Antarctic Dispatches (Gillis et al., 2018) is a three-part piece of immersive journalism, written by Justin Gillis. With maps and graphics by Derek Watkins and Jeremy White, photographs by Jonathan Corum, video by Evan Grothjan and Graham Roberts and additional production by Gregor Aisch, Larry Buchanan and Rumsey Taylor for the New York Times news website (“Breaking News, World News & Multimedia”, 2018). The three-part interactive article series examines the toll that climate change and rising temperatures are having on the Antarctic continent through text, pictures, animated maps and videos.

As an explicit criteria describing ‘what digital literature is’ is still evolving for the purpose of this review the articles will be examined using the following areas as focuses; literary content, navigation, look and feel, functionality, and interactivity, as well as the overall effectiveness of all of these elements within a digital context.

Gillis has written a well-sequenced and researched article on the changes occurring in Antarctica. Using first-hand experience and knowledge to write the text for this immersive article. To date Gillis has written over 10 articles on the subject of climate change and is in the process of writing a book on the subject (“Justin Gillis”, 2018). His recorded expertise in the area adds wait to the article’s content and extrapolations.

Whilst the reader may bring their own prior knowledge to the article, the intention to educate and inform through the sharing of factual information from researchers and academics currently in Antarctica is clear (Leacock & Nesbit, 2007). It has real life impact, involving readers in the changing face of Antarctica and the research happening there (Rosman, 2015).

Maps

Interactive Maps Screenshot from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/18/climate/antarctica-ice-melt-climate-change.html

Watkins’ and White’s (2017) animated and informative maps allow the reader to access the information on a visual level. In Part 1 of the article Watkins’ and White’s animation of the flowing ice adds context to the text. This is the first piece of information the reader encounters and eases the reader into the more complex discussion of the topic, which follows in text form. These maps, other multimodal aspects of the article and the separation into three distinct parts work in conjunction to place the reader in a position to choose their own level of engagement (Deuze, 2004).

The 3 part article is in essence an Enhanced eBook (Lamb, 2011) directly accessed through an online website. It comprises interactive and animated elements that augment the information within the text and has used minimal video content and hypertext to link to additional content (Lamb, 2011). The media forms have been effectively utilised to present segments of the information in an engaging and informative way (Stevens, 2014). Allowing readers to construct meaning and understanding (Kitson, 2011). There is an opportunity for readers to interact with the text with both Facebook and Twitter share buttons available at the top right of the screen (McKetta, 2014). However the only true interactive aspect of the articles, where readers can increase their control and explore in a non-linear fashion (Kitson, 2011) are the three immersive videos included at the end of each part, allowing readers to actively interact by choosing the direction of view when flying over Antarctica (Gillis et al., 2018)

Video

Interactive Video Screenshot from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/18/climate/antarctica-ice-melt-climate-change.html

The scrolling function used to navigate the 3 parts of this piece of immerse journalism directs the readers’ experience, thus creating a linear reading experience that motivates the reader to explore. The three part nature of the piece and the accessibility of viewing either, one, all or none of the remaining parts allows readers of this digital text the choice and ability to interact with the subject matter in their own time and at their own pace (Deuze, 2004).

The article is accessed through the New York Times website, which does require a subscription to view articles (“Breaking News, World News & Multimedia”, 2018). This in itself may limit the audience, but at the same time due to the New York Times well established reputation and archiving systems (“Breaking News, World News & Multimedia”, 2018)ensure the article is available for prospective readers well into the future.

The article is available on multiple platforms and although the detail and complexity of the multimodal maps are easier to view on a PC it loses no impact on other smaller devices, still creating an engaging and informative immersive experience. It lends itself directly to the content of the Stage 3 Geography syllabus (NSW, 2018) as it is easily viewed on a large presentation screen.

Overall Antarctic Dispatches is an excellent example of immersive journalism that allows a reader to actively create knowledge through interaction with the visual and text components of the article, at a pace and level suitable to their own learning and ability.

 

References

Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/

Deuze, M. (2004). What is multimedia journalism? Journalism Studies, 5(2), 139-152. doi:10.1080/1461670042000211131

Gillis, J., Corum, J., Grothjan, E., Roberts, G., Taylor, R., Watkins, D., & White, J. (2018). Miles of Ice Collapsing Into the Sea. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/18/climate/antarctica-ice-melt-climate-change.html

Justin Gillis. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/by/justin-gillis

Kitson, L. (2011). Reconceptualising understandings of texts, readers and contexts: One english teacher’s response to using multimodal texts and interactive whiteboards. English in Australia, 46(3).

Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Retrieved from Canada:

Leacock, T. L., & Nesbit, J. C. (2007). A framework for evaluating the quality of multimedia learning resources. Journal of Educational Administration, 10(2).

McKetta, I. (2014). “But how do I know if it’s good?” How you can evaluate content quality (and ditch content anxiety).   Retrieved from https://moz.com/blog/evaluate-content-quality-the-easy-way

NSW, B. (2018). NSW Syllabus :: Home. Retrieved from https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/

Rosman, R. (2015) ProPublic’s Scott Klein and Terry Parris Jr. on audience engagement/Interviewer: R. Rosman. Interactive Journalism.

Stevens, J. (2014). Tutorial: Multlimedia storytelling: Learn the secrets from the experts. Advanced Media Institute. Retrieved from https://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/starttofinish/