If you can read a text story on the Web in a couple of minutes, why would you want to watch an online video that conveys the same information? Caleb Silver, executive producer for video at CNNMoney.com, believes you wouldn’t. He argues that video should add to the text, not echo it.
The site’s special project, “Assignment Detroit,” shows that concept in action. Videos are prominently featured but they don’t repeat what’s in the text. For example, this story about efforts to keep young, smart people from leaving the city includes video of people talking about “how to survive in Detroit.”
In an interview with Andy Plesser of Beet.TV, Silver explains how his site tries to integrate video with material from print magazines like Fortune and Time.
Did you catch Silver’s description of his multimedia journalists? Human Swiss Army knives. Gotta love it.
