Download issue (PDF) - Nieman Foundation - Harvard University

Coverage of Terrorism
tion in Afghanistan. We also researched
and drew many graphics
that might be useful, such as maps
of the region and aircraft carrier
battle groups, then readied these
elements, again for possible use.
To do this, we relied on our awardwinning
graphics staff, many of
whom have had a lot of experience
in military affairs. Our news graphics
editor, William Pitzer, served as
a major command illustrator for
the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam
War and worked at another
newspaper handling military
graphics during the Gulf War, as
did David Puckett, our informational
graphics specialist.
In researching material to go
into these graphic displays, we
consulted local university professors
who specialize in Middle East
studies or other pertinent topics.
We also looked to Web sites that
we can rely on in terms of accuracy,
which we’ve determined by
doing in-house fact checking of
the information provided. These
include www.bbc.co.uk/ (BBC
Online homepage), www.fas.org
(Federation of American Scientists) and
www.af.mil (American Air Force Link
Online). The BBC site is especially useful
and provides highly detailed maps
that we use to produce our daily attack
graphics. Non-American governmental
Web sites are often more forthcoming
with information than U.S. sites, so
each day we scan foreign sites. The
Federation of American Scientists site
and the Air Force Link site provide
highly detailed information about military
equipment, how it is used, and
other key military information.
To ensure the consistency of our
war graphics, we created a unique design
and title format: The Observer’s
Guide to Aircraft Carriers; The
Observer’s Guide to Afghan Rebels;
The Observer’s Guide to Attack Forces,
etc. Using this format, we produce explanatory
graphics that are instantly
recognizable as being related to the
ongoing story of the war against terrorism,
even though they appear in various
sizes and locations throughout the
paper. This visual display of reporting
The Observer created a unique design and title
format for its “Guide to” graphics.
is a key element of our paper’s extensive
daily coverage.
On October 7, when U.S. and British
missiles struck numerous targets in
Afghanistan, we were ready. Immediately,
we converted reference maps
we’d made into templates for daily
attack updates. We utilized our format
and began producing The Observer’s
Guide to Allied Attacks. On days when
these graphics do not make it into the
newspaper because of space constraints,
they appear on our paper’s
Web site (www.charlotte.com). Many
other Knight Ridder newspapers have
direct links to our newspaper’s online
war graphics, and the positive feedback
we’ve received convinces us there
is a need for this daily map, even if it is
only seen online.
As we’d anticipated, the allied forces
are using much of the same equipment
in Afghanistan that was used in the Gulf
War, including fighter jets, B-1, B-2 and
B-52 bombers, aircraft carriers, and
submarines. Tomahawk missiles were
launched at terrorist training camps
and targets associated with the
Taliban. The attack began rather
conventionally, with air-to-ground
and sea-to-ground attacks on
Taliban positions, and as Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
said, the success of military actions
will be heavily dependent
upon surprise. With concern about
security and secrecy, we do not
expect to receive much in the way
of detailed military information
from the Pentagon briefings.
One of the ways we have devised
to cover this new war is to
provide information in a format
that readers can’t get anywhere
else. Along with more “primer”
graphics to help readers take in
information about different aspects
of this war at home and
abroad, we are continuing with
“The Observer’s Guide to” format.
We are creating different informative
graphics, including a “bunker
busters” graphic. These detail how
the terrorists’ caves—where they
are presumably in hiding—might
be destroyed with special deep
penetrating missiles. And we are
also helping readers to examine the
plight of Afghan women under Taliban
rule, along with other newsworthy subjects,
through similar use of graphic
displays.
Our daily coverage is definitely enhanced
by sharing our graphic displays
with our Web audience. Observer staff
artist Jacob Piercy converts newspaper
graphics into animated “flash” and
other still graphics that we post online
as they are created. He has received
numerous e-mails and phone calls
praising his online graphics and requesting
more. They are archived at:
www.charlotte.com/observergraphics/
archive.html. In creating graphics for
the Web, we work hard to make sure
that we don’t add gratuitous animation
or sound, which can trivialize the issues
of life and death involved. We
don’t want these displays to have the
look or feel of video games or cartoons.
We know that online graphics
add other dimensions to stories we
report, so the newspaper allocates the
necessary resources to do them even in
36 Nieman Reports / Winter 2001