Critiquing Multimedia 2/3

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24021232/

I am sure you have had those days when all the hours in the day just do not seem enough. On to multimedia critique number two.

My second article is "Parker's grand finale lifts Lady Vols to title." Like the one before it, this article is also published by the Associated Press.

The Associated Press and Reuters are two of the leading media houses across the world. I especially love their photography; their shots are truly a sight to behold.

It was more the accompanying photo than the headline that grabbed me. The photo is very effective. The photographer captured the excitement of the moment. It was well composed. Notice how the photographer sacrificed the lower parts of the bodies so that he could zoom in on the emotional display. The manipulation of depth of field also added to the shot as the subjects stood out against the blurred background. The placement of the photo, right next to the first three paragraphs, also enhanced the story.

I liked the lead. It was very effective. It drew me into the story. The use of words such as "bruised" and "braced" helped to paint a good picture of the adversities that Parker had to overcome to play this particular match.

Reading the first three or so paragraphs I was impressed because the reporter elevated what could have been a run of the mill who won what, where and how kind of story to a nice news feature type article.

Again there is an ad. that breaks the flow.

The college basketball video links under the photo on the right are applicable. While they do not focus on the same sex they share the same broad theme which is college basketball. When I clicked on "Kansas takes the championship" I was awed by the beautiful Olympics ad that ran before the video clip. The clip itself was of good quality and the use of black background was aesthetically pleasing while making the video easier to see.

Underneath the video links is a set of opinion links - also on college basketball. They are not bad but I would have liked to see something focused on women. The article is about women's basketball and putting links to something about women would balance the use of the men's videos above.

Overall the multimedia piece was too text heavy. By the end of the article it became less of a story and more about statistics. After the college basketball segments there is only one other multimedia element - a slide show. It largely focused on men. Of the 12 photos viewed only one featured women and they were swimmers not basketball players.

The piece could have been greatly enhanced by audio clips from Parker and/or her team mates. More photos from the game could have been used in the body of the piece. The article is represented by another photo in the synopsis on the main page; it could have been used on the actual article page as well. Also one or more video clips of the best shots of the game would be good.