Pope Benedict XVI may have provided religious inspiration to Catholics during his recent visit to the United States, but he didn't stop there. He also seems to have inspired the news media...to use audio, that is.
I came across an interesting audio feature on nytimes.com: "Catholic Views, Catholic Voices," a collection of sound bytes from interviews with 25 Roman Catholics in five cities across the country. The feature shows an eclectic mix of opinions of Pope Benedict XVI himself and what the interviewees hoped he'd accomplish in his visit here. This is "man on the street" if I ever saw one.
Some of the interviews were conducted indoors, others outdoors -- think city street, birds chirping in the backyard, or just plain air. The second group was definitely more natural, while the indoor interviews seemed almost too formal. Each sound byte was accompanied by a head shot of the person speaking, which was a nice addition.
The only real problem I had with the piece was the case of a man who gave his interview in another language; his translator was a woman. Admittedly, it isn't too big a deal, but I have to wonder: Doesn't a company with the resources of The New York Times have at least one male translator?
Maryland Newsline, the University of Maryland's student-produced online newsmagazine, used audio in its reporting of the papal visit in a very different way. While The Times' piece was stand-alone audio, Maryland Newsline incorporated audio into its written story by linking to interview sound bytes from within the text.
This created an interesting layer to the story: After reading about a souvenir vendor at the Mass at Nationals Park, for example, I could hear him speak about what sales had been like that day. Although the recorded sound wasn't perfect, it worked well in the context of the article. It helped set the scene and gave me a taste of the vendor's personality without going on too long.
Whether it's a news site that's big or one that is small, audio can work for them all.
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1 comment:
Can someone please explain to me why we have to do word verification in order to post because I seriously dont get it
but anyway that whole Pope thing was fascinating
and also I am becoming so educated by you because I was listening to the news- sefira and all
and I heard all these background noises and I was like those were some carefully selected sound bites I mean it really brought it to life for me
so thanks for the education
I really appreciate it
It makes listening to the radio an entirely different experience
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