_news(print)
_news(print) This is a thesis project to explore and reinvent the way we use and experience print news.
Holly Leach_MFA Thesis_Graphic Design
© 2013 _ Holly Leach
All rights reserved
school_ Academy of Art University student_ Holly Leach telephone_ 573 489 7263 email_ hollyleach@gmail.com website_ hollyleach.com course_ MFA Thesis instructors_ Dave Gottwald, Phil Hamlett
and Chris Riggs
book title_ News(print) book size_ 8 × 10 inches printing and binding_ Blurb.com photography_ Holly Leach typefaces_ Trixie, Courier and Gotham software_ Adobe Creative Suite 6.0
A project to reinvent the way we use and experience news.
contents _
sec _ 01 Backstory Page 006
sec _ 04 Execution Page 044
sec _ 02 Opportunity Page 018
sec _ 05 Byline Page 054
sec _ 03 Solution Page 030
sec _ 06 Thanks Page 056
People ever confuse wha read in new with news.
rywhere at they wspapers — A.J. Liebling, journalist
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A new way to define the news that’s driven by innovation.
sec _ 01 Backstory
what’s news? _
Today, news is nothing but a reaction. It’s a reaction to an event, which demands to be communicated to those affected. It’s a reaction to the 24-hour news cycle, which demands immediate notification and continuous reportage of events. It’s a reaction to the rise of scanners, which demands SEO headlines and 140-character limits. Today, news is nothing but a reaction to demand for facts immediately after they happen in formats that allow for quick comprehension.
BACKSTORY
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perfect mediums _
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And that’s okay. Television and Internet sources are well suited to accommodate news as reaction; they’re unmatched in providing vast amounts of information with incredible speed. No other communication medium can compare, nor should it. After all, the technological advancements that allow televised and digital communication to operate so wide and fast are responsible for the changed definition of news. The decline of the newspaper is proof of this link. The print journalism industry has been in turmoil for decades. It has been in especially poor shape since the 1990s, when CNN gained prominence and the Internet became more accessible. These developments changed the nature of Americans’ relationship with the news. Thanks to around-the-clock coverage from multiple information sources, they no longer had to rely on a once-daily report from a single authority.
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imperfect medium _
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Ever since, print news has been left in a curious—perhaps even precarious—space. Two of its primary functions, moderating the flow of information and setting the agenda for public discourse, have been rendered insignificant. As a result, its ad-based business model is in a seemingly permanent state of disrepair. Without drastic changes to print journalism’s practices and philosophies, it’s unlikely the medium will survive, much less remain significant. And that could be okay, too. After all, in a world where news is reaction, no communication channels serve the public better than television and Internet.
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reaction problem _
THESIS
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Problems arise when communication doesn’t develop beyond that first, surface level dispatch of news. Without further inquiry, discussion and education, the collective knowledge never becomes more than a superficial understanding suitable for nothing more than water cooler conversation. Unfortunately, despite their dominance and popularity, television and Internet news sources are ill-equipped to address this issue. Their content may be vast and speedy, but it also is ephemeral, a quality that makes it impossible for the public to dive deep into news.
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Do not beco slave of yo
ome the our model.
— Leonardo da Vinci, artist
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A unique and untapped ability to positively contribute.
sec _ 02 Opportunity
slow news _
There is inherent value in slowing down the current news cycle and infusing it with some longevity. The whipping pace at which news flows today actually calls for languid introspection after the fact. Essayist Clive Thompson tackled this issue in a 2011 Wired column that argued against the notion that tweets and status updates are completely eroding our collective attention span. “I think something much more interesting and complex is happening,” Thompson wrote. “The torrent of short-form thinking is actually a catalyst for more long-form meditation.”
OPPORTUNITY
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layered discourse _
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Thompson’s essay artfully outlines the need for layered communication. It begins with short takes, the barrage of tweets and status updates reacting to a newsworthy event. “Society is just chewing over what happened, forming a quick impression of What It All Means,” Thompson explained. To Brian J. McNely, an assistant professor of English at Ball State who specializes in rhetoric and writing, the process of writing and reading these short takes is a “crucial, everyday aspect of making meaning in the world.” It is from this meaning that long takes are born. A long take is a “deeply considered report and analysis, and it often takes weeks, months or years to produce,” Thompson said. Unlike an instantaneous tweet, it is relevant for years. McNely calls the short take’s impact on the long take sociotechnical notemaking, or “short-form writing work that is typically enacted informally via the technologies of social software, with explicit heuristic, inventional and epistemological implications.”
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reaction problem _
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Thompson’s and McNely’s work highlights the fatal error the print journalism industry committed years ago: It failed to embrace the Internet as a legitimate platform for disseminating news. This failure set up the antagonistic relationship between the three main communication mediums—print, television and digital—that exists today. Thankfully, not all is lost. There is an opportunity to change this relationship into one that is more complementary than competitive. Doing so would add a new, deeper layer to today’s news, one that extends the public knowledge beyond those short takes.
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print’s potential _
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Here is where print news has the potential to thrive. There is a quality of tactile permanence that is exclusive to print news. Information disseminated through radio, television and digital news sources is fleeting. It exists only in the viewer’s mind come commercial or next tweet. Printed information, on the other hand, is immortalized and unchanging the minute ink touches paper. More importantly, the new definition of news has amplified one of their core virtues: to archive and commemorate significant news events. In this arena, television and Internet sources cannot compete with the printed newspaper.
OPPORTUNITY
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The trick i mistake the for the mes
is to never e message ssenger. — Scott McCloud, cartoonist
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A vision for the future of news with respect to its past.
sec _ 03 Solution
news(print) _
Inspired by the printed newspaper’s unique, untapped ability to extend the news cycle, the News(print) project was born. News(print) works to reinvent the way people use and experience print — and, by proxy, all — news by adding a new, deeper layer to the publication of newsworthy information. News(print) mends the continuity gap between the headlines and the history books. We solve confusion and sate curiosity.
SOLUTION
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content model _
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To fulfill this mission, News(print) has developed a content model for an extended and immersive news experience. This framework services journalism that is complete and concentrated, providing readers an in-depth understanding of how a news event impacts their lives. In other words, this model will take its time, only reporting on an event after it has developed beyond the standard eight-word headline. Also, the model will be intensely focused, providing a comprehensive report on one story instead of several superficial reports on many. There are four components to this structure: the flagship printed publication, a digital version of the flagship publication, keepsake collateral and live events.
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feasibility _
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News(print)’s content model is designed to supplement a news organization’s existing content. It does not compete with the free information disseminated on Twitter, websites or television; rather, it expands upon it, giving more information to those who desire it. This strategy of accompanying free content with a “premium” product has proven successful in other industries. Take stand-up comedy, for example. Instead of eschewing free platforms like social media and podcasts, comedians embraced them as an opportunity to introduce people to their comic voice and sensibility. That’s not to say they’ve stopped making albums or performing, though. “Ultimately, (my podcast) functions as a commercial for various things that I have going on,” comedian Paul F. Tompkins told The AV Club in an interview. The host of the Pod F. Tompkast continued, “As much as I enjoy the freedom of that medium, it really is just to help out with the other stuff where I do make money.” News(print) knows print news can learn from comedy’s success.
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audience _
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News(print)’s proposed products are not like those of traditional news sources, which attempt to serve the same, broad audience across mediums. Instead, News(print)’s content model targets a specific type of media consumer, both in terms of habit and personality. Enter Topher, a persona we’ve created to represent our target audience. Topher is constantly consuming information and doing so in a variety of formats: film, TV, radio, podcast, websites, Twitter, magazines, and books, for example. That’s not to say that he’s passive in his media habits; to Topher, it’s not just white noise that happens in the background. Instead, Topher makes educated and calculated choices about his information intake. When he sits down to experience something, whether it be a book, movie, TV show or live comedy show, he does so with total focus. It’s an event — a carefully constructed and curated experience.
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TV SHOWS TOPHER WATCHES LIVE
MEET TOPHER
MOVIES TOPHER SEES IN THE THEATER
TV SHOWS TOPHER WATCHES TIME-SHIFTED OR STREAMS ON NETFLIX
_ He is a 39-year-old management consultant living and working in Chicago, Illinois. _ He grew up in a suburb of Chicago, where his parents and older siblings still live. _ He shares his two-bedroom apartment with his girlfriend of 10 years. They’ve talked about marriage, and even though they might walk down the aisle someday, it’s neither a priority nor a necessity in their partnership. _ He’s been using computers since he was 13, when his parents bought an Apple IIGS, but he didn’t have an e-mail address until he was a senior in college. _ He was an iPhone early adopter. He tried a Samsung Android instead of upgrading to the iPhone 3GS, but switched back when the iPhone 5 came out. _ His media consumption habits are customized to the content. For example, he watches event-based television and movies live. _ He enjoys shows like Mad Men and Veep, but he doesn’t stress if he can’t catch the latest episode until a few days after air.
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MOVIES TOPHER RENTS FROM REDBOX OR STREAMS ON NETFLIX
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WEBSITES TOPHER VISITS AT LEAST ONCE DAILY
PODCASTS TOPHER SUBSCRIBES TO
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MAGAZINES TOPHER BUYS REGULARLY
BOOKS TOPHER READS ON HIS IPAD PEOPLE TOPHER FOLLOWS ON TWITTER
BOOKS TOPHER BUYS FOR HIS SHELVES
SOLUTION
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Let’s build future — not polish the
d a just past.
— Frank Vizzare, unknown
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A set of elements that foster interaction and understanding.
sec _ 04 Execution
illustration _
To illustrate how this model would function in and contribute to the current news media landscape, News(print) has flushed it out using a real-world news item: Occupy Wall Street. Occupy, which many news organizations struggled to cover in a clear and consistent manner in the movement’s early days, is a perfect example of a news item that would benefit from this in-depth treatment. While this illustration is hypothetical, it is hoped that all news organizations, from the New York Times to the Conway (New Hampshire) Daily Sun, would be able to apply its principles. In this example, News(print) chose to show the model in work at NPR.
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flagship publication _
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At the top of News(print)’s content model is the flagship publication. This publication is unlike any print news product available today. Unlike a newspaper or magazine, which cover multiple topics each issue, News(print)’s flagship will cover only one news item. It will report on that topic in-depth, educating readers not only about what happened, but also about how the event impacts life for both the individual and general public. This requires the publication to abandon the traditional daily, weekly or monthly production schedules for print news media. Instead, the flagship will come out quarterly. Such a slow down is an overt illustration to its commitment to telling a complete story: It gives the news event time to completely develop and affords journalists the time to create a product worthy of its premium price point. The flagship publication will be available in both print and digital formats. It will be ad-free, designed for focused consumption without outside or tangential distraction. In News(print)’s hypothetical example, this publication is titled We (Most of) The People: Faces of Occupy Wall Street.
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keepsake/event _
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News(print)’s content model extends storytelling beyond the traditional formats. It recognizes that “interactivity” is not exclusive to digital media. Underneath the flagship publication sit two products aimed at connecting the content to the user in his or her daily life. The first is a keepsake product directly related to the news item covered in the flagship publication. In We (Most of) The People, this keepsake is a kit to make protest signs. Each kit contains a permanent marker, roll of duct tape and wooden paint stir stick. Using each item and the box in which they came, a person can literally join the discussion on Occupy Wall Street. The second is a live event that allows readers to connect with the flagship’s subject in person. In the case of the Occupy example, this event is a panel discussion with supporters and opponents of Occupy Wall Street who were subjects of articles in We (Most of) The People. Reporters are also included on the panel, which ends with a question and answer session. It is followed by an informal reception where attendees can continue the discussion.
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A child novelist and aspiring Impressionist, all grown up.
sec _ 06 Byline
statement _
When I was a little girl, there were only two things that I wanted to grow up to become: an Impressionist painter and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. As I matured, so did my goals: I parlayed my love for writing into a bachelor’s degree in journalism. It was in my first news design class that I realized my passions — words, art and news — were not mutually exclusive. Words and art are the syntactical elements that make up the language of the news. Syntax, or the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language, has become a driving characteristic in my design. Visual syntax not only inspires my design; it defines who I am.
BYLINE
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A support system that is the reason these works exist today.
sec _ 07 Many Thanks
family_
Most of all: My father and mother, Fred and Teri Leach, who provided unconditional support and confidence in me. Especially: My sister and brother-in-law, Kirstin and Jon Siegler, who always championed my work. And, of course: My dog, Whistle, who has been content to spend the past four years nestled on my lap, wedged between my stomach and my desk.
friends_
Especially: Raquel Roman and Stephen McKinney, whose phone calls kept me together when seemingly nothing else could. Also: Mary Kate Lowe, my first friend in this program, whose critique and companionship have been invaluable. And, of course: Emily Brock, Whitney Clark, Laura Donaldson, Andrea Falke, Joel Hawkins, Kristen Libero, Morgan Marcani, Emily Shields, Katie King Rumford and many, many more.
instructors_
Especially: Hunter Wimmer, whose professional, respectful guidance is a principle reason I’m here today. Also: Phil Hamlett and Mary Scott, who both valiantly helped me to get across this finish line. And, of course: Dave Gottwald, María Inés Montes, Laura Milton, Bob Slote and Chris Riggs.
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