On February 23rd, the
day before the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s Nationwide race ended with a multicar
wreck. I read about this in an article
on the Huffington Post (link). I was drawn to this article when I saw this
picture of Kyle Larson’s number 32 car partially in the stands of the race. This image is placed near the headline to
attract readers to click the story, and at the very beginning of the article is
a video of the crash. These build up
towards the story which is very sympathetic to the fans that were injured in
the race. This picture is placed to draw
out an emotional response from readers and it really delivers. |
| "The 20-year-old Larson Stood in shock a few feet from his car" |
My jaw dropped when I saw this
photo. The caption “Massive Wreck at
Daytona” couldn’t be more fitting.
Seeing the car with the engine taken clean off is a terrifying sight. An estimated 33 people were injured in the
crash, and the slideshow on this post (Huffington) really demonstrates that. Larson’s car went through the guard, debris
shot into the crowd, and a tire was launched into the stands. Kyle Larson’s number 32 car was left a shell
of its former self, but he’s just happy to be ok and “hopes everyone’s
alright.”
Jenna Fryer took a news approach
for this story. This story was the day
of the crash so this story was more focused on just presenting the facts to the
readers. She also used quotes from fans,
officials, and racers to further present the story. She highlights how Tony Stewart’s feelings
after slipping past the wreck to win the race. His statement “We assume the risk, but it’s
hard when the fans get caught up in it,” helps draw the reader into the tragedy
of the wreck. These guys are
professionals and the last thing they want is to see their fans hurt during a
race.
Jenna
uses the slideshow and her sources to make the reader feel emotionally attached
to the victims. She uses quotes for the
viewers like “It was freaky” and “I immediately started to cry” to effectively
make the reader feel similar to these fans, but the pictures of the flaming
engine and the hole in the guard wall say more about the crash than the written
word. The slideshow and the video are
the real eye openers of this article.
The video shows the entire crash unfolding and the slide show has crazy
pictures of the whole thing. Jenna let
the visuals speak for the crash while she tried to speak for the people.
The
pictures are the main appeal of this article.
I am in no way a NASCAR fan, but after seeing Larson smashed up against
the catch fence I just couldn’t help but click on this article. I found myself watching the video and looking
through the photos before reading the article.
For me they were the important sources of information, and not necessarily
the article itself. Jenna presented the
facts well, and she did a good job of adding some context to the pictures, but
her words were overshadowed by the more visual aspects of this article.
Sources
No comments:
Post a Comment