multimedia winners

Andrell Bower
I'm inclined to say the Rocky Mountain News multimedia story certainly earned its first-place spot, especially when the runner-up was the USA Today story. But I'm not sure if I think that way because of how in-depth the story was in general. The RMN story was more obviously a print story that was turned into a web package, whereas the second-place story seemed as though it could have been conceived as an online piece.
Although I thought the RMN story excelled in content, the production of both stories could have been improved.
The RMN story didn't have an actual video, despite the video section they had in the package. That video was just a repeat of a portion of the slide. I don't think putting audio over a slide show makes it a video, but perhaps I'm wrong. I think any multimedia story could improve with the addition of video, and when the RMN gave the year-long assignment to the reporter and photographer, perhaps they just weren't thinking enough in terms of multimedia to direct the photographer to shoot video. Or perhaps he wasn't trained to, which reinforces the usefulness of "backpack" or multimedia journalists. Something to consider, however, is the appropriateness of video. The photos were probably a more tasteful way to capture the grief of the families. One annoying thing about the story was the pdf links to the print version. Surely they could have made it into one interactive pdf instead of making me download a bunch of pages individually!
The USA Today story was disappointing in its shallowness. The introduction to the person they were featuring was either pathetic or I missed something. I hope no one at USA Today thinks a fancy multimedia presentation is a substitute for content. On a positive note, having audio of the 22-year-old had impact. It's one thing to read the man was 22, but to hear the youth in his voice really crystallized the fact he is barely an adult on his third Iraq tour of duty. The amount of video was a plus, but I question the appropriateness of some of it, for example, the video of the home search. Even Iraqis need privacy. (duh - I'm being somewhat sarcastic here).
In any case, it's nice to see recognition for multimedia efforts.