Flash

When you think about it, flash journalism (and audio slideshows, in particular) is a relatively simple idea. There's nothing particularly new about it - it simply combines multiple elements into one running visual and audio product. I usually find it to be the most engaging and effective method of portraying a story, often times even more so than a video clip.

An audio slideshow is similar to video in that they both combine images, natural sound, and the voice of the subject and/or reporter. With the slideshow, however, you have more control over what the consumer notices. Still images are very powerful in the way they draw your eyes to a particular feature, and you are more likely to notice something in the background that you might otherwise have missed. By timing up the audio to mesh well with the pictures, the audience will be more likely to retain what is being said. Also, the viewer can go at a pace he/she prefers - it's a step by step, move-on-when-you're-ready medium.

Other forms of flash, such as an interactive map, are useful in their own rights. Such a map gives users the sense that they are in control of what they're absorbing; this is true of a website in general, but flash can draw attention to the information more effectively in a visual sense. There is no time limit, there is more room to be creative, and it becomes a two-way street in that the reporter is offering up the information and the viewer has to be engaged to choose what he/she is watching/listening/reading.