Perhaps it is a professor’s ritual—to think that each new semester the students do better work than those who preceded them. Ritual or not, I am very proud of the work my Columbia University students (Spring 2024) have done for their Midterm assignment, which consisted of writing a linear, mobile story, where the text narrative is combined with visual assets, such as video, audio, photos.
Here are some of those stories. In each case I include the name of the student, a short summary of the story and a link for you to review the story if you so wish. Each student agreed to have his/her story mentioned here, and we are open to any opportunities for these stories to be published elsewhere. Please contact me here at mario@garciamedia.com for more information about specific stories.
In terms of content, the stories deal with subjects as varied as adult autism and children’s speech therapy to fashion, drag queens and the spotting of rare owls out west. There is also the more personal stories: “How my Last Family Member Left in Cuba Escaped to the US”.
Why these stories resonate
What impressed me the most about these stories is how these young journalists embraced storytelling with an appeal to various senses. There is audio intelligently and functionally used; video clips become paragraphs in the midst of the stories. Photos and graphics, the more traditional visual tools, appear to add texture and context to the narratives.
The facts about my Columbia course:
Course title: Multiplatform Design & Storytelling, Spring Semester 2024
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Here is a description of the Midterm story assignment:
First screens
An important part of this assignment is the creation of the first screen of the story. It is there that we can give readers an idea of what the story is all about, as well as engaging them to scroll and to continue reading.
The stories
Story #1
The headline: Outlaw., Wildman, Forager–
The author: Emily Injeian
Short summary: Steve Brill made a career of leading wild-food tours in NYC’s public parks,. Even after Parks Police arrested him for eating a dandelion.
The link:
https://www.figma.com/proto/J4HAut8Abcb19ADm3dI08X/
The style guide to typography and color palette:
Story #2
The headline: Missoni Show Illuminates Milan Fashion Week
The author: Jacob Imber
Short summary: The storied label looks at SS23 through an electrifying prism
The link:
https://www.figma.com/proto/7mQ0a1pj4fB7r11C2SDztC/Imber-Final-Midterm-Story
The style guide to typography and color palette:
Story #3
The headline: How Alexander Learned to Speak
The author: Ariadna Sandoval
Short summary: A Day in a Speech Therapy Center
The link:
The style guide to typography and color palette:
Story #4
The headline: Saving the California Spotted Owl with AI
The author: Catherine McGrath
Short summary: A species of western owl is invading spotted owl territories out west. Ecologists armed with new machine learning tools are fighting to arrest the spread.
The link:
The style guide to typography and color palette:
Story #5
The headline: Exploring the Shades of Protest Against Drag Culture
The author: Holly Lehren
Short summary: “Drag is not for Kids” shout the protesters at NYC venues over drag story hours.
The link:
The style guide to typography and color palette:
Story #6
The headline: How My Last Family Member Left in Cuba Escaped to the United States
The author: Sheila Uria
Short summary: Cuba is facing its worst economic crisis since the nineties and Cubans are leaving the island at a rapid rate. My family joined them.
The link: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0d2cede883de4ca3bee25873c4ff0068h
The style guide to typography and color palette:
Story #7
The headline: This is Tan
The author: Eva Qi
Short summary:Entrepreneurial Dreams: As an international student, she wants to stay in the U.S
The link:
The style guide to typography and color palette:
Students presenting their projects in class
Previous semesters’ student work:
Of related interest
AI webinar with EidosMedia
From the basics of AI to how it can be used effectively for content creation, audience engagement, design. Join Massimo Barsotti and me for a frank talk about AI content creation and the challenges it presents for newsrooms worldwide.
https://www.eidosmedia.com/generative-ai-in-the-newsroom/#contact
Our workshop deals with the two big revolutions facing editors
For me, it is imperative that editors approach content creation thinking in terms of mobile first.
Mobile first involves the type of transformation where all content is prepared thinking from small to large platform. Thinking small platform does not mean that the reporter conceptualizing a story for mobile consumption should not think BIG. So, plan from small to large, but think big in terms of the story content and the visual assets that go with it.
While mobile first is still elusive to so many newsrooms around the planet, here we are, in 2024, faced with an even bigger challenge not just knocking at our doors, but already IN: Artificial Intelligence.
Transformation and a change of mentality to face these challenges is the first step. Training and education to tackle them with a sense of focus and direction is essential.
That’s where our Garcia Media workshops come in
Our Garcia Media Mobile Storytelling workshops introduce your editorial team to the way we write, edit and design for mobile platforms. This one-day program includes a presentation and a hands-on workshop. We’ve added a new segment about AI for content creation.
For details, to customize, and to book: mario@garciamedia.com
Order my new book AI: The Next Revolution for Content Creation:
Join me on the road:
Appearances and conference
https://linktr.ee/themarioblog (https://linktr.ee/themarioblog)
Mario’s AI speaking engagements coming up
Here you see where I will be discussing AI at various events. Feel free to send me an email (mario@garciamedia.com) if you have questions about any of these events. You can always go directly to the organization’s website for additional information.
Hoping to see you along the way!
Artificial Creative Intelligence blogs of interest:
The following blog posts all deal with Artificial Intelligence and creativity:
Media predictions for 2024
Every year, Harvard University’s Nieman Lab publishes what selected media people predict for journalism in the following years. You can find my own prediction here;
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/ai-takes-center-stage/
Start writing or type / to choose a block
How we use AI
Honored to be mentioned here:
https://www.newsroomrobots.com/p/how-10-news-industry-leaders-use
Order my new AI book here:
https://thaneandprose.com/…/preorder-ai-what-to-expect…
Here is a chance to pre-order my new book about Artificial Intelligence and content creation. The first 25 copies sold will be signed! Order here:
https://thaneandprose.com/…/preorder-ai-what-to-expect…
Reviews for AI book:
Newsrooms around the planet have gone mobile-first after a Garcia Media workshop!
Our Garcia Media Mobile Storytelling workshops are proven to introduce your editorial team to the way we write, edit and design for mobile platforms. It is a one-day program that involves a presentation (where I summarize my Columbia University class content), and follow it with a hands on workshop.
Did you read The Story yet?
I urge you to consult my latest book, The Story, a trilogy full of tips and explanations about mobile storytelling, which represents the latest genre for journalists to explore. See information below:
The full trilogy of The Story now available–3 books to guide you through a mobile first strategy. Whether you’re a reporter, editor, designer, publisher, corporate communicator, The Story is for you! https://amazon
Volume 1: Transformation
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-story-volume-i/id1480169411
Volume Two: Storytelling
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-story-volume-ii/id1484581220
Volume Three: Design
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-story-volume-iii/id1497049918
Order the print edition of The Story, from Amazon, here:
TheMarioBlog post #3390