With its spectacular graphics and photography, and its beautifully written narrative, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek†was a compelling project, even for those who might not have been particularly interested in the topic.
The effort, which appeared last week, received around 2.9 million visits, and the visitors shared some qualities that are much desired by The Times. First, many of them â€" maybe as many as one-third - were new visitors to The Times. Second, they spent a lot of time with the project, about 12 minutes, which amounts to eons for a single digital story.
In an e-mail to the newsroom, Jill Abramson, the executive editor, called it a “wildly new reading experience.†She summed it up by noting that “rarely have we been able to create a compelling destination outside the home page that was so engaging in such a short period of time on the Web.â€
Clearly, this is something The Times hopes to do more of, and others will undoubtedly do it, as well. The Web site PaidContent wrote about it at length in a piece this week on a major media trend of 2012, “The Rise of the E-Single.â€
Not every Times reader was happy with every aspect of the project, though. John Ray of Fairfield, Conn., objected to its being treated as a “breaking news alert,†which was one of the ways The Times let its readers know of its existence. He wrote that wording of the alert, “The Avalance at Tunnel Creek,†created anxiety:
Considering what we in our region, especially here in Connecticut, have been through lately, another possible disaster or horrible story made me jump. I shortly learned this was an evergreen p iece someone at The Times decided to promote in a very inappropriate way.
Bob Dowling of Rowayton, Conn., recognized its unusual quality but would prefer The Times to spend its efforts on meatier topics:
As a skier and mountain climber I care a lot about avalanches. But even I needed to reserve an hour the next day to read the section and wondered why. Wonderfully written and reported but so what!…
So I wondered: what if they spent six months and 14 pages with that kind of detailed reporting on the kids killed in Newtown. Asking “How does it feel at the moment when a .223 Bushmaster dum-dum bullet enters the forehead? How about 11 of them? How do you squeeze off six rounds a second?
Have the reporter try it, have a pro try it. Give us the visual. Even better, set up the classroom with dummy kids and do the scene in print and visual with sound. Compare it to a video game that Adam Lanza played. That kind of detailed reconst ruction could change the terms of the gun debate.
Clearly, The Times is experimenting with new forms of storytelling â€" and new ways to thrive in the digital age.
Another reader, Asa Pefferman, offered effusive praise and a hint of its important appeal to a new generation:
I was blown away by the avalanche text-video piece you guys did and I just wanted to let you know that it was great. I'm 24, get all my news online, and have never considered subscribing to any news service but that whole presentation made me reconsider. Please do more of that and don't let it be just an experiment. Also, as a graphic designer, I really appreciate a nice layout, and that was a big part of the appeal. So thanks for the good experience!
While I don't dismiss the concerns of some readers, the project was an impressive new way to tell a compelling story. Its popularity bodes well for a newspaper company that is reinventing itself â €" because, like all newspaper companies, it must.
