Navigation in Multimedia

Word like “navigation” and “interactivity” in journalism scare most professionals in the business because we immediately think of computers, formatting websites, etc., but in Multimedia, navigation and interactivity refers to things such as photo galleries on a story, graphics that the audience can interact with through the multimedia story. There are levels of interactivity and it really depends on the type of project a journalist is doing at the time. Navigation in multimedia projects comes into effect in the planning process for a project. Those involved in the project can voice opinions on what they would look like to see as feature for their story such as audio clips, outtakes, maps, etc. Multimedia journalism is all about creating stories on multiple platforms and users should be able to access those platforms from mobile devices, tablets, television, etc.

When Multimedia Journalists are planning the navigation and interactivity, the main ting that they should consider before starting the project is what kind of experience they want the user to experience. The websites should be user friendly and users should be able to navigate easily through projects and all the elements attached such as pictures, maps, etc.

Navigation and interactivity cannot work without first laying down the groundwork in the story development process.