Chapter 1

A New Form of Storytelling

On January 26, 2001, an earthquake struck the city of Bhuj in northern India. The disaster left most of the buildings in rubble, and tens of thousands died. Half a million people in the state of Gujarat lost their homes. On the other side of the world, news coverage of the devastation seemed both familiar and very remote: a television reporter’s voiceover; video of broken concrete, dust, and ruined streets; reports of people who were injured; interviews with other people describing the missing and the dead. Media attention focused on the losses and relief efforts.

The first example of Flash journalism I remember seeing is a slideshow from the Associated Press about the Gujarat earthquake. Tears came to ...

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