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ONA 2005: Infographics - the next generation

Posted: 29/10/05 By: Jemima Kiss

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If infographics is your bag, you have probably already heard of Alberto Cairo.

He is infographics editor for Elmundo.es, currently spending a year as assistant professor of infographics at the University of North Carolina, and has won several awards for his work.

He told a session on international digital journalism that the team of six infographic reporters on Elmundo.es head straight out on location to cover breaking news, making sketches and notes, taking video, audio and photographs to inform each story.

Complex graphics to illustrate the Madrid bombings were produced by the team in just six hours. Infographics are designed to be standalone news stories that do not need text to explain the story further.

Both local and national newspapers in Spain have a long tradition of producing complex infographics and that has translated well into online news. But it is essential that infographics for the web are produced specifically for the web, he said, rather than being adapted from print material.

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