“So we started adding layers of journalism on top of promotional material by taking some of the reporting and inserting into the GIFs as conversation starters.”Īnimated images were certainly a part of this strategy, but not always. “We were combining two ideas at once: the idea of something hand-drawn and this looping idea that a GIF does natively,” Davy explained. Learn how to identify multimedia content trends with our Digital Journalism course-register now. And after a discussion with an illustrator about the power of hand-drawn images, Davy suggested that the PRI team begin creating their own GIF images. It’s a formula that’s both easy and generally high-impact, but ultimately, the team challenged themselves to go even further. Groeger’s article had a direct impact on Steven Davy, multimedia editor at PRI’s The World, who began seriously thinking about GIFs as a journalistic tool after first reading it.ĭavy and his colleagues began where most do, with content ripped directly from videos. “An illustration of a sensitive topic you’re covering in your story may elicit a more emotional response on social media than a static image or longer video.” “A moving map or graph will catch someone’s eye much more than a static map graphic would,” says Dudas-Thomas. Or this one that illustrated the harsh realities of Brazilian pollution in advance of the 2016 Olympics: via PRI In addition to increasing accessibility, GIFs also have the ability connect to and resonate with audiences in a way that an article without multimedia sometimes can’t.Ĭonsider this GIF that depicts Europe’s refugee crisis based on data from the United Nations: via Fast Co.DESIGN / Lucify “GIFs give journalists the tools to illustrate their content in a digestible format, making the story accessible to people who may not have time to read the full article.” “The use of GIFs in journalism is still in its infancy, but now more than ever we need to find new ways to share our stories on social media,” she says. Natalie Dudas-Thomas, social media producer at WGBH, Boston’s National Public Radio member station, agrees. And it’s this intersection of science and technology that can truly revolutionize digital journalism. Apparently, the human brain loves the comfort of predictability, whether it’s a favorite song that plays incessantly on the radio or a looping image of a cat filing its nails (which is totally a thing). In an article for ProPublica, Lena Groeger did an excellent job of explaining not only the history of GIFs (the earliest iterations of the technology date back to the 1800s), as well as the science behind them. What Job Seekers Should (and Shouldn’t) Include on Their Social Media Profiles The Multimedia Journalist’s Guide to GIFs
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