Analysis: multimedia

The Star Tribune and Los Angeles Times both use a variety of multimedia, include video, graphics, photo slide shows and user polls.

For example, the main story Sunday on latimes.com was about a community health clinic. The package featured a video story, a user poll, photos of the clinic, and a graphic showing the use of community health centers in Los Angeles.

Startribune.com featured a story Sunday about the test scores of white students in Minneapolis Public Schools. In addition to the story, the Star Tribune ran a graphic about test scores in Minneapolis. The graphic allowed users to see how Minneapolis students of all races compare to the rest of the state.

On both websites, the writing for these multimedia options is tight and focused. It gives concrete facts and explains the visuals on the screen.

In the Minneapolis Public Schools story, for example, the writing on the interactive graphic explains the data. Below the graphics, there is a summary statement that explains the point of the graphics.

Similarly, in the health clinic story, the Los Angeles Times has about the voices of the health clinic. The video gives a few facts about the state of health care in Los Angeles, helping explain why this is such a big issue.