PROGRAM: Story forms that rock

Session: Alternative Story Forms that Rock

Date: Sat. 9/2/06
Time: 1:29 p.m.

Speaker: Chris Courtney, Design Director of RedEye

"If they can find it in another publication,
they'll either go to that, the Internet, watch it on TV -
whatever's most convenient for them."

"If you have the same voice as everyone else,
they're going to go look for a different voice."

The PDF of the whole session should be online shortly, on Chris's yet-to-be-launched site Designhawg.com. For now, I'll try to sum this up as best I can, and just give you some highlights and snippets.

Summary of the session:
What are alt story forms?

• Device or format capable of delivering information to readers in a manner that enhances the ability to consume the content while delivering it in a quicker manner.

• A typical breakout box is an age-old alt, but still an effective way to show specific info. Impact is generally limited to a support role.

• But a breakout story takes the place of up to 3 stories at a time. It's still small information that stands out, but it allows for several different views, positions or angles to a larger story.

• Always fit the format to the content, not the other way around. Being able to define what type of alt story form is appropriate for use is key to being able to explain ideas to peers.
  

Chris did some great Magic 8-Ball where he answered common questions about the role of alternative story forms:

>>Are alts here to replace the traditional story form?
NO: For alts to work, they need to have the traditional story forms acting as a standard for the publications. Without a base, a page full of alts very quickly can turn in to an unnavigable, cluttered mess.

>>Are readers asking for new ways to consume information
YES: Readers are saying they want more unexpected surprises from publications, they’re wanting their pubs to be more informative yet take less time to do the job. They want complex topics presented in a way that is easier to consume and understand. These are all votes for alts.

>>Can writers, designers, and editors that have never attempted alts have success?
YES: Key to success is picking a story or topic that would benefit from being told in a different manner. The same thought process that goes into a well crafted story, page or section works when creating alts. S tart with good content and then decide if an alt will help the reader connect with it.


Chris used video interviews with John Telford (St. Louis Post-Dispatch), Chuck Todd (Contra Costa Times), Charles Apple (The Virginian Pilot) and Chris Malcom (RedEye) to highlight some of these points.


How to use alts:
Be unique

• If everyone is covering the same topic, find a fresh approach that readers won‚Äôt be able to find anywhere else. Rather than running a recap of how practice went for NCAA teams during the off days, RedEye opted to surprise readers with a different spin on the overall tournament.

Be Personal

• Open letters - give reader a snippet of what you‚Äôd say.

• Talk to the reader ‚Äì readers feel like we report back to them what‚Äôs being told to us and not what we actually believe is true.
• Example: Run a press release, highlight parts of it and then interpret what it REALLY means.
  

• Let the reader talk.

Does it work?
To highlight this point, Chris showed a 10-minute time-lapse video of the RedEye news racks on the street. Nearly every single person picked up the RedEye instead of another paper.

I grabbed a video of it (poor quality), but you can still see what's going on.







WHO WAS THERE?
At each session I've gone to, I've asked the person sitting next to me to tell me what they like about SND Orlando so far, and what they're looking forward to.

Martin Gee, San Jose Mercury News

Favorite session so far: "Photoshop: Use its Powers For Good, Not Evil" by Jeff Neumann of The Denver Post.
"It was my favorite, but I walked away feeling like a loser."

Most excited for: Participating in Stephanie Grace Lim's presentation.