I really love what the Wall Street Journal is doing with its web platform.
As the World Cup approaches (author note: I am a ravenous soccer fan) take a look at this fantastic multi-media news story by Matthew Futterman
Soccer, Made in America
Not only is the piece insightful on the current state of the United States Men's National Soccer Team and the evolution of its style of play, but structurally, it adeptly utilizes the various strengths of different mediums of communication in order to complement the text of the central article. Smart, thoughtful stories like these offer a refreshing view of successful sythetic journalism going forward, in an era that more often than not looks splintered by the various mediums of delivery.
In further breaking down these structural elements, I absolutely love the active graphics, complete with video links, for the various national soccer styles described in the article. By providing context for the importance of these styles in relation to the larger story and then providing animated content for the user to navigate, the visualizations provide greater contextual depth for the interested user.
The tactical graphics highlighting ball movement by the U.S. team similarly utilize the strengths of the medium, by encouraging users to move through the graphical progressions. This graphic reinforces visually many of the abstract concepts mentioned in the text, and provides more detail for the curious, or tactically-inclined reader (count me as one!)
Similarly, the "Anatomy of a Goal" complete with insightful voice-over and tactical breakdown, shows the power of multi-modal tools. My only gripe here would be that its location in the article might be placed closer to the discussion of the goal in the article.
Finally, the interview videos provided on the right hand side are expertly chosen and placed throughout the article. Providing for video and audio integration with the news piece, these excerpts again complement the broader story. While seemingly the most straightforward alternative medium when compared to the active graphics described above, video content is also the most often misused format. I can not tell you how many times video content is provided with no connection to the written article. (I'm looking squarely at you, ESPN). Too often media websites treat these spaces like unorganized warehouses. Content is merely uploaded with little thought to their integration or organization. Often driven by algorithms, print articles will be linked with video clips that are only loosely related.
Compare some of this less thoughtful, volume-driven web content to the holistic, immersive, and carefully curated experience of an article like this.
Bravo to Matt, Chris and the rest of the staff at the Wall Street Journal. Really great story.
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