Show & Tell

By Anita Malik
August 25, 2008 01:31 PM

Volatile gas prices, which were at one period recently severely elevated, have had a direct impact on paper prices. The connection makes sense. But as a reader, don’t you want more information?

As a former magazine publisher, I still receive communication about the rising costs of paper – glossy and matte. In fact, I am inundated with cost notices that list new prices.  But, the way I see it, this isn’t anything but recycled information that I can find on my own via a Google search. There isn’t perspective, background or detail.

Recently though, one printer changed gears.

The sales team did their homework and sent me a complete picture of the price surge, thereby making a better case for higher costs.  Instead of just the new overall price, they were now listing the percentage increases paper manufacturers have been exposed to for all raw materials.  Pulp went up 23 percent, starch 28 percent, light fuel oil 59 percent and so on. The result: A simple chart that deserved a second look and a consumer that was better informed. 

I hate to suggest that as reporters we look toward sales operations for guidance on how to present information, but there is a lesson in their tactics.

Go graphical. Graphics, which offer context and perspective, are sorely missing from online coverage.

“I’ve been taken aback at how little most news organizations have done to come up with more clever and insightful ways of illustrating the numerous effects of changing gas prices has on the consumer, small and large business and local economies,” said one reader in response to my last column, Gasoline Graphics.

The key is this: don’t just tell, show and tell.

Another reader, Janis Mara, a business reporter at the Contra Costa Times wrote in with a story illustrating a much-needed spark of ambition in today’s often gloomy newspaper environment.  Mara, a longtime print reporter, had the idea for a dedicated gas prices page to offer readers more information, both in words and in pictures, and to increase Web traffic. She talked to her editor, who then suggested it to the Web editor.  The page, which continues to expand in features, has now been up for two months and after just six weeks had received over 8,500 page views. 

Mara’s success at driving this effort in her newsroom results in large part from the nature of the end product. She had honed in on the key in today’s competitive media market: Provide information that is easy to digest and specific to your target audience. 

One easy way to achieve this is by offering readers visual stories to complement text whenever possible.  Like Mara’s gas page, package together complementary information. Take, for example, this graphic from The New York Times.

The chart accompanied, and put into context, a story about changes in Time Warner’s business focus. With just a quick glance at the graphic, I was more knowledgeable about the company’s shift away from publishing and toward more film production.

Covering a local story about consumer spending and the state’s tax free holiday in early August, the Houston Chronicle posted two complementary graphics. One is on back-to-school spending and the other details what items are covered by the tax-free holiday.

Even if the Chronicle’s graphs are outside the design skill set at your paper, you’re not off the hook.  Putting words into pictures doesn’t have to be complex. You don’t need time-consuming animations, flashy flash presentations or even static bar graphs for that matter. Sometimes just a simple list, think bullet points and call outs, can add significant value.

Simple lists impart information to readers quickly, and a fast transfer is the key to online success. As online traffic statistics reveal, visitors don’t spend large amounts of time on any given page. It is called Web surfing for a reason.

If you are, however, inclined to get fancy with your visual stories, there are many easy-to-use graphic software tools your newsroom can implement. I should know since several are pitched my way each time I write about the topic. Albeit a bit annoying, it’s actually quite impressive how sales people find me, track my words and write in accordingly, always looking for new ways to grab my attention.  They never stop honing their tactics.

UP NEXT:

I’m moving on. No more graphic growling for a while. I’ll shift my focus to the use of business blogs. To get us started, check out this job-search journal at the Omaha World-Herald.  It’s a good concept for a blog, with quick bits and a timely topic. I’m not too keen on the actual writer and some of the content, but I like the concept. Here’s the question: If you use a guest blogger, how much editing should occur and where does editorial judgment come into play?

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Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism