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.