Do readers want to talk about multimedia?

Posted on January 23, 2007 by Melissa Worden

Washingtonpost.com started a blog about multimedia and invited readers to engage in a dialogue with the editors/reporters/producers at WP about their story decisions, experiences and philosophies about journalism.

Great idea — if, of course the reader cares about “developing the medium of Web-based visual journalism.”

As a multimedia editor, I really wish they did. But I honestly, I don’t think so. Readers will be wowed by well-designed presentations and solid reporting and multimedia editing. But I seriously doubt that they ponder the future of visual journalism.

Come on, we’re interested in this because it’s our passion. It’s what we do for a living. Readers outside the profession of journalism look at our sites to consume information. Facts, figures and stories. And they’ll react to a topic. They’ll talk about issues (readers LOVE forums). But I just don’t think they’ll stop and engage in such an esoteric discussion.

Maybe I’ll be proven wrong. But just browsing the comments on this blog so far, I think I might be on the mark.