The majority of the work for my multimedia package is now complete. I have finished my four text modules as well as my google map, graphic, and slideshow. Now I must write my introduction and spice up the homepage by playing around with the design and appearance. There is no better time than now to reflect on the work I’ve done this semester as the finish line approaches.

The first lesson I learned was one that Professor Lieb said that some of us would learn throughout the course of the semester. He warned the class to think very carefully about the topic we chose for the multimedia project. My idea of gathering stories from families that have struggled with autism seemed like a great idea initially. As the semester progressed, however, it became harder and harder to obtain many of the resources I assumed would come easy. Parents were very protective of what they shared and discussed and physicians could not speak directly about particular cases. I feel that I made the best of the situation but if I could turn the clock back to September I would choose another topic. I also learned that news writing is quite different from feature writing.

I enjoyed all aspects of the class including the blog posts, the critique, and the multimedia package itself. I didn’t have much experience working on the Web coming into the class. I learned more than I anticipated. I never viewed myself as someone who is sharp with technology but I can now say I know more about working with the Web than most people I know – which is certainly valuable considering the future of news. Future classes should have a great time with this course. I would not change a thing.

For my multimedia package critique I analyzed “Lebrew Jones and the Death of Micki Hall.” When opening the page I was presented with an editor’s note or an introduction which I found most helpful considering that I had little knowledge of the subject. The intro tells of a man named Lebrew Jones who has been imprisoned for the past 20 years after he was convicted of murdering a prostitute in Manhattan. It also tells of an investigative reporter named Christine Young whose findings have provided evidence that Jones may in fact be innocent of the crime for which he has served two decades behind bars. The intro alludes to the impact Young’s findings have had on Jones and on the mother of the victim as well. Pictures of Jones, Young, and Hall’s mother are made available on the page as well as images of a courtroom, New York City, and police headquarters. The introduction is a flash presentation and also includes a warning to viewers that some of the images in the following story are graphic in nature. I felt the introduction was key to the effectiveness of the package overall.  It really sets the scene and creates a degree of interest.

Once I advanced past the intro I was taken to the homepage of the site. I was presented with 10 thumbnail pictures that take you to written text by Young about 10 different aspects of the story when clicked upon. If I click on the thumbnail in the upper left corner, however, I can progress through the story seamlessly (but not chronologically) from one thumbnail to the other (it is supposed to be viewed this way I am assuming but the site also allows you to go straight to the part of the story you might be interested in by clicking on any number of the thumbnails on the homepage).

Young does a remarkable job of tying together the lifelong stories of Lebrew Jones and Micki Hall and how they both ended up in New York City on the night of Hall’s murder. Through a variety of facets Young presents Jones’ innocence, which is the intended purpose of the package. Through detailed interviews, eyewitness accounts, contradictory statements and evidence, as well as pictures and videos, Young makes an overwhelmingly convincing case in favor of Jones’ innocence. She interviewed retired Major Betty Baker of the Salvation Army who has documentation that she was with Micki Hall at the time police say Hall was murdered by Jones, whose only tie to the area was that he worked as a security guard. Young has police interrogation video which suggests clearly that Jones was persuaded to respond in a certain fashion and that his responses were framed (Jones knew nothing of the body until police briefed him on every detail of the murder which they later denied doing). She also details another similar murder that occurred only 12 hours apart from the Hall murder across town and uses a map to show that Jones would have been unable, between his two work shifts, to commit either of the two murders that occurred that night given the timeframe (prosecutors refused to address this in court).

Other video features are used quite effectively as well, including an interview with Hall’s mother, who says even she believes Jones did not kill her daughter and one with Jones’ younger brother. There are also videos detailing Jones and Hall’s childhoods.

Below the 10 thumbnails are several other options that are quite useful. There’s a video page that allows the reader to view the videos without having to read through all of the text present throughout the thumbnails. There’s also a detailed crime scene map with photographs of where the incident occurred as well as gruesome pictures of Hall’s mutilated body. Also included are a timeline, story updates, and credits. Young includes her E-mail address as well. As it stands, the case has been re-opened but Jones remains behind bars. He is currently awaiting DNA tests that could clear him, according to a recent article by Young.

One thing I did not like about the package was that the text portion was not chronological. I understand why it was done this way as a former reporter because this is often how television news stories are presented and that’s what Young makes her living doing. But to the average reader it might come across as confusing. That is why it was a good idea to have the timeline included as well. Overall it’s a great package that did its job in making me feel appalled towards how law enforcement and legal systems have operated at times.

Another week has passed and I have yet another MAJOR obstacle to overcome. My slide show is currently a big question mark for me. Several weeks ago I attended a bowling event sponsored by the Baltimore chapter of the Autism Society of America but I discarded the pictures because I planned to go to a better event – the “Festival of Trees” hosted by the Kennedy Krieger Institute at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. However, my flight home from a holiday trip, which took longer than anticipated, did not allow me to get many of the shots I was hoping and planning to get – namely of children. I grabbed some quick shots that I could of kids while forgetting, in my need to rush, that without parental consent I cannot show the pictures of the children! I have pictures of some of the winning trees and wreaths and ornaments from the event but I’m unsure just how I am going to turn these pictures into an interesting slide show and in to a great story. My multimedia package overall has not turned out how I imagined from the onset that it would. Looking back, there are countless other ideas that I would have been better served to explore as a semester project. My autism idea is seemingly falling apart at the end when it counts most. I am going to have to come up with something brilliant over the next 24 hours or I’m in some trouble. Throwing in the towel isn’t in my nature. I’m going to make this work one way or another.

Unfortunately, that’s not the only problem. My final text module which will cover the physician’s perspective of diagnosing and treating autism has hit a minor snag as well but it’s one I think I can overcome. The physicians I spoke with just yesterday tell me they cannot speak about particular cases. That is, they cannot speak of specific children due to privacy issues which is something I never thought to ask previously. I wanted to include this aspect to my story but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be happening. I will have to focus more on the physicians themselves and what their story is; why they have chosen the career path; what’s most rewarding about their job; etc. I heard an interesting story from a friend who got into working with autistic children because of an experience with her ailing grandmother several years ago that could make a great story but overall I’m just not happy about how this is all turning out. The unforeseen obstacles are putting me between a rock and a hard place. I don’t know exactly what to do and I’m quite frustrated but remain confident. Suggestions?

Now that the venting is out of the way I’ll turn to my research for the week. I checked out an article about sound-processing in autistic kids in the Washington Post. The new research, the findings of which were presented today, offers a greater understanding of why autistic children have listening and language issues. This article is of particular interest to me as it relates to the story angle I mentioned previously involving my friend and her grandmother and why she got into audiology and working with autistic children. Her speciality is listening and language skills so it will be interesting to get her take when I speak with her later today. The findings may have a big impact on treatment and therapy planning.

I’m having trouble finding an ideal family to speak with about their experiences with adult autism. It’s been a bit of a set-back for my fourth and final text module (the extra module for grad credit). I may have to go in another direction if something doesn’t pan out soon.

As for my slideshow that’s due next week, I am not thrilled with the pictures I took at a bowling event for the Baltimore-Chesapeake Chapter of the Autism Society of America. The pictures do not quite tell the story I was hoping to capture. There is a great event that’s upcoming that would be much better in mind. Here’s the posting I found online: “Even with all those elves, the fat man himself couldn’t have designed a better fantasy world than Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Festival of Trees. It’s a three-day extravaganza of fairyland forests, gingerbread towns and toy train gardens, complimented by over 100 craft boutiques, holiday goodies and activities for kids of all ages.” The event raises funds for patient programs and research projects at  Kennedy Krieger.

As research this week I took a look at other instances of children who were seemingly cured of autism over time – the same way the young boy Mason was cured in the last text module I posted. The story Raising an Autistic Child is really a dialogue between readers and a doctor about particular autism cases. Some cases are quite similar to Mason’s. I find it interesting how different other cases can be. This excerpt was incredibly moving: “I wonder how many of the kids who COULD improve ultimately don’t because their families simply don’t have the ability to make the necessary sacrifices and can’t afford the therapies that help. I hope that stories like yours make people realize that there is a societal benefit to providing services early to improve long-term outcomes. We -just- got off the five-year-long waiting list for services in Maryland through the state autism waiver — I wonder sometimes if we had had those services six years ago, would my son be ‘cured’ now, or at least significantly better off.”

This week I interviewed the Moreno family for the third text module of my multimedia project. I went to the Moreno’s home and spoke with Sam and Denise and to their son Mason who was diangosed with autism at the age of 4. Mason has a remarkable story of healing. At 12 years-old, Mason no longer shows any of the symptoms of autism. He does all the things a normal boy his age does and he will never have to tell anyone that ever had autism in the first place. It was great to hear from the family how things turned for the better and how their son can live independently as an adult rather than as an adult with autism who needs special supervision. This case is obviously rare and cannot be explained easily by doctors. But one thing seems apparent: anything is possible and families have to keep faith.

Mason is certainly lucky in that he was able to overcome the disorder. But he was always lucky because of his family’s financial situation. Occupational and speech therapy are quite expensive. Insurance issues persist throughout America when it comes to autism-care coverage. The article the “Long Fight Over Autism Care Could End” details the movement towards increased coverage in Wisconsin where, according to the article, insurance does not cover most autism treatments. Maryland, in fact, is one of only six states that has specific laws regarding autism coverage.

I find this problematic. I can’t imagine the numbers of family’s who simply cannot afford or do not qualify to receive the help they need for treatment. It’s clear the therapies can make a world of difference. The coverage must become more accessible for all Americans and the topic even entered the presidential debates between Barack Obama and John McCain.

For research this week I examined an article that was actually posted this morning on the Website of ABC News. The article is titled Trying to Solve Autism’s Mysteries: Seeking Solutions to Autism’s Elusive Questions. The article details several families’ stories including the story of a young boy, Preston, who was diagnosed with autism at young age. The boy is said to no longer have the disorder. Autism is often described as a life-long condition. In fact, one of my modules for my multimedia package will involve adult autism. But Preston’s remarkable “healing” seems to contradict conventional logic and modern medicine. The case-in-point also further proves just how many unanswered questions remain when it comes to autism. The dropped diagnosis is extremely rare but it may give hope to families and scientists and doctors alike.

As I mentioned, I will be doing a story on adult autism. I’ll be in contact with Ellen Feifarek with the Baltimore-Chesapeake Chapter of the Autism Society of America.  An adult autism resource group meeting will be held on November 11^th which I plan to attend. Also, I was unaware that Towson University has their own Center for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the College of Health Professions on campus. Lisa Crabtree is the director. I will be making contact with her as well. I could go one of two ways with these contacts. I can get their stories in what it’s like to work with families battling adult autism. Or, I can arrange to meet and speak with a family about their struggles. I might even be able to come across someone like Preston who has had his or her diagnosis dropped.

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Questions for Brian:

Did you cover the presidential race in any detail?

Are you glad the race is over?

What’s the big story now that it is over?

Favorite story you have covered for the Times?

A story you would like to cover at some point?

The first site I visited for my blog-post reaction for this week was the Washington Post Camera Works  site. The site’s sole purpose is to tell stories using little more than visual media. When the site opens there is a link to the top-story, or most recent story, followed by links to numerous other stories that are listed below. Each link will take you to a series of photographs in the form of slide shows and flipbooks on the given topic (in some cases video features are available). The slide shows and flipbooks come in many different styles (scrolling slide shows and numbered ones) and cover a wide-range of topics from the presidential race to the Washington Redskins to the World Series and Jennifer Hudson-family murder mystery. There’s a link on the left-hand side of the page that breaks the pictures into categories (i.e. politics, arts & living, nation, world, etc.) The number of pictures used to tell each story seems to vary but twenty pictures is about the average. Most of the pictures include a caption or short explanation of what is taking place in each picture as the action and the storyline progress. Links are also made available beneath each slideshow that will take you to a full-story on the topic and to other related content. I found the site quite entertaining, useful, and well put together. It was easy for me to find what I was looking for on the site and sometimes pictures can tell a better story than the largest quantity of words, especially when it comes to a lot of what’s going on in the world today in foreign countries and on distant battlefields. The slide show titled “Eyes on the World” was one of the most fascinating of the examples. The slide show includes 23 pictures from all over the world explaining events from the past week. The captions are very important in these instances since the topic is quite broad.

The MSNBC Multimedia page is similar to the Washington Post site in that it covers numerous topics news, entertainment, sports, travel, science and technology, etc., but it’s designed differently. The topics are broken down into separate sections on the site (with as many as 14 stories in each section) rather than being listed on the side of the page. The actual slide shows are just the same as the Washington Post page, coming in various forms and quantities with captions explaining what is taking place in the picture. One of the slide shows I viewed lacked a legitimate storyline but it was certainly good viewing. The slide show included nothing but pictures of NFL cheerleaders from this past weekend’s game. Pictures include captions such as “A Houston Texans cheerleader performs during play against the Detroit Lions” in this wonderful image, and “Abigail Klein of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders performs during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Texas Stadium.” Such explanations aren’t as necessary for these images as they are for hard news stories.

I have been in contact with the Baltimore/Chesapeake Chapter of the Autism Society of America about their upcoming bowling event on the 28^th of October. The event, which is held at least twice a month, brings families battling autism together for an afternoon of fun and sharing. Conversing with families dealing with the same struggle is important for learning purposes and even for strength. It is at this event that I will be taking pictures to put together a slide show complete with interviews as a multimedia module. Through the organization I will also be getting in touch with a family dealing with adult autism, which is often overlooked, for another text module. I think people sometimes forget that children with autism grow-up to be adults with autism and even as adults these people still need special care and attention. It truly is a life-long battle.

Much of my focus has been on the fact that there is no known cause or cure for autism, despite the alarming increase in reported cases in the past several years not just in the United States but globally. There is no doubt that it will likely cost millions of dollars in research to find answers. We all know at this point in time how volatile the economy is and the question is: is there money available to fund such research. I found an article involving Sarah Palin (who is the mother of a special needs child) related to the topic of funding autism research.  An excerpt from the article: “Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin says autism is an issue ‘near and dear’ to her heart and she can’t wait to get to work helping more than 5,000 Nevada families affected by it.  However, when pressed, she was unable to provide details on a plan to do that… [Her] running mate John McCain said in the third and final presidential debate, ‘We must find out the cause of autism and help those families dealing with autism.’  McCain also promised to freeze all unnecessary spending in the federal budget.” It’s clear to see the contradiction in Palin’s comments and McCain’s promise. The McCain/Palin ticket has not made it clear how they intend to afford such research, how much they will spend, and what other programs will be cut in order to provide the funding. This is not good news for the families they are making promises to who continue to struggle.

The article does point out a more articulated plan by McCain’s opponent. “Barack Obama has released a specific plan to help the families dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  He has promised $1 billion annually in support and services by the end of his first term as president.  He has also promised to appoint a Federal Autism Spectrum Disorder Coordinator to oversee all federal efforts and fully fund the Combating Autism Act.”

I am curious to know who the families I have and will be interviewing will be voting for come November based on the respective stances.