Multimedia journalism

Emotional print and online story explores a mysterious, rare disease

Explore Howard, a paper in Howard County, Maryland, just released an AMAZING piece of journalism detailing prader-willi syndrome. This mysterious disease results from the partial depletion of the 15th chromosome, leading to a chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to excessive eating and life-threatening obesity. The package, titled ‘I will always feed you’, truly proves the power of strong print and visual journalism.

The reporter did a remarkable job weaving the present with the past; the day-to-day struggle with the background of the disorder. The time and dedication spent on this story is evident, and really pays off. The father and son’s emotions are raw, and told in an unbiased manner to let the reader better absorb their lifestyle. You become a part of the story as you watch their relationship unfold from the outside, looking in. It’s a beautifully told story and one that leaves a powerful resonance with the reader.

I love how the video begins. “Hungry, hungry, hungry.” You become transfixed in the first 30 seconds. Aligning the words with the pictures to a beat is powerful. The natural sounds, like the ticking of the clock, work extremely well to weave the narration together. My only critique is that at the end, the father becomes emotional when he states that his son is not handicapped and you can hear the struggle in this voice. I would have loved to see this struggle rather than only hear it. I’m not sure if the player breaks at the end or if it really is the end, but besides the technical glitch, I still commend this journalist for the excellent gathering and editing of the content into the amazing work that it became.

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© 19 June 2008 Innovative Interactivity (II).