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Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

‘Poynter’ archive

Number of comments in parentheses

March 21: A familiar name in a brand-new role

Who is that familiar name appearing on items posted in the Poynter Institute’s MediaWire blog this week? Why, yes: That’s visual journalist Joshua Gillin — who, for the past six years, has served as a columnist, designer, and web editor for TBT, the youth-oriented tabloid of the Tampa Bay Times of St. Petersburg, Fla. Josh tells us: I already write [...]

Jan. 23: R.I.P. Paul Pohlman of the Poynter Institute

Below is a photo of a Poynter leadership training class in the fall of 2000. Yes, that’s me, third from right on the back row, with a) hair on my head, still, and b) attired in light blue. I wasn’t yet into Hawaiian shirts. Please allow me to draw your attention to the distinguished gentleman on the left of that [...]

Oct. 22, 2012: Sioux Falls, S.D., paper commemorates the life of George McGovern

George McGovern passed away Sunday at age 90. The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls — circulation 32,192 — responded today with a vintage picture of McGovern as he looked 41 years ago. Nathan Groepper of the Gannett Design Studio in Des Moines — where the Argus Leader is produced — sent me that page, along with a 10-page commemorative special section [...]

Sept. 11, 2012: What did your paper do for the 11th anniversary of 9/11?

Last year, nearly everyone went all-out on 9/11 anniversary covers. It was, after all, the 10th anniversary of this enormous — and tragic — landmark day in American history. But this year is the 11th anniversary. How did papers play the anniversary this year? ________________________ NEW YORK CITY NEWSPAPERS As you might expect, a number of the New York City [...]

April 2, 2012: Painting a picture with mug shots

Has the media distorted the entire Trayvon Martin incident? I’m not sure I’m qualified to have an opinion on it. I was out of the country when this story blew up, went viral and then was debated ad nauseum. Most of the “analytical” pieces I’ve seen so far on the incident — and subsequent coverage — has seemed to be [...]

March 6, 2012: Our next Poynter live chat: Election maps

Ah, those ubiquitous red-and-blue election maps. They’re everywhere. And I don’t quite understand why, because geography simply isn’t the story we need to be telling at this point in the election. NBC News, 1980 — The story right now is a “horse race,” plain and simple: A rush to acquire delegates. The first Republican candidate to lock down 1,144 deleages [...]

Feb. 23, 2012: A ‘replay’ of today’s Poynter chat with researcher Paul Bolls (3)

The Poynter live chat I hosted this afternoon with University of Missouri’s Paul Bolls went even better than I could have hoped. Paul and his team are studying something of great importance to visual journalists, especially those of us who design for the Web: Not how typography or photos play on the Web. Not how design affects how the reader’s [...]

Feb. 22, 2012: Coming Thursday: Psychological-driven web design with Missouri’s Paul Bolls (2)

Tomorrow, I’m hosting another live chat at the Poynter Institute’s web site. Our guest this time around: Paul Bolls, associate director of the Psychological Research on Information and Media Effects Lab at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. Using equipment that measures physiological responses in viewers, Paul is studying how the human brain perceives and processes news and advertising. [...]

Jan. 31, 2012: A recap of the Poynter chat today with Scott Goldman

The live chat I hosted this afternoon at Poytner.org — with guest Scott Goldman, director of digital and visuals at the Indianapolis Star — went over pretty well. I was worried that we might not get enough great questions. I needn’t have worried. The crowd had fabulous questions. And Scott provided terrific answers. Poynter has asked me to contribute to [...]