Front page

Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

‘Nigeria’ archive

Number of comments in parentheses

March 30, 2012: Hello again from Frankfurt, Germany

Once again, I find myself in Frankfurt Germany — a place of beauty, a place of history but most of all, a place where I’m pretty much trapped in the airport for several hours, away from all that beauty and history. The airport sure ain’t historic or beautiful. No offense intended. I feared the worst for the first leg of [...]

March 29, 2012: Goodbye, Nigeria

I’m now in my last day teaching here in Nigeria. I’ve enjoyed my time here very much. I’ve even managed to find areas in which the Transcorp Hilton may need a copy editor. There’s no sense in wasting a not-quite-perfectly etched brass plaque. You can still make out the message, right? I’ve written before about how much I’ve enjoyed the [...]

March 28, 2012: My next-to-last day here in Nigeria

Despite what Tuesday’s headline might imply, I’ve been perfectly safe here in Abuja, Nigeria. According to the story, the U.S. Embassy here in town says shots were fired nearby. But local law enforcement officials say it was just fireworks. Either way, I’ve had no issues at all with security or even the slightest hit of crime. Had I not seen [...]

March 26, 2012: *Gulp*…

I’ve not yet been outside today. And I’m not looking forward to it, either. According to the Weather Underground… The temperature at this very moment here in Abuja, Nigeria — where it’s only 9:20 a.m. — is 93 degrees Farenheit. The high forecast for today is 106 degrees. The high forecast for Tuesday is 109 degrees. The high forecast for [...]

March 25, 2012: What it’s like to live in Nigeria for two weeks

Yesterday, I told you about how work has been going here in Abuja, Nigeria. Today’s let’s take “your questions” about what it’s like to live and work in Nigeria. Q: So, have you gotten out to see the city? Not really. And for a very good reason: You can’t really see much of the city. From the time the sun [...]

March 24, 2012: More about my week teaching here in Abuja, Nigeria (1)

First of all, I’m sorry I didn’t get anything posted Friday about the work we’re doing here in Nigeria. I edited down a few pictures Friday evening but when I tried to upload them to my blog, the ACES site went down. I figured I had somehow crashed the entire ACES operation. Instead, it turned out to be a technical [...]

March 22, 2012: I’m loving Nigeria

Last night, I returned to my hotel here in Abuja, Nigeria, completely exhausted and a bit dehydrated. I dropped off my briefcase in my room and immediately headed back downstairs for dinner so I could try to get to bed early. Among the several dining choices here at the Transcorp Hilton is a nice Chinese restaurant. I haven’t been there [...]

March 21, 2012: Teaching infographics in Abuja, Nigeria

I’ve been hard at work this week teaching infographics at Leadership, a national newspaper here in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. Leadership is a seven-year-old newspaper that is distributed throughout the country. It’s a thick tabloid, heavy on news, politics and analysis. The paper redesigned over the past couple of months and now wants to take the next step [...]

March 19, 2012: Oh, the Google ads you see when you travel

I zipped over to the Huntsville Times web site last night, in search of that paper’s front page. I didn’t find what I was looking for — that’s so often the case for that paper; I love the print edition but the web site is a mess. However, I did find myself laughing at the ad that inserted itself into [...]

March 18, 2012: A lazy Sunday relaxing at the Hilton in Abuja, Nigeria (2)

Oh, I’m in paradise this afternoon, my friends. I’m writing to you from a poolside bar, here at the Transcorp Hilton hotel in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. It’s very warm out today but they have modern ceiling fans in the shady thatched-style shelters of the bar. Which gives you a very nice, constant — if slightly warm — [...]

March 17, 2012: Ich bin ein Frankfurter (4)

Sunrise over Belgium early this morning from the very last row of a United Airlines 777: Yeah, that was gorgeous. And the perfect end to the overnight leg of my voyage to Abuja, Nigeria. We landed as scheduled in Frankfort, Germany for a five-hour layover. So, y’know: Eich bin ein Frankfurter. At least for the moment. Once I got my [...]

March 16, 2012: Departing for my next big overseas teaching expedition (1)

You may have noticed that I didn’t post much here in the blog Thursday. The reason for that: I spent the day preparing for my next overseas teaching expedition: To Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. I’ve made four separate trips to South Africa over the past two-and-a-half years, but this one will be very different. For starters, I’ll be [...]

March 15, 2012: Leadership, a 7-year-old daily in Abuja, Nigeria, redesigns (1)

I mentioned a while back that my old pal Robb Montgomery — as in famous international newspaper and multimedia consultant Robb Montgomery — was redesigning Leadership, a seven-year-old daily newspaper printed in both Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria. It’s taken me a while to get around to showing you before-and-after samples. On the left is an older front; the new-and-improved front [...]

Feb. 15, 2012: A sneak peek at a redesign of a Nigerian newspaper

My old pal Robb Montgomery has been in Abuja, Nigeria, lately, working on a redesign for Leadership, a seven-year-old daily newspaper printed in both Abuja and Lagos. In this video, Robb talks to design director John Friday, overseeing production of the launch edition. The best part is when they look at the food page. “Beer and potatoes,” Robb notes. Heh. [...]