with actual text from this blog post.
Authentic mobile storytelling is all about weaving elements together: text, videos, audio, images. Readers of TheMarioBlog are aware that when we read on our mobile devices, we scroll. The activity is entirely about vertical scrolling as we read a story. We read and we see, but we also listen. So far, I have seen better embedding of videos than audio in mobile stories, until I saw this example from The New York Times, with a story that is the perfect candidate to make sound the protagonist.
In this piece about Maria Callas, the greatest opera diva of all time, the writer gets into very specific details about the way Callas used her voice, or a short pause, to add meaning and drama to the words she was singing.
However, instead of breaking from text to the usual audio embed, here we see a small, non-intrusive icon that invites the reader to click and listen to the very line that the writer refers to. For example:
Or, as we see here. Notice that the narrative leads to the audio clip then continues. Just like videos have become “paragraphs” in mobile stories, here we can see how sound can become the predicate of a sentence.
This is how mobile storytelling is supposed to be, engaging the reader through a variety of textures, appealing to different senses.
While this New York Times story was about music and singing, I can see the same technique utilized to intercept a partial quote in the middle of text for news and feature stories. What a great experience for the reader. What phenomenal way for storytellers to tell their stories. As I say repeatedly, these are the best times to be a storyteller.
The New York Times just showed us how a writer can add tools to her bag.
Way to go, New York Times. We can all learn from you here.
While Maria Callas was meant to be the protagonist of this story, to me it was those short clips of her voice, woven into the text narrative, that hit the highest notes.
Of related interest: previous about Mobile Storytelling in TheMarioBlog
Also:
How we use AI
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https://www.newsroomrobots.com/p/how-10-news-industry-leaders-use
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AI front and center
As I put finishing touches on the manuscript of my new book, AI: The Next Revolution for Content Creation, I am aware that the number of AI-related headlines that appear in my mailbox daily is on the increase, frustrating the author of a book that must have a date of completion, and realizing that in today’s fast paced technological advance environment, books must have websites created for updates.
For more about my new AI book, go here:
Of related interest
https://newspaperdesign.in/ai-is-the-next-big-media-revolutionmario-garcia/
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:
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Order the print edition of The Story, from Amazon, here:
The Story, en español:
TheMarioBlog post #3382