I decided to look for a photo gallery about the debates, in the interest of newsworthiness. The best one I found, however, did not originate from Cleveland or Miami, but from Plano, TX -- this was the presidential debate for the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, which took place a week ago.
If you want to find the latest in display technology, I say, look not to CNN or the NYT, but to the high school science geeks.
This one caught my attention immediately because it required no work whatsoever on my part. As soon as I linked from the Google listing, a slide show began. It advances from one picture to another automatically; the user can set the speed, stop, reverse direction, loop, or resize. Users can also select a transition mode, like "blend," "pinwheel," or "pixellated," to name a few. This last option seems like overkill, but maybe I wouldn't say so if I could just get it to work. Overall, the slide show DOES work, even on my slow dial-up connection, which is no small feat.
From a news perspective, what this slide show lacks is context for the viewer--the who, why, where, when, and what. Cutlines and captions, or audio narration, would be necessary to convert this into a news product. I think a slide show like this one is preferable to a simple photo gallery IF you have a narrative to tell through the pictures. Text or narration, and a logical sequencing of visuals, will keep the viewer interested, assuming the subject matter is interesting to begin with.
The photos on this slide show are unremarkable, and there are too many (61) for one sitting. But they are arranged chronologically, so you have the potential for an interesting narrative here. If the web editor decided the pictures were interesting but that there was no reason to arrange them in a narrative sequence, then a thumbnail photo gallery would be preferable because it would give the user more flexibility.
In general, I must say that a debate does not provide the best material for a slide show or a photo gallery, since the participants usually remain stationary. Friday's "town hall" debate between Bush and Kerry might be an exception, if the candidates are allowed to move about the stage. Or if they come to blows.
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