How can graphic design change how news is reported and accessed through the use of new and

proposed technologies and platforms in todays world of strong interconnectivity?

So, I ended last semester with a crazily vague question whose main idea was

NEWS
How can graphic design change how news is reported and accessed through the use of new and proposed technologies and platforms in todays world of strong interconnectivity?
NEWS. But news can be anything, and come from anywhere. How was I supposed to take such a vague idea and parse it down into one, succinct question?

Yeah, I oundered a bit in trying to gure out what I wanted to do specically. But pulling from everything that Ive blogged...

I ideated a list of what the hell this could actually be and do. Thinking about what is actually needed at this point in the maturing process of the internet, and the myriad of ways that graphic design can help users take in information.

Some of my ideas were the very unoriginal sharing ideas, and reformatting the content to make it a better read. Some of the ideas had more merit to them like trying to help people gain a more wellrounded knowledge of topics, and studying trends across similar websites to help create a bigger picture of whats going on in the world.

But the more I went on, the more original the ideas came, and I hit a couple of ideas that really caught my attention. They were, Showing validity of information Rating journalists, their writing, + their reliability and also doing the same thing for media outlets.

validity + reliability in news

Those three points boil down to the idea of validity and reliability in every aspect of the news on the internet.

?
Why
But why do we need this? Welllll, if you dont mind, Im going to be a bit redundant for a moment and remind yall that

Information Overload
INFORMATION OVERLOAD

is
is

well

well

errywherr
everywhere. and Heres a quick run through of some of the websites that I visit at least once a week

There are the more standard news websites like CNN

FOX News

MSNBC

BBC

The New York Times

Associated Press

Reuters

and Huffington Post

More niche websites like Politico

Talking Points Memo

The Daily Beast

Mashable

The Verge

Perez Hilton

Stereogum

Instagram

and Co.DESIGN.

News aggregators like Spectra

Wikipedia

news.Google

Newsmap

Google search

Storify.

Readability

Instapaper

Flipboard

and Flud.

Then of course, you have the platforms that allow anyone to publish information like Facebook

errywherr
twitter

Tumblr

Wordpress

Blogger

And of course the scary, scary world of forums and message boards.

and breathe
and breathe. Thats aLOT of damn information, yea? But thats the truth about news today. With record amounts of information being pushed out, there needs to be a way to sort through all of the crap to nd the gems.

Arts Business Entertainment Environment Fashion Medicine Politics Science Sports Technology Trade Trac Weather World
Some areas of news are plagued with bs more than others. Seeing as it is 2012 and elections happen later this year...

Politics Science
Sports Technology Trade Trac Weather World
politics is by far the most plagued, so thats where I will focus my attention on for this project.

Arts Business Entertainment Environment Fashion Medicine

Trust, but verify

-Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan said Trust, but verify which ironically (or not) really means trust no one. Not until youve done the proper research into something to make sure its true. This quote is too perfect for this project. In an age where anyone can publish content, the general masses have no idea where or who the content is coming from, and this needs to change.

?
Who
Its for people interested and passionate about staying informed on the current landscape of politics. More specically, its for the people who crave the honest answers of whats going on, and not the people who want to hear what makes them happy.

?
What
So what is this actually going to be? I want to create an iPad app that would help reveal journalists and media outlets level of reliability and validity through a list of qualiers that would then give them a ranking in a rating system.

If And Only If
RATING: TOPICS

CNN
Barack Obama Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Republican Caucuses 90% 89% 80% 75%

FOX
Barack Obama Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Republican Caucuses 60% 71% 69% 70%

HuPost
Barack Obama Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Republican Caucuses 85% 70% 65% 80%

TPM
Barack Obama Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Republican Caucuses 80% 93% 92% 72%

Barack Obama Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Republican Caucuses

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

There would be the app that houses the database of the ratings and reviews of all of the articles, journalists, and media outlets. It would also be where the users come to get a much deeper level of information when researching where to nd information on a topic. And also gives them an in-depth analysis of what they have contributed to the system.

*Powered by If And Only If

85%

55%

55%

42%

85%

There would also be a plugin for the browser to help with instant verication of websites and articles. This would be much quicker, and focused around whats currently on the screen.

?
How
How am i going to go about doing this? Im going to focus on three, direct scenarios that focus on different parts of the app to get at the deep level of thinking behind this. The three Ill show next arent set in stone, however, and can still change.

I want to compare all of the political websites that I follow, plus others, to gure out where I can get the most reliable and valid information on a topic.

First Scenario I want to compare all of the political websites that I follow, plus others, to gure out where I can get the most reliable and valid information on a topic.

I want to see what the rating and reviews are for the author of the article I'm currently reading, and I want to add my own rating and review for them once I read the article.

Second I want to see what the rating and reviews are for the author of the article I'm currently reading, and I want to add my own rating and review for them once I read the article.

I want to see why a journalist has the rating that it has, and what all goes into it getting that rating.

Third I want to see why a journalist has the rating that it has, and what all goes into it getting that rating.

How can graphic design help structure, rate, inform, and visualize validity and reliability in the hordes of political news pumped out in today's fast-paced world?

So nally, my question is: How can graphic design help structure, rate, inform, and visualize validity and reliability in the hordes of political news pumped out in today's fast-paced world?

How can graphic design help structure, rate, inform, and visualize validity and reliability in the hordes of political news pumped out in today's fast-paced world?

I want to compare all of the political websites that I follow, plus others, to gure out where I can get the most reliable and valid information on a fresh topic. I want to see what the rating and reviews are for the author of the article I'm currently reading, and I want to add my own rating and review for them once I read the article. I want to see why a journalist (media outlet, or article) has the rating that it has, and what all goes into it getting that rating.

Here is my question and 3 scenarios to help me do this project. Questions and feedback, please!