Journalism + Motion Graphics

“Creating motion graphic design resources for newsrooms and journalists to empower them to tell more engaging visual stories.”

“Creating motion graphic design resources for newsrooms and journalists to empower them to tell more engaging visual stories.”

I’ve written, rewritten, added to and subtracted from that statement dozens of times over the last four weeks. I dream about it at night and agonize over it while riding the subway. Welcome to the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism!

This statement is just a small part of my elevator pitch, one of the many elements I’m learning to develop alongside 15 classmates here at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Over the next four months, we will challenge our assumptions, work on our listening skills, put business theory into practice, and iterate, iterate, iterate as we attempt to build a sustainable business model for a journalism venture.

Throughout our two week orientation, we heard from guest speakers, faculty and staff that warned us: Journalism is in deep, deep trouble. The business model is broken. Legacy news organizations are falling. Digital startups are trying and failing. It’s up to us to find a solution.

No problem. Right?

I’ll be at the bar, drowning my sorrows.

So, why am I here at CUNY in an entrepreneurial journalism program? I’m not even a journalist. I’ve spent the last eight years of my life working as a motion graphic designer here in New York and in California, my home state. The majority of my work is in the commercial and advertising world. As a freelancer, I’ve worked with some of the top design studios for some of the most recognizable clients in the world. It’s been a great career and I love the world of motion graphic design.

However, as anyone who works in the world of advertising with tell you, it can sometimes feel soulless knowing that the skills you’ve honed through years of hard work are ultimately used to peddle products you may not care for and promote brands you don’t associate with. And don’t even get me started on working with clients from hell and having to listen to ad agency gibberish. I needed a break and was looking for ways to continue working in motion graphics (which I loved) but in a world that didn’t involve shampoo commercials. (Ask me to show you that some time; I made that shampoo look f-ing amazing.)

In a previous life, before going to design school, I worked for a non-profit organization called the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA). It was through working with AAJA and serving its membership of professional and student journalists that I developed an interest in and deep respect for the news. The most passionate journalists I worked with (and later became friends with) pursued their careers as a true craft and operated within an honorable code of ethics.

Could there be a way to combine my experience in motion graphic design with my interest in journalism? Enter the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism where “The future of journalism will be shaped by entrepreneurs who develop new business models and innovative projects.”

Journalism + motion graphics. That could be an innovative project right? So here I am trying to learn this entrepreneur thing. Oh, and that business model thing. And about a dozen other new things we’re introduced to in class each week.

Oh boy. Just what did I get myself into?

I have a lot of challenges ahead of me. A few things I’m working on include:

• developing a common language so journalists can talk about motion graphic design, what it is and its utility in communicating the news
• case studies that prove how motion graphics can attract and retain audiences and create value by explaining complex issues through clear visuals
• documenting best practices for how to integrate motion graphics into newsroom production
• explain how creative news outlets can set themselves apart and create distinct products through the use of motion graphics
• figure out a revenue model for a sustainable business inside a failing industry

If you’re reading this and you’re an interested journalist or motion graphic designer, I want to hear from you! I have tons of questions to ask you and welcome your input.

Please follow my newly created and very beta Twitter account and Wordpress blog. It’s all going to get better, I promise.

It has to. My future depends on it!