Behind the Headlines

Newspaper staffs are morphing into a new and improved providers of news and information.  Through our websites, the world of pictures and words are being enhanced with the addition of sound. This
new multimedia content provides a richer, more rewarding experience for the viewer.

The Herald-Leader’s coverage of the Boys Sweet 16 last week officially set in motion a new and improved style of storytelling. For the first time, we provided readers with the sights, the sounds and the story of each tournament game, all bundled together in a neat multimedia package.

Truth be told, it was an experiment to see if we could actually pull it off. Producing slide shows with natural sound and voice-over game recaps requires planning, teamwork, technical know-how, creative ability and — in this case —  the stamina to produce 16 shows over a four-day period.

We assembled a team to tackle this project, which consisted of photographers, an online reporter and a multimedia producer. Reporter Todd Van Campen helped gather sound and provided a voice-over recap of each game. The producer, Helena Hau, also gathered natural sound and combined the sound and photos into a less than 2-minute audiovisual game review.

The experiment was a success. What made this effort different than our other multimedia projects is that it was produced on-site at a live event on deadline.

You can expect to see and hear more stories told in this fashion as our photographers and reporters embrace the Web’s storytelling opportunities.

Ron Garrison
Visuals Editor