Designing Journalists: Teaching Journalism Students to Think Like Web Designers.

Abstract

The authors introduced 80 university-level journalism students to a web design program called Klynt and supervised the creation of multiple interactive documentaries. They discovered that fledgling reporters could effectively design interactive media while creating work that reflects their own candid and extemporaneous ethos. Building on the insight that journalism in the digital age must give rise to modified best practices, this study examines the complex production processes from which multiple i-docs emerged. The authors conclude by suggesting four tentative “new best practices” for journalists attempting to think and act like web designers.