Innovative forms of storytelling moved our reporting forward in 2024

Hey there, Giovanni here.

Earlier this year, we asked ourselves: Is there a way to tell some of our stories in new ways that could enhance the reader experience and increase engagement? With a bit of brainstorming, research and teamwork from my small team, we delivered some of the most unique, innovative story presentations in inewsource‘s 15-year history.

I wanted to highlight five of those stories below, each representing a spectrum of different storytelling devices:

First, we put together a retrospective on the hours during and after the major January flood that devastated several southeastern San Diego neighborhoods. Here we blended illustrative storytelling with pull quotes and a creative way of displaying time using a pulsating digital clock.

Shortly after, we published an education story that featured an interactive “grading cabinet” stuffed with report cards on school districts and their budget troubles.

Then, we turned to creating a multimedia presentation on unhoused people living on a river island, which incorporated clickable words with related natural sounds mixed with video to provide additional context.

This summer, Zoë and I collaborated on a hefty photo essay on a Salton Sea community that a married magazine-like presentation with engaging digital features like GIFs and videos.

And most recently, we published our most ambitious visual project yet at inewsource: an illustrated story on the deadly fentanyl epidemic.

Our editorial illustrator Steve Breen reported and designed the story using a series of sketched cards akin to what you might experience reading a graphic novel. We then worked together to bring it to life on our website.

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These are just some of the stories we’ve been able to tell in new ways this year thanks to the collaborative newsroom environment at inewsource. As we round out the year, I have one ask: If you found any of these stories interesting, engaging or helpful, consider pledging your support so we can prioritize more of this work in 2025. Every bit makes a difference.

Thanks, and may this coming year present even more opportunities for innovating nonprofit journalism.

– Giovanni

P.S. If you liked Steve’s graphical reporting on fentanyl, check out his mini story accompanying one of our immigration investigations.