Gimme Props: An Interactive Guide to California’s Propositions
on November 3, 2012
What is Gimme Props!? The simplest answer is an experiment.
We got the idea for the project because we were frustrated with how propositions are usually covered. It’s not so much that coverage is lacking, it’s more that it tends to be super drab and short of the multimedia storytelling potential of the Interwebs. Self-interested millionaires, corporations, unions, and politicians typically use what was supposed to be a way citizens could create laws for their own benefit. This means there are often important and confusing propositions on the ballot and a ton of distortion about what they could do. It’s vital to present this information in a way that is compatible with a younger generation who digests media in a different fashion.
So we thought, “hey, why don’t we try to create an interactive and light-hearted way people could learn about the props?” Seven students at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism answered the call to action. And here we are.
We experimented here with data visualization, with quizzes, with games, and with interactives. Can you take what is typically dry material and explain it in a way that is more fun and engaging, hence broadening the audience that learns about these important ballot measures? See the full site here.
1 Comment
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Oakland North
Oakland North is an online news service produced by students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and covering Oakland, California. Our goals are to improve local coverage, innovate with digital media, and listen to you–about the issues that concern you and the reporting you’d like to see in your community. Please send news tips to: oaklandnorthstaff@gmail.com.
This gimme props is great
I admit I have never voted because I never felt I really understood the propositions
I will vote with a tool like this