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Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

‘Industry woes’ archive

Number of comments in parentheses

May 14: GateHouse to close its two new production hubs and open an even newer one (5)

GateHouse Media — which is still in the process of centralizing production for its 280 newspapers in hubs in Rockford, Ill., and Framingham, Mass. — ordered a reverse course of sorts Monday. The new plan is to open a new, singular design hub in a location yet to be named, the company announced. All management can say is: The new [...]

May 13: Today’s media must-read

The New York Times‘ David Carr — in a story entitled Newspaper monopoly that lost its grip — completely disassembles Advance Publications: The name Times-Picayune, which had stood for quality and civic constancy for decades, does not mean the same thing anymore. The vaunted Web site that was to be the lifeblood of the new enterprise remains a creaky mess, [...]

March 27: Great data. Great interactive design. Lousy storytelling. (4)

My pal Chris Soprych — of the GateHouse news design hub in Rockford, Ill. — points out this interactive map from the Huffington Post showing gun fatalities throughout the U.S. since the Sandy Hook incident back in December. The presentation begins zoomed in on Newtown, Connecticut. The “camera” slowly pulls back and pans left to include the entire nation. Meanwhile, [...]

March 21: Remember Albany’s new printing press?

Remember that sparkling new printing press in Albany, N.Y.? The one that generated dozens of breathless articles and press releases about the new, color-ready abilities of the Times Union, both in its own paper and for commercial printing? On Sunday, a 64-page special section inserted, touting the new press. This picture of the staff of the newspaper was included as [...]

March 19: Are news designers ‘just’ designers? Or are we ‘visual journalists’? (2)

Several years ago — back when I was a younger and hungrier graphic artist and graphics reporter for the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. — those of us in the graphics department would debate the question: Are we journalists or artists? I didn’t think there was any doubt what I was. But I found myself a little disturbed at [...]

March 16: Outlet lays off much of its staff… and then runs year-old press release as news.

A Connecticut-based “hyperlocal” news site called the Daily Voice of Fairfield published a story Friday about work on a new commuter rail line. One little problem: The information was more than a year old. Somehow, a year-old press release was plugged in as a brand-new item. Joshua O’Connell — a longtime newspaper copy editor and designer and a senior digital interface [...]

Feb. 13: Were my expectations too high for the nation’s front pages?

Got up this morning. Went directly to the Newseum to review this morning’s State of the Union pages. Got back in bed. Well, it wasn’t that bad. But sure enough, I wasn’t impressed with the day’s offerings. Perhaps I was too harsh, however. The Newseum, in its Top Ten Front Pages of the Day, gushed over this page by the [...]

Feb. 7: Fargo TV station (apparently) digitally erases newspaper’s downtown sign (2)

We’ve all seen the dreaded Photoshop scandals in newspapers and magazines. But today, we bring you the story of what appears to be the first TV new Photoshop incident. And it’s not the news they’re enhancing or unpleasant parts of the story or even a “wardrobe malfunction.” It’s the name of the TV station’s competitor. Here’s a screen cap of [...]

Jan. 9: Why don’t we have newspaper marketing campaigns like this in the U.S.?

Almost four years ago, consultant Ron Reason wrote an interesting article on why newspaper marketing sucks so badly. That piece struck a chord with me. Why are our external marketing campaigns — as well as our own “house ads” — so mediocre? We certainly don’t seem to have our heart in those efforts. Speaking as an industry, I mean. So [...]

Jan. 4: Stop the presses! NY Daily News sinks to new depths with today’s front page

Submitted for your approval: The front cover of today’s New York Daily News. That’s New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, attempting to enjoy some downtime on a beach in the Bahamas Thursday. Attempting. Until he was interrupted by a reporter for the Daily News who spotted that tattoo on his arm and was struck by the fact that it appears [...]

Jan. 4: Dilbert takes on online news (1)

Funny commentary today in the Dilbert comic strip on the state of online news. Dilbert, of course, is created by Scott Adams. Find Dilbert‘s online home here.

Dec. 23, 2012: Newsweek’s final cover straddles the old and the new

This morning, Newsweek tweeted the cover of its final print issue. On the cover: A vintage shot of the old Newsweek building. And a hashtag. Clever. If only the rest of the magazine had been this sharp. Find Newsweek‘s web site here.

Dec. 15, 2012: Why can’t ‘the media’ get the facts straight in Connecticut? (2)

As you’ve noticed, “the media” — i.e., we — are struggling with details in the Connecticut shooting case. When my daughter and I first heard about the tragedy, the body count was two or three. We had just left my wife’s school — she’s a special ed teacher at an elementary school — so the story definitely caught my ear. [...]

Nov. 15, 2012: Print readers aren’t the only folks having media transformation issues these days

This video has nothing to do with news media. It has everything to do with entertainment media. And it’s also not real. This is only a humor skit. That’s not really the chief of MTV answering the young lady’s question. But a) This is funny as hell. And b) There seems to be, in fact, a bit of truth in [...]

Nov. 9, 2012: GOP rips off local newspaper branding for political mailer (1)

Angry words are flying between the weekly Dakota Dunes/North Sioux City Times of Sioux City, S.D., and the local Republican party. The GOP sent out a mailer just before Election Day with a faux nameplate that looked a lot like the local newspaper. The paper then felt compelled to run that mailer on page one with a disclaimer that it [...]

Nov. 4, 2012: D’oh!

You’re a major metro daily. The Sunday before Election Day — near the end of one of the most contentious presidential elections in recent memory — you accidentally leave the section containing the editorial pages out of the Sunday paper. High larious, right? Believe it or not, that what happened today in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on its [...]

Nov. 3, 2012: Newspapers lose yet another talented young person (3)

Margo Morgan — graphics editor of the Rockford, Ill., Register Star — tells us: I’m moving back to Des Moines. I’m leaving the newspaper business and going to Wells Fargo… I’ll be working in web development. I’m super excited to learn new things and be back in Iowa. In addition, Margo is taking her husband, Scott — a photographer for [...]

Oct. 24, 2012: For your consideration…

From editorial cartoonist Chip Bok: Bok cartoons for the Akron Beacon Journal. Find his web site here and his Twitter feed here. Thanks to Bonita Burton for pointing to this today via Facebook.

Oct. 21, 2012: Logo designers of the world: You’re not doing it right (2)

The news recently out of Columbus: Wendy’s hamburgers is updating its logo. I think Wendy’s blew it. That’s simply not how you redesign a logo these days. This is how you redesign a logo these days: Also, Arby’s chain of barbeque sandwiches has redesigned its logo. They, too, misfired. Here’s what Arby’s should have gone with: Here’s yet another fast-food [...]

Oct. 15, 2012: Laid off by the Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shane McDermott

Lindsey Turner — Gulf Coast team leader at the Gannett Design Studio in Nashville — writes: [On Oct. 1], my former employer, the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, laid off several journalists, including the wonderfully talented and award-winning Shane McDermott, an illustrator who had been with them for more than seven years. His work had shown up all over the newspaper [...]

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