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These are choices I don’t face every day, but as the mayor of a thriving beach town, I had to build a rock wall, add sand to the disappearing beach and try to get homeowners to relocate. I raised taxes. Protesters came after me. The first time, I saved the town. The second, it all washed away.
Luckily for the town, the beach and me, it was just a game.
The Ocean Game
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from the Los Angeles Times is a really clever way to help readers understand a complicated issue. It’s one of three local newsroom projects featured as we continue our July of great local journalism.
What work are you proud of? Share
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it here and I’ll reach out if we decide to feature it.
Screenshot, Los Angeles Times
You can read more about how The Ocean Game was created here
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. But first, a few tips for local newsrooms on doing great work:
Know your stuff: “We were lucky enough to have a robust team to do work like this, with talented folks from graphics, design and software engineering,” said LA Times reporter Rosanna Xia. “But, at its core, this story and interactive game was powered by a fundamental understanding of the issue – understanding the stakes and nuances to a point where we could break it down simply and provide an alternative form of explanatory reporting.”
Trust your staff: “You can support your newsroom by giving them the freedom to cover topics they wouldn’t normally, and trust them to do it ways you don’t normally see,” said Robin Epley, a reporter with the Chico (California) Enterprise-Record who created a podcast
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to go along with a project on the danger of smoke from the Camp Fire. “I’m a city politics reporter but this project is about health and science and the environment. On top of that, the E-R has never done a serial podcast before. My editor, Mike Wolcott, gave me free rein and it’s paid off for not just us, but for the whole newsroom. We’re all buzzing with series ideas and big plans.”
Find what hasn’t been covered: “Instead of just reporting on the anniversary or event at hand, think about what makes the event meaningful and how can you cover it in a way that hasn't been covered before,” said Michael Hicks, editor of Evergreen Newspapers, which includes the Canyon Courier, on covering
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the 20th
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anniversary
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of the Columbine High School shooting. “We talked to security officers, former teachers, relatives of loved ones who were victims on that tragic day. Then we found a way to incorporate it in our paper, yet make it a four-page pullout so that people could keep it as a keepsake opposite of the paper itself.”
We’ll have more great local journalism next week. In the meantime:
Apply, apply, apply:
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I have gotten great questions about our Reporting Workshop for Rising Stars. Let me answer the most common: Yes, you should apply.
Join the movement
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: Report for America is looking for new host newsrooms.
Get recognized
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: Enter your great local journalism in the third annual Local That Works competition from Current
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.
I was off last week, but here’s an obit
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I wrote my first month at the Tampa Bay Times.
See you next week!
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