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INFORMATION RECALL AND STORY FORMS Alternative story forms (including Q&As, timelines, lists and fact boxes) helped readers remember facts presented to them in a test of six different prototype designs of one story.    Readers were given one of six different versions of a story about bird flu. Three were in print, three were online. Each version included identical information -- fact for fact, but the design and story structure differed. When a reader finished reading one of these prototypes for five minutes, he or she answered questions about the story. Alternative story forms alsoThis visual draw was particularly powerful in broadsheets. Alternative story form elements accounted for only about 4 percent of the 16,976 text elements available to be viewed in those newspapers, but they received more than their share of attention. This confirms the findings of earlier EyeTrack studies and other research that short text, especially with visual elements, is accessible and attractive to readers. Previous | Next |
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Phila. Daily News
Rocky Mountain News
St. Petersburg Times
Star Tribune
A note fromDr. Mario Garcia
“Bold, energetic headlines and energetic photos matter, and I think we need to give that energy to our readers.”
Paul Tash, editor, CEO and chairman of the St. Petersburg Times, an EyeTrack07 partner, and chair of Poynter’s Board of Trustees
“We still have to be editors. I’ve read 80-inch stories that I could have read another 20 inches on. And I’ve read 10-inch stories that were too long. So it all depends on … how was it done? What’s the reporting? How’s the writing? Is it a topic that really engages and captivates?”
Michael Days, editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, an EyeTrack07 research partner.
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