American Graffiti
April Kinser of DallasNews.com (the Dallas Morning News Web site) has created one of the most dynamic journalism packages I've ever seen. Her "Dismantling the Bomb" takes us inside the world of taggers and graffiti makers to explore whether they are truly artists or simply vandals. Kinser gives us photos of graffiti from around the Dallas area (some of it is quite stunning), videos of taggers talking about their work and of police and community leaders criticizing it, a glossary of graffiti terms, a who's who of famous graffiti artists, and a chance for viewers to share their comments and photos. Oh yes, and there's a sharply written explanatory story as well. The design of the package does a wonderful job of enhancing the content.
Thank you to Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute and the Casey Journalism Center for Children and Famlies for pointing me toward this story. http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/spe/2006/streetart/