Big Photos Evoke Big Emotions

I visit “The Big Story” ,by the Associated Press, daily because it provides clear information about current news. The main homepage features about ten news story headlines and summary blurbs with a photo for each.

The most peculiar or heart wrenching photos are usually the ones I go to first. A thought provoking image usually leads me to click on the link to the whole story. Seeing people in pain or in joy appeals to my emotion because a photo always shows more then even the most descriptive writing.

Last week, the top news story featured a photo of a concerned mother and a group of protesting citizens. I immediatly wanted to know why they were upset. The headline right under the photo read, “European nations shut borders, block bridges, halt trains”. As a reader, I don't know the whole story about the event but I can start forming an idea of what is going on.

The CNN homepage featured a photo of a young girl that took up most of the screen. The use of a huge photo attracts readers to the simple headline, “Her name is Bella”. Under the headline, is a quick blurb about her mother and her mother’s boyfriend being arrested. Though I like the clean look, I think the headline and the blurb are confusing and could use more detail.

The summary blurb should include the basic information about a news story but shouldn’t go so much in depth that it’s too long to skim. I personally only look at the blurbs to get the gist of a news story. I don’t expect all the details to be put into those one or two sentences under a photo.

I prefer a paragraph summary blurb at most depending on how much time I’m dedicating to reading the news. More then a couple sentences is way too much if I’m just scrolling through today’s news. I am more likely to click on a complete news story if the blurb and corresponding photo are short and to the point.