it can enhance and take away from a Web site. He said the advantage of Flash is that the software doesn’t use HTML, so is visible no matter the user’s browser. But the coding doesn’t always allow search engines to find keywords in headlines and text, he said.

He also passed out a list of basic online coding terms and recommended www.lynda.com for helpful tools in learning Flash software.

Giovanni Collazo, multimedia director for 24veces.com, emphasized user experience, the overall satisfaction a user has when accessing a Web page. He presented a pyramid of important elements to consider when creating a site, beginning with accessibility, then usability, credibility and at the top, desirability.

“You have to ask ‘Why your site?’ Why should people visit your site over anyone else’s?” he said. “It’s best to differentiate your site by creating a great user experience.”

Eric Ortiz said he got a lot from the hour-and-a-half session.

“I came because I thought it would be valuable to learn a few things to help with our site,” said Ortiz, who is the new media director for the New England Sports Network’s Web site. “It was a great session because each speaker offered some useful information.”

Leturia said he was happy with how the session turned out.

“It was really informative because the panelists covered so many different things,” he said. “We wanted to allow the audience to go beyond the technical part. We wanted to show them how to cook a dish, not just how to operate the stove.”

Panelists recommended www.subtraction.com to journalists aspiring to improve the design of their news organizations’ Web site or their personal sites.

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