Innovation

ASU’s green screen intro.

Maryland’s video tag player.

Berkeley’s national database.

• Farming in the Time of Economic Cholera
  California’s farm lands and its workers grapple with a shift from a labor shortage to a labor glut in a time of decreased consumer demand.
• California Energy: Power to the People

  California is often the first to face challenges over how to best provide the cleanest, most reliable energy to its people. Community fights, environmental battles and the rush to cash in on innovative technologies are shaping the future of California’s role as an energy leader.

• Fighting Battles: Latinos in the Military
  Fighting Battles tells the stories of Latinos and their experiences in the military, from the first non-citizen U.S. soldier killed in Iraq to an activist who is trying to counter the military’s recruitment efforts in heavily Latino communities. The stories are told in video, text and photos. A Flex/Flash presentation is used to present data in a visually compelling way.
• Changing Policy: Exploring E-Verify
  The national E-Verify program helps employers avoid hiring illegal immigrants. This project examines the program in Arizona and Illinois and shows how naturalized citizens are much more likely to be falsely flagged by the system and to be discriminated against. It includes stories of two legislators – one whose son was shot by an illegal immigrant and another who experienced discrimination as a child. Text stories, photos and video.
• The New Town Square

  Explore with resident from three Northern California towns as they struggle to define community in an increasingly suburbanized landscape. This short introductory video blends old techniques (stop motion animation) with the digital platform. Other elements in the package include an interactive map illustrating how these three towns have grown and changed over the last century, and a series of maps where residents describe the places where they find their community.

• What to Change about America? Voters Weigh In
  More than 25 Washington-area residents discuss what they’d most like to see changed about American politics. View their responses in a unique Flash video player that tags their responses.
• Latino Kids Show Grit to Gain Education
  Building Success turns the tables on most stories about Latinos and education, focusing on programs in Phoenix and Tulsa, Okla., that have won national recognition for helping Latino students close the achievement gap. A Flash video introduces the project, which is then told through video, using a unique player that allows the user to access stories, graphics and data without exiting the video.
• Virgin Tour: Mexican Religious Icon Goes Global

  The Traveling Virgin traces the rise of the Virgin of Guadalupe from Mexican religious figure to cultural icon. The Virgin’s image is found on lowrider cars in Japan, sweat shirts in Brazil, paintings in the Philippines and key chains and tattoos in the U.S. Presented in an unusual multiple format with photos, video, slideshows, audio, text, animation and photo illustration.

• Crossing Lines: Staring Down Death in the Desert
  Crossing Lines is a three-part narrative that tells the stories of people in Mexico who are trying to build their own economic opportunities so their children won’t feel compelled to leave. Photos and video are imbedded in the text to add to the narrative at key points.
• Shifting Faith: Hispanics Move Away From Catholicism
  Latinos are finding new faiths as Mormons, Pentacostals and Jehovah’s Witnesses. At the same time, a number of Latinos are discovering their Jewish roots and are becoming “re-conversos.” The project is designed using a “carousel” tool that allows viewers to scroll back and forth, as if through time. Along the way, viewers interact with the story through video and text.
• The Charter Explosion: Mapping the Trend

  A multimedia map, infographic and timeline capture the explosion of charter schools from zero to 4,600 over the past two decades while providing a history of the charter school movement and overview of major trends.

• 51st and Telegraph: Exploring a California Intersection
  A busy north Oakland intersection provides a glimpse into the issues facing this gentrifying community. A 360-degree “portal” span of the intersection offers macro- and microscopic looks into property battles, commerce, diversity, transportation and urban landscaping. Includes a blog for residents passing through the intersection to post messages.
• CityLab: Exploring Communities Up Close
  CityLab.us is a database created by and for reporters that displays demographic and anecdotal data about 65 cities in the Bay Area. It is intended as a working prototype for a national database that allows reporters to compare hard-to-find information about cities all over the country. Each of the thousands of data points is individually sourced, allowing reporters to fact check by visiting the Web site from which the data was pulled or by directly contacting the reporter who contributed the data.
• BARThood: 4 Bay-Area Neighborhoods Up Close

  This project focuses on four neighborhoods, visualizing demographic data of ridership and aggregating content and news about each area. Includes interactive charts and graphs, slide shows and custom feeds that combine up-to-the-minute Google blogs, Google News, Twitter and Yelp posts specific to each station.

• New Latino Voters
  An analysis of voter survey data underscores how this fast-growing demographic will impact politics. Other stories, based in Fresno and Allensworth, Calif., and in Springfield, Ark., illustrate how immigration and voting patterns are changing. Text stories, photos, graphics, timeline, data, slideshow, video.
• Voting Attitudes: Compare the Generations
  A tool allows users to compare voter attitudes by age, based on how people answered questions from the American National Election Studies 2008 Time Series Study. With embedded audio from News21 interviews
• Down the Lines: The Troubled U.S. Energy Grid

  The U.S. energy grid is in trouble, with consumption increasing dramatically and the construction of power lines falling behind, setting the stage for more serious and frequent blackouts in coming years. This project explores both the problems and potential solutions, such as a smarter grid. Text stories, graphics, video, audio gallery, map.

• Energy Portraits: How 4 Families Consume Energy
  This package examines the daily energy consumption of people in four communities – Abilene, Texas; Hillsborough, N.C.; Dow, Ill.; and Corona, Calif. The families talk about their transportation habits, food choices, and use of appliances and electronics. Videos, graphics, data, photos.
• Webisode Contest: How Youth See Technology
  Make a soap Webisode and win $1,000, $500, $300 or $200. Check the details, submit your video and maybe you’ll reap the big bucks once the contest ends Dec. 31.
• Analyzing 'Immigration' Amnesty

  This is a story about the experiences of two communities – Albuquerque, N.M., which was significantly affected by the 1986 amnesty bill, and Culpeper, Va., where a similar bill would have a huge impact today. The story is largely told through text, with the addition of a Twitter widget that displays discussions of the topic and makes it easy to start new discussions.

• The American Diet: From Pasture to Plate
  The amount of fossil-fuel energy used to make a steak, potato, soda and an organic salad may surprise you. This graphic story shows how some of the most popular foodstuffs in the U.S. are made, with an emphasis on how fossil fuels enter into the production chain.
• Gay in America:
  When culture and sexuality collide: At some point, nearly everyone grapples with their identity – faith, family, sexual orientation. But it can be even more difficult for minorities or immigrants struggling to sort through their sexuality. Video, timeline, text.
• For the Love: Professional Passions of Six Adults

  A half-century ago it was a white picket fence, 2.5 kids and a secure job to support them. Today it encompasses the hopes of a constantly changing America, and what constitutes a successful life is a definition that’s just as volatile. Ask five young people what they hope to accomplish as adults, and you’ll likely get five very different answers. Video, text.