Comments on: The role of Flash in a news organization (Part 1)

By: Teaching Online Journalism » Flash and data, made for each other

Teaching Online Journalism » Flash and data, made for each other — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:21:11 +0000

[...] The role of Flash in a news organization (Part 1) [...]

By: Mindy McAdams

Mindy McAdams — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:32:43 +0000

@Allison – Yes, shelf life is a big consideration. If you can easily update the numbers in the graphic (e.g., via a database or an automated feed), or if it is something that will remain interesting even with no updating (e.g., an animated tour of Stonehenge), then you can justify the expenditure of time.

By: Allison White

Allison White — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:09:06 +0000

Just started looking through your Flash tutorials and it doesn’t seem as intimidating now. Thank you for that!

I only have the CS3 version so CS4 will be a whole ‘nother ball of wax for me. But the cost-effective issue has crossed my mind as well … perhaps it is best when there’s a lot of numbers and graphics are the easiest way to explain it? If the story is relevant, the flash would have a long shelf life, no?

By: links for 2008-12-12 – Innovation in College Media

links for 2008-12-12 – Innovation in College Media — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:02:38 +0000

[...] The role of Flash in a news organization (Part 1) Mindy McAdams talking Flash. (tags: flash journalism multimedia macloo) Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

By: Vaughn

Vaughn — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:31:37 +0000

I think the ROI question is a good one, as is the steepness of the learning curve for the Flash interface (how many palettes do I need, anyway?). Thing is, that’s not the only Adobe product that compiles .swf files. I’ve been playing around with Flex for a few months and, from a non-designer’s viewpoint, I find it much easier to use, especially for building interfaces to data-driven products. It’s not perfect. That ease of use comes from a framework that can add to the size of files. And you’re probably not going to use it for feature-type animations. But, I highly recommend giving the three-month trial a whirl.

By: Tadfei

Tadfei — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:46:11 +0000

I think NYtimes is taking advantage of flex to create multimedia features. It is programmer oriented, much easier to make news templates for reuse, much easier to update. Flash, basically is a animation tool. Flex would be better for making multimedia news packages.

By: links for 2008-12-11 « Reportr.net

links for 2008-12-11 « Reportr.net — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:36:48 +0000

[...] Teaching Online Journalism » The role of Flash in a news organization (Part 1) Flash? What is it good for? (tags: journalism news macloo flash storytelling teaching-journalism web_2.0 multimedia internet) [...]

By: Danny Sanchez

Danny Sanchez — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:33:43 +0000

I’m mulling over a Journalistopia post about how news orgs use Flash, actually. I think we’ve all got a lot of rethinking to do when it comes to how we approach Flash. Looking forward to part 2.

By: roberto villalpando

roberto villalpando — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:03:14 +0000

excellent post, again, mindy. the cost-benefit analysis of time spent on a flash project vs. time spent building the damn thing is something our newsroom continues to wrestle with. my criteria for projects are: lots of utility, lots of shelf-life and lots of visual elements. utility earns page hits, shelf-life means resuability and visual elements play up the strengths of flash. by the way, thanks for the shout-out on the supercomputer thing.

By: Bryan Murley

Bryan Murley — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:16:38 +0000

Sort of piggy-backing on Christopher’s comment, I am curious how many of the snazzy infographics produced by NYT, WaPo and others are actually viewed by “average” viewers, i.e., not visual geeks. That’s part of the ROI question related to interactive graphics.

And I am so tired of Adobe updating every 18 months. Makes it difficult to keep a text. Flash Journalism 1.0 is way out of date, and I’m looking forward to the new one.