POY Multimedia Winners

Thanyarat Doksone

I found all triumphant works in Pictures of the Year’s Best Multimedia Story or Essay category truly awe-inspiring.

After taking a look at it, I hardly doubted why “Final Salute” won the first prize. Not only had the reporter and the photographer employed most aspects of multimedia resources in their story-telling, but also the Rocky Mountain News seemed to know which means of media elements would have the most impact on its readers. It dedicated the main part of the article to the descriptive, impressive and praiseworthy essay, of which I found was a compelling way to prepare the readers for the next elements of media: audio slideshow, video, and discussion forum. The tone of the report was carefully controlled, so the readers could smoothly run through all sections without experiencing any mood interruptions or sudden emotional transitions while looking at the story.

“A third tour of duty in Iraq” portrayed a full-blown experience of multimedia reporting. It showed how effective the story could be when the viewers were given a variety of medium choices to pick. The audiovisual elements allowed the viewers to observe the story from a closer perspective, like the subjects was talking directly to them, not to the reporters.

Meanwhile, “Dali Around the City” showed a different angle of multimedia feature. Without descriptive words, it let the viewers explore the story via vibrant audio and visual presentations. This way, the viewers were aroused by a thirst to know more about the idea behind the composition and, most importantly, the subject in the story.