Visual Story Telling.
The presentation of topical news in newspapers has made its way into a new media - visualization. With the Internet as a loyal companion, even videos on current issues can be viewed by interested readers.
Large fires, air crashes, avalanches, mountain slides - how to deal with those major events in the printed media? In many European countries newspapers have long since started to use visual means to put their readers in the picture, knowing that eighty per cent of the information taken in is conveyed through our eyes. For that reason, the jury of the Eleventh European Newspaper A ward has established the new category "Visual Story Telling".
Of course, objections have been raised by the more traditionally oriented journalists who regard the printed media as a stronghold of the word. And in fact, writing skills have been the decisive tools of the journalistic trade in German speaking countries. But with regard to present trends of information, a journalist's training should also include the handling of visuals for ef fective news reporting. 		After all, journalists are not authors in disguise, but news communicators.
Eye-track studies carried out by the Poynter Institute in 2007 have proved that information of fered through a variety of means such as pictures, text, service boxes and infographics have a more lasting effect than those provided primarily by language. For more details see http://eyetrack.poynter.org. Visualizaton and distribution of information into dif ferent channels is much more likely to achieve the intended ef fect of journalistic work, namely transmitting the news of the day. The samples on the following pages serve as outstanding examples of visual journalism. A common trait is the use of one large picture which is accompanied by a number of smaller ones.
A Spectacular Start. "Bergens Tidende", Norway's second largest newspaper issued in a half Nordic format, has cleared their front page for a large photo of a fire in the historic city centre. Thus, this event is given major importance among the news of the day. Reports on the fire follow on pages four to nine, a total of three double pages.

A Clear Decision. Day after day the editorial staffs have to decide about which photo to take and how many photos to show. "Bergens Tidende" have decided for few, but large pictures. Often, the weight of the information is carried by a single photo.
Brief Articles. The text on the three double pages dealing with the fire is divided into a great number of small paragraphs broken up by captions, quotes and service boxes.
Rescued. The photo on the left shows a group of youths who managed to escape from the flames. Inserted in the photo on the top right are text units explaining the work of the fire brigade.
Ruins. The large picture on this double page shows the condition after the fire has been extinguished. The smoking ruins are still being guarded.
Reportage in a Photo. With a great number of pictures to choose from, it might have been a difficult job for the editorial staff to pick out the one which tells the whole story in a single photo: the fire engines lined up, the firefighting teams at work, the tangle of fire hoses on the ground and water fountains shooting from their nozzles.

Timeline. The paragraphs on the left give an account of the firefighting in chronological order, indicated by the digital clockface in front of each.

Further Information. An article at the bottom of the double page comprises additional facts on the fire disaster, such as that the source of the fire was found to be a fuse box.
Photo Charged with Textual Explanation. The 'photo of the week' is a well-known feature from magazines. "Bild am Sonntag" has taken over and further developed this device. The double page of this newspaper issued in a half Nordic format is completely covered with a single photo capturing one of the raceboat's sixfold overturns. The explanations in the photo contain details about this spectacular accident.

Sequence. At the bottom a sequence of three smaller photos explain the process of the boat's overturn. A column on the right set in a bigger typeface concentrates on facts and figures. This idea could also be taken over by regional newspapers without much effort. The only decision being whether it should be used on a daily basis or rather once a week. This way of presenting news could replace the classical solo picture.
Miracle on Friday 13th. With spectacular aerial pictures "Trønder-Avisa" from Norway gives a twelve-page report about a landslide which occured on Friday, March 13th in a place named Namsos. The front page of this newspaper in a half Nordic format is dominated by a photo showing homes that have tumbled down. Four headlines are placed in the picture, three of which on a white background. They read, "Miracle on Friday 13th", "Hero: Per -Olav Flakk rescues baby".
Spectacular Photos. The twelve-page reportage starts on pages 4 and 5 with a double-page photo, followed by double pages with more than one picture. The final part is the double page wih an article about the hero Per -Olav Flakk who rescued the baby from the rubble.
Photo with Table of Contents. The photo taking the full length of the page contains five arrowshaped tags with pictures, quotes and information about individual people hit by the disaster. They point at the places where these people's homes are. The headline reads, "A former idyllic place now turned into a disaster area", and the lines above say, "These scenes seem to be taken from a spectacular Hollywood movie. But the inhabitants of Namos were not able to stop or rewind the pictures. Yesterday's landslide happened for real." The editorial staff decided to let the photo speak for itself. Comprehensive coverage is given on the following pages.
Tragedy in Madrid. "el Periódico" from Barcelona has cleared their front page for the coverage of a plane crash in Madrid. A total of six double pages of this newspaper in a half Nordic format are devoted on this topic. An interesting detail: The Spanish colleagues report on subsequent pages instead of distributing various article on the accident throughout the paper. Newspapers in the German language area should copy this flexibility which simply af fords a change in the usual series of topics, a decision that has already been made by "Stuttgarter Nachrichten". Pages 2 and 3 in "el Periódico" feature infographics showing the five phases of the crash. Explanations are placed above the drawings and are indicated by numbers.