5 Maps

"Karzai Divides Afghanistan in Reaching Out to Taliban," Wall Street Journal, Sept. 10, 2010.

This interactive map is neat because of how it is possible to view each ethnic group. The main view lets the reader see all the ethnic groups together. The instructions are unclear as to whether the reader clicks on the map or the legend next to the map to see the specific information about each group. That is something that could be improved. But, once that function is figured out, the provinces can be highlighted one by one and gives insight into why politics in Afghanistan are so complicated. The choice to show provinces is left up to the reader which lets them decide if they want to see how ethnic groups share provinces. It would also be helpful to know why part of the country is left white. This map can stand alone because it includes a background paragraph, instructions for use, and detailed information.



"World Trade Center: New site takes shape after many twists and turns," AP via msnbc.com, Sept. 11, 2010.

This graphic gives a lot of information in a small space. It is a graphic that the more time a reader spends with it, the more information they will gain from it. The aerial view lets the reader place where the World Trade Center site is in relation to the rest of the island. The 3D view of the site lets the reader have perspective on the placement of the buildings and their sizes relative to each other. When the reader scrolls their mouse over the buildings, it tells them what the building will be. The "Height Comparison" graphic allow the reader to see how architecture has progressed over the years. When the readers scroll their mouse over those buildings, a text box pops up with information about the height of the building and when it was the tallest in the world.

The tabs on the graphic also let the reader see a photograph of how the construction of these buildings is coming at the WTC site. It provides a real-world picture so people can gauge for themselves how well the progress is coming.



"ABC Coverage Map for September 11," ABC News, Sept. 11, 2010

College game days are exciting times if you live in the college town. If you're an alum and live far away, the best option you have is to either travel to the game or watch it on TV. Most alums choose the second option. This map lets a viewer quickly figure out if they will be able to watch the game they want to. The easy color coding with a clear legend gives the information without the viewer having to question if they will be able to see the game or not. This map can stand alone with the information provided. This graphic could have been enhanced by making it interactive. For example, a viewer could click on their state, which would zoom in on the state and the viewer could choose their town from there. It would give them the local time of the game and what channel to find the game.



"House Race Ratings," New York Times, Sept. 10, 2010.

This is another map where the more time spent with it, the more information it will reveal. Readers can click on different areas of the map and figure out what district it is, which political wing they favor, the date of the primary, and the incumbent's name. By clicking on the link, district-personalized information is available. The color of the district also gives the political wing information. At the bottom of the map (not pictured) is a categorized list grouping districts by which political direction they lean. One of the options on the left sidebar lets readers choose to look at the Senate's midterm elections race. The other options on the left sidebar gives readers more information about the midterm elections. The bar graph across the top of the map makes it visual to see exactly how the political parties stack up against each other. I think that all the interactivity of this map is a strength and lends to the usefulness of the map. It would be hard to enhance this graphic further but this map can stand alone.




"Location of Fatal Shooting in Columbia," Columbia Missourian, Sept. 6, 2010.

The map shows the readers exactly where the shooting happened on Labor Day 2010. I actually was the reporter for KOMU 8 on this story. From personal experience, this map perfectly notes where the apartment was location, even down to the fact that it was not place perfectly on the cul-de-sac. I thinks a weakness of this map is that it does not make Old 63 a bolder line to denote that it is a bigger road. A strength is that the lake and park are placed on the map to give readers a familiar reference. This map could have been made interactive by having the red box be a hot spot that pops up a text box with information about the shooting. This graphic cannot stand on its own because it does not tell the story of the shooting.