Budget restrictions cause substitute teacher cuts, fee hikes at WA
This article, detailing the effects of the Westford Public Schools' $1.2 deficit for FY20, tried to present figures and trends that were confusing students, parents, and faculty in a comprehensible manner. I utilized a long-form container despite the article not being a long-form to increase visual ease. I reduced the amount of numbers and figures in the text of the article by including a graph, and linked to relevant information should the reader wish to fully understand the source numbers without overwhelming readers who did not want to do so. I created and included a graphic about the start time of nearby school districts to allow readers to make comparisons and come to conclusions without confusing lists and blocks of text. Links to other articles staff members published on the subject allow the reader to expand his or her knowledge, and reduced redundancy in the article text as I did not need to restate information. Finally, a poll increases reader engagement with the material.
Farmers' market closes after twelve-year run
This article is a long-form news piece exceeding 3,000 words in length. In order to be accessible and comprehensible, the story had to have video, images, pull-quotes, and other visual features in order to make it appeal to the eye despite its length and depth. Thus, an effective online packaging for this story involved strategic placement of relevant videos that contained tangential but informative information on the subject, which if discussed in the article would be unnecessary and redundant. In addition, pictures of various locations discussed in this piece allow for a visual connection and mapping of events to location, as there are several moving pieces to this article which are easier to understand if matched with images. Bold headings and subheadings along with a wide-screen, visually appealing container make the length of the article less daunting and break up its structure into smaller, comprehensible bites; it is not essential to read the entirety of the article to understand the issue. Finally, a poll at the end of the article incites reader engagement and prompts readers who may have skimmed to at least read the final section of the article.