San Joaquin and Hudson Valley multimedia projects praised

Our San Joaquin and Hudson Valley staffs have received some accolades of late. If you haven't seen the projects that these clippings tout, set aside some time to check them out. They are riveting examples of the great storytelling we can accomplish by combining the strengths of the online medium with the outstanding reporting and writing skills within our newsrooms.

• San Joaquin: "And a song shall carry them home: The journey of the Brothers Fermin"
• Hudson Valley: "Lebrew Jones and the Death of Micki Hall"

Don't just take my word for it. People more eloquent than I had this to say about the projects:

• San Joaquin
  
  • Pauline's Picks via Editor & Publisher:
    "This is a piece where the multimedia elements are needed in order to best tell the story. True, it could have been done purely in print, but the photos and videos give the story depth and a much better idea of what the brothers' trip is like, not to mention the beauty of southern Mexico."
  • Cyberjournalist.net:
    "Note The Record’s excellent online slogan, 'News worth sharing online.'"
• Hudson Valley
  
  • Pauline's Picks:
    "The project feels like a real-life episode of Law & Order.... The case has so many movable parts that the only way to really understand it is online, where you can see the taped confessions, the interviews with Hall's family, not to mention some of the graphic crime seen photos. So settle in and prepare to see a fascinating story."
  • Al's Morning Meeting via Poynter:
    "This is not just excellent journalism; it is a great example of how online interactive storytelling can make a story stronger, clearer, deeper and more memorable. Bravo."
  • Jon Marshall's News Gems via SPJ:
    "[Christine] Young employs a narrative style to humanize Hall and Jones and present the troubling facts of the case. The tremendous multi-media package, produced by John Pertel, comes with videos that accompany each story segment along with a timeline of the case, crime scene map, links to the case files and a 'where are they now' of the key players.
  • Advancing the Story:
    "Pertel and Young are... comfortable constructing stories with narration and on-camera segments, so the pieces are easy to watch and understand...."