4 ms·

"Snow Fall" was, I think, the NYT's first serious effort at a multimedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Fall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Fa

by js2 7y ago

"Snow Fall" was, I think, the NYT's first serious effort at a multimedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Fall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Fall Similar comment at the time: > The NYT just kinda blew my mind. A newspaper article just blew my mind. This is, by far, the best multimedia storytelling I think I've ever seen. Kudos to the team involved in putting this together, you've shown me the future of media and the internet. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4951041 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4951041 I don't really understand how the same paper does these incredible articles and then totally whiffs on other attempts such as: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/07/arts/dance-dance-revolution.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/07/arts/dance-da...

supernova87a 7y ago
This has nothing to do with the quality of that NYT avalanche reporting, or the technology -- but I was more than a little surprised how they dedicated that much staff time, resources, and production to that story. After all, this was a story about how people engaging in a purely _voluntary_ (and mind you, luxury) sport were causing and encountering avalanches. Hardly the most exposé-of-power, human-nature-revealing, check-on-society pieces of journalism. Just stop hiking off trail to go snowboarding on unstable mountains! Sheesh.
- pdpi 7y ago
  Imagine piloting that format on a serious story, and the ensuing backlash if the format was ill-received. Doing this work on a "low-stakes" story means that you have more room to experiment.
  - supernova87a 7y ago
    Well, that's a good point. And I'm sure the journalist writing the story had tons of material he/she was eager to see "in print". Let a writer fill up 10,000 words and he will.
0003 7y ago
We were hosting a family Christmas party and doing the associated prep work, and I remember really having to force myself to stop reading Snow Fall half way through! Such a great read to such a tragic incident.
duxup 7y ago
NYT seems to be very much experimenting with a lot of different approaches. Personally I like that we get to see it and they get to try it out in production.

by js2 7y ago

supernova87a 7y ago

This has nothing to do with the quality of that NYT avalanche reporting, or the technology -- but I was more than a little surprised how they dedicated that much staff time, resources, and production to that story. After all, this was a story about how people engaging in a purely _voluntary_ (and mind you, luxury) sport were causing and encountering avalanches. Hardly the most exposé-of-power, human-nature-revealing, check-on-society pieces of journalism. Just stop hiking off trail to go snowboarding on unstable mountains! Sheesh.

pdpi 7y ago
Imagine piloting that format on a serious story, and the ensuing backlash if the format was ill-received. Doing this work on a "low-stakes" story means that you have more room to experiment.
- supernova87a 7y ago
  Well, that's a good point. And I'm sure the journalist writing the story had tons of material he/she was eager to see "in print". Let a writer fill up 10,000 words and he will.

0003 7y ago

We were hosting a family Christmas party and doing the associated prep work, and I remember really having to force myself to stop reading Snow Fall half way through! Such a great read to such a tragic incident.

duxup 7y ago

NYT seems to be very much experimenting with a lot of different approaches. Personally I like that we get to see it and they get to try it out in production.