On Friday night some of the ASNE Reynolds teachers travelled to the Heard Museum, a preeminent Native American art institution located here in Phoenix. There was a DJ and a fashion show, drinks and jewelry designers selling their wares. It was quite festive.
As I walked around the exhibits, I noticed the curators or designers caught my attention with pulled quotes from the other text on the walls. Most had a punch that made me want to photograph them, remember them. Isn't that the function of a pulled quote in a news story? I also noticed that these quotes had an obvious human interest element that made me empathize or learn more about the hearts of the Indian people. I started to think about who designs these museums. Plus, the interactivity with the younger attendees in some of the exhibits was a metaphor for the multimedia platforms we will all have to navigate. How do we reach these youngsters so that they will read, engage with our world, and make it better? Much to think about. This institute had made me pay attention to a different marketing, a different metaphor and a different method of delivery.
Here is further info and how-to about this from a blogger who has given this much thought .
http://www.10e20.com/blog/2008/04/11/using-pull-quotes-lift-outs-how-to-grab-your-readers-attention/
Joanna Greer
John F. Kennedy High School
Silver Spring, Md.
Posts
I grew up in Phoenix and have seen The Heard go through some interesting changes. I am glad to see that they tend to stay contemporary. Getting students to read, I am finding, is no easy feat. It seems as though in installations like the one's you picture here have a higher level of being effective with their use of various forms of media all work together.
ReplyDeleteMark Silverstein
Douglas High School
What a great blog post - and observation about the Heard Museum. I had a similar thought about how successfully the museum is pulling in a younger audience.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, what helped (and further how can we relate this to newspaper)?:
-DJs playing intelligent electronic music; young fashion (enticing up-to-date medium and topics)
-couches for lounging (a place to connect, communicate)
-interactive options with each exhibit in the form of touch computers (interactivity based on interest, personal navigation)
Beyond the Heard Museum and to bring in a little Minnesotan culture - the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis began a program called the TeenArtsCouncil in the late ‘90s I was lucky enough to intern with them a few years back and was really impressed with the Walker's forward thinking. The main goal of the TeenArtsCouncil was to give kids leadership when it came to what programs and exhibits the Walker sponsored. The council put on programs throughout the year including installations, music, Thursday evening events for a younger audience. The TeenArtsCouncil simply helped to make the Walker a "cool" place to hang out - thus, a younger audience was born at the Walker and continuing strong today.
So - I think all of these ideas can relate to how we bring kids into journalism - and really, as teachers, we are running a "teen council" in a sense through our student newspapers.
Hopefully we are keeping it cool by letting students take the lead.
Andrea Krueger
Centennial High School
Circle Pines, Minnesota