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Online news initiatives out-of-date
One of the problems with online newspapers is that great initiatives are left to rot once launched. A perfect example of this: the Toronto Star released a clever Google Map of murders in the Toronto area “2005 to date”; but it’s not up-to-date.
There’s been a number of high-profile shootings in the city, and the Star’s tool has been an effective means to show these murders. The problem, though, is that it doesn’t seem to have been updated since since November 1 and on Boxing Day, a 15-year-old girl was shot dead outside a shoe store near the city’s marquee intersection of Yonge and Dundas.
The print edition is all over this story, but this ideal online offering is embarrassingly stale. Let’s hope it gets updated soon. (And it was, less than two days after posting this, Jane Creba’s murder was indicated on the map. The senior editor of thestar.com also explained in the comments that the map has been continually updated — although design improvements would make these updates more apparent to readers.)
thestar.com:
Dec. 29 2005 at 2:51 PM EST
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bryce:
Dec. 30 2005 at 12:35 AM EST
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Craig Saila:
True enough, it looks like the date (November 1) was taken from the York listing, not the Toronto listing, so other shootings may have been listed that I missed. (Maybe an UI improvement could better highlight the latest additions?)
However, as this screenshot from the 28th shows, the Boxing Day shooting wasn’t shown then. Perhaps thestar.com was waiting on the name — Jane Creba — of the victim? (Although there is an anonymous victim listed in November.)
No matter, the map’s now updated, and I’m glad to see that.
Dec. 30 2005 at 11:06 AM EST
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Chris Carter:
Dec. 30 2005 at 11:53 AM EST
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Craig Saila:
Good to hear you guys actively updating the map, that seems much more inline with the great direction the site has been moving.
The example — only coincidentally from the Star — was almost too perfect for my thesis, which I still stand by: initiatives from online media are often left behind once launched. And that’s usually a result of understaffing, and occasionally overeagerness, but rarely ever malice.
Dec. 30 2005 at 12:34 PM EST
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