This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed. The next blog post is Monday, November 25, reporting from Oslo, Norway,
I was invited to conduct a mobile storytelling workshop with the team of Newsday last month. It was a full house of reporters, editors and designers that welcomed me. This was my return to the Newsday newsroom (and my first to their new sprawling headquarters in Long Island), and Debby Krenek, the publisher, introduced me as she encouraged her team to start thinking mobile first.
Indeed, they have done just that. This week Krenek sent me a note and a link to this investigative report that should sound plenty of alarms among the locals. I was proud to see that some of the lessons of my workshop were applied, helping us understand a story that is full of facts, quotes, videos and all types of supporting evidence. The story was a year in the makings, and the documentation it presents shows such a gigantic effort.
In a nutshell, the Newsday story reveals of unequal treatment in Long Island housing. Realtors treated different potential property buyers differently, based on their ethnic/racial background. Stunning numbers and revelations.
A story that yields results
According to publisher Krenek, the investigation has opened the doors for much conversation around this issue and this week the New York State Attorney General Tish James said she will probe reports of unequal treatment in LI housing. The Newsday story has received extensive coverage over the past few days. There is also much engagement on social channels, Krenek wrote me.
The making of the story
In terms of the mobile storytelling, Krenek tells me that this story has been in design and build mode for more than a year.
It was a very complicated project to build. It contains 107 videos and 57 interactive maps. We worked hard to make all the information easy to follow but not overwhelming by employing the dropdowns, etc. We put design cues in so you would understand what is undercover video vs. regular video, who were testers vs. real estate agents.
Krenek explains that the QA on this itself took many weeks because of the complexity of making it work well on all platforms and the amount of info on the maps that had to be scrutinized.
The documentary is 40 minutes and has a high completion rate and the investigation is attracting viewers from all over the country.
“I’m extraordinarily proud of the Newsday team that produced this in-depth, data-driven investigation that exposed the inequities in home-buying on Long Island. This landmark project continues Newsday’s tradition of being the watchdog for Long Island. Now more than ever, local journalism matters. We worked to bring our findings alive on all platforms – and especially mobile where many of our readers and viewers spend their time these days,” says publisher Krenek.
Premium content that pays off
This Newsday investigative report is the type of content that a majority of readers are willing to pay for, and that’s what we hear in focus groups globally. Stories that are very local, consequential and resonate with readers and their lives are what premium content is all about.
Well done, Newsday, and keep an eye on how many new readers you attract as a result of this effort.
Read the full story here
https://projects.newsday.com/long-island/real-estate-agents-investigation/
The feedback, coverage, repercussions of the story
Official call for action on Newsday housing report findings:
State AG Tish James to open probe:
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/investigations/james-housing-unequal-treatment-1.38728169
Suffolk County Exec Steve Bellone has plan:
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/bellone-housing-discrimination-newsday-1.38724066
New York Times: What Happens When Black People Search for Suburban Homes
WNYC/All Things Considered (Arthur & Olivia on air)
Business Insider: A 3-year Newsday investigation found Long Island real-estate agents’ widespread unequal treatment against Hispanic, Asian, and black homebuyers
Daily Beast: Long Island Realtors Consistently Discriminate Against Minorities: Newsday
- Good Morning America taped segment in Newsday newsroom Tuesday, 11/19
- Roland Martin Unfiltered, A daily digital program did skype report with Newsday reporters on Tuesday, 11/19
- PBS MetroFocus (planning show for early December)
WSHU/Public Radio (interviews on Friday 11/22)
- NCC Radio/90.3 WHPC/The Voice of Nassau Community College
- LIBN (Editor Joe Dowd writing column praising our project)
- Editor & Publisher –planning coverage TBD
- On Point /NPR/WBUR radio –interview planned for Monday 11/25
COMMUNITY REACTION:
ERASE Racism Calls on Local, State, and Federal Governments and the Real Estate Industry to
Address Widespread Housing Discrimination on Long Island
http://www.eraseracismny.org/component/content/article/28/844
Listen to my Monocle Radio interview with Tyler Brulé here
This episode of Monocle’s The Stack was recorded live during the launch of my book, The Story, in Zurich, November 20 before a live audience. Tyler Brulé and I talk about the state of the media today, the makings of The Story, as well as the meaning of doing print happily in the mobile first era. Tune in here:
https://monocle.com/radio/shows/the-stack/378/play/
From Monocle Weekend
THE INTERROGATOR / EDITION 30
https://monocle.com/minute/2019/09/21/
Mario García
Editorial consultant Mario García has advised the most important newsrooms in the world on design – and how best adapt to a digital transition. More than 700 publications, from The Wall Street Journal to the South China Morning Post, have received his strategic steer. Other than being an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of Journalism, he also runs his own consultancy firm: García Media. Nowadays his speciality is how digital devices influence narrative structure and consumption; his latest book, The Story, was written specifically to be read on a phone. Here, though, he confesses to a few analogue pleasures.
What they are saying about The Story!
The Story is here!
You can now download my new mobile storytelling book, The Story, from Apple Books at $6.99
This is Book 1 of a Trilogy! The other two books coming soon.
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-story-volume-i/id1480169411
The newspaper remains the most powerful source of storytelling on the planet. But technology threatens its very existence. To survive, the Editor must transform, adapt, and manage the newsroom in a new way. Order The Story by Mario Garcia, chief strategist for the redesign of over 700 newspapers around the world.
My chat with in Monocle Radio
Listen to my chat in Monocle Radio’s The Stack: Latest episode‘The Face’ and ‘The Story’:We welcome the return of the print version of ‘The Face’ and talk to legendary newspaper designer Mario Garcia about his latest book, ‘The Story’.
https://monocle.com/radio/shows/the-stack/368/play/
My interview with CNN en Español
I was a guest in the program Encuentro, hosted by Guillermo Arduino daily at CNN en Español. The interview was about how we read on mobile devices and my introduction of my new mobile storytelling book, The Story, to a Spanish-language audience.
Mario’s speaking engagements
November 20, 2019
Presentation of The Story in Zurich, Switzerland, at launch party (by invitattion only). Sponsored by Monocle The Stack.
March 13, 2020
Keynote presentation at the National Media College Association Spring Convention, New York City, NY>
Order print edition of The Story
You can order the print edition of my new mobile storytelling book, The Story, from Amazon already here:
An interview of interest
http://www.itertranslations.com/blog/2019/3/11/fd60ybflpvlqrgrpdp5ida5rq0c3sp
TheMarioBlog post # 3164