CSNChicago.com’s Blackhawks Insider Tracey Myers incorporated a Twitter phenomenon surrounding a young player in her blog on Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s website. Her article “#ShawFacts takes Chicago by storm” both tells the story of Shaw’s Twitter popularity, while including a video of the rookie’s reaction to the hype.

But what makes this story really come together is the incorporation of Twitter into the story. Using Storify, Myers illustrates just how much Chicago embraced the #ShawFacts sensation.

Storify is an excellent tool in interactive online storytelling.

Andrew Huff of the Chicago-centric blog Gapers Block uses a similar strategy in his story “The Story Behind the Wrigley Field Brick.”  Twitter, again, plays a key role in the saga surrounding a Wrigley Field personalized brick. Actor Jason Segel tweeted a picture of the brick on January 7th.

Actor Jason Segel used crowdsourcing to get to the bottom of a Wrigley Field brick that had always interested him.

Since the story itself revolved around the sharing of information via Twitter, the use of Twitter was vital in telling the story. Huff used Storify to document Segel and Bergseth’s Twitter dialogue.

Another example of strong interactive storytelling is the use of movable graphics. The Wall Street Journal used this feature beautifully in association with it’s article on the 2012 NFL Playoffs.

The Wall Street Journal included a tremendous amount of content in this interactive graphic.

As a visual medium alone, this graphic is outstanding.  Clean lines frame out several images that represent the remaining teams in the playoffs. To the right, a Massey-Peabody Index line graph illustrates how a team performs week to week.

Along with the in-depth analysis and commentary, including a “How to Read this Graph” index, this graphic becomes a stunning online package.

However, there is one constant that remains in any sports storytelling: compelling writing.

Michael Farber illustrates this in his story outlining the problems with contemporary politics in the National Hockey League.

The Sports Illustrated piece employs few links or photos, but none are needed with writing as strong as Farber’s.

Photo by Leah Hendrickson

It’s finally here!

After months of sitting alone on my hard drive, this little beauty is ready to be shown to the world. I can’t embed it here, so simply click on the image or click HERE to view the audio slideshow.

The clean layout of the MLS Cup 2011 Playoff package allows for easy navigation.

Visually, it is bright, appealing to look at and functionally clear.  Its graphics feature the warm yellow and rich blue that decorate L.A. Galaxy’s kit, paying homage to the host city’s club.

In addition to box scores and schedules for the playoffs, essential elements of the digital feature, there are several tabs to help the avid soccer fan find exactly what it is they are looking for.  Visitors can watch the highlights from last night’s matches, follow an instant stream of what other soccer fans are tweeting on Twitter via the hashtag #MLSCup, or even purchase tickets to the next game.

I would assume the exclusive videos draw the most visitors to the package.  Behind the scenes features, interviews and highlights are featured for every playoff game.  Few other sites feature so much video content to their viewers, MLSsoccer.com must have the industry tapped in that respect.

This package is far more appealing to navigate through than finding each individual item on MLSsoccer.com. It makes sure every piece of the MLS Cup is interconnected seamlessly.

I don’t think the story could have worked this well had it not been displayed in a one-stop-shop kind of package. Fans want to know every detail of the competition quickly, and this package facilitates that quite well.

The “legacy” newsroom coverage is Newsstand (a daily compilation of all media surrounding the league and its players sent out via email).  Major League Soccer releases its news via Newsstand and MLSsoccer.com. Only could the league illustrate the entire story of the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs via MLSsoccer.com. An emailed report could not feature the same key pieces of the narrative, like a live Twitter feed.

Where Newsstand thrives on written content, the website package comes alive through visuals, videos and instant updates.

Photo by: Leah Hendrickson

Photo by: Leah Hendrickson

Photo by: Leah Hendrickson

Photo by: Leah Hendrickson

]]> http://leahhendrickson.com/2011/12/26/chicago-fires-orr-barouch-freshman-in-major-league-soccer/feed/ 1 leahhendrickson Orr 2 Orr Barouch Orr 1 Orr 24 http://leahhendrickson.com/2011/11/23/college-comedy-shows-draw-huge-audiences/ http://leahhendrickson.com/2011/11/23/college-comedy-shows-draw-huge-audiences/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:23:03 +0000 Leah Hendrickson http://leahhendrickson.com/?p=239 ]]> When pH Productions started offering College Night in 2003, it was slow-going at first.

“Nobody really came,” said Jason Geis, Co-Artistic Director of pH Productions, a performance group dedicated to educating audiences about live theater that puts on original comedic productions at Studio Be (3110 N. Sheffield Ave, Chicago).

Fast-forward to a rainy October night in 2011. A standing room only crowd squeezes into the cozy Studio Be just a short walk from the Belmont Red Line El stop. A BYOB theater, the club’s college-aged audience buzzes with excitement before the first improv comedy troupe takes the stage.

It seems Chicago’s college population has finally caught on.

“Over the last couple of years, people have really become excited about it,” Geis said. “It just spread like wildfire.”

Brett Mannes, Executive Director of pH Productions, called College Night “this great phenomenon that landed in our laps.”

Mannes attributed the surge in attendance to the talent of the young comedians who take the stage every Thursday night that draws full houses in the 3000 square foot, 99-seat storefront theater week after week.

“They’re great,” he said. “That is the number one reason why people come.”

“The teams have really made a name for themselves,” Geis said.

The Thursday night comedy shows are headlined by two Chicago university improv groups: DePaul University’s Cosby Sweaters and Columbia College Chicago’s Droppin’ $cience.

The team from DePaul University traces its history back to 2004 when student Sarah Pappalardo decided to partner with pH Productions and founded a college improv team on her own campus.

Since then, the team has performed at The Second City, iO Theater and The Playground Theater in Chicago, in addition to several theaters outside of Illinois.

The Cosby Sweaters have competed in the College Improv Tournament, part of the Chicago Improv Festival annually since 2008. In 2010, the team earned the Wild Card distinction and competed against seven regional winners and one other wild card team at the Nation Championships held in Chicago. This marked the first time the Cosby Sweaters competed at the national competition.

Columbia College Chicago’s Droppin’ $cience also made an appearance at the College Improv Tournament National Championships in 2010. The team took third place in the competition.

Another reason for the College Night’s success?

“It’s different than anything that’s going on anywhere else in the city at this time,” said Mannes.

Be big, fun and fast

“College Night” at Studio Be is just one of pH Productions’ several offerings. There are live shows every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, in a similar fashion to Second City or iO.

The comedy theater also puts on an improvised musical show every Saturday at 10 p.m. called “pHamily The Musical”.

“When the emotional moments acme and we have a crescendo of emotion in a scene, we break out into song,” Mannes said.

Keeping the improvisational and interactive nature of the show alive, “we’ll ask the audience for the name and genre of the song.”

The philosophy of pH Productions is obvious in their improv musical show.

“Be big, be fun, be fast,” Mannes said, “and give more of an energy jolt than they would at any other theatres in the city.”

Unparalleled atmosphere

“I feel really lucky to play here,” gushes Jesse Wood, a nine-year improv comedy veteran. “We have such an awesome audience. So many people come out to see the show.”

Despite his young age, the 22-year-old senior at DePaul University, has had the opportunity to perform at several landmark Chicago comedy clubs. But what makes the experience on College Nights so special is the energy the audience exudes.

“There’s a feeling of community,” Wood explains. “There’s a character to it.”

Geis has noticed a distinct change in the personality of the theater-goers over the past few years.

“The audience used to be just a bunch of kids who wanted to get drunk,” recalls Geis. “But now, it’s people who actually appreciate improv.”

Friendly rivalry

“It’s like we’ve created a comedy district in the neighborhood,” Mannes said.

With several improv comedy theaters near Belmont Avenue, Mannes is absolutely right. The Playground, Comedy Sportz, Big City Tap and Studio Be are all found within just a few blocks of each other.

With so many improv hubs nearby, is there any sense of competition between the theaters?

“It’s kind of a friendly rivalry,” Geis said. “We’re all competing for the same dollar. At the end of the day, we want people at our theater rather than that theater.”

At the same time, however, there is an innate solidarity amongst the various improv clubs, Geis said.

“We all have a mutual respect for each other,” he said. “We all appreciate that we’re all trying to do this art. I would say it’s the calmest rivalry you could think of.”

“To other people [the various theaters] blend together,” Mannes said. “But to us, they represent such unique and distinct offerings that they just do nothing but add variety to Chicago comedy which is legendary.”

Mannes  said he is simply grateful to be in the Chicago improv scene at all.

“We’re part of this amazing comedy district that’s going on in this neighborhood,” he said.

Laid back and friendly

This comedy theater is accessible to all. Artistic director Geis explained it simply: “We’re laid back and friendly. We don’t have famous alumni. And we don’t have $20 ticket prices.”

Someday, Wood could be that famous pH Productions alumni who draws in tourists and improv connoisseurs someday to clubs. Until then, he is perfectly happy where he is.

“It’s one of the best gigs in the city,” he said.

Reckless Records is one of many Chicago area record stores. (Photo by Leah Hendrickson)

Audio Slideshow: Chicago On The Record – A visit to three Chicago record stores.

Story by Leah Hendrickson, Jeremy Mikula, and Katie Schweiker

In a world of iPods, Zunes, .mp3s, .wavs, .flacs, .aifs, .rms, .snds and other digital audio formats, 33 1/3 revolutions per minute still counts to some.

Despite Apple’s announcement that the 10 billionth song was downloaded from iTunes in February, many Chicagoans still listen to vinyl Long Play (LP) records from both new and old artists.

“.mp3s were really cool, and they still are,” said Dave Hofer, a new products buyer at Reckless Records’ Wicker Park location. “You could fit so many of them into a little thing, you know. You don’t have to carry a book of CDs in your car anymore, for example. But there’s just something about vinyl that draws people in.”

Reckless is a music store with three Chicago locations that sells new and used vinyl – LPs, 45s, and 78s – and used DVDs and CDs. In spite of the era of readily available digital media and an economic downturn, they still do a pretty good business, Hofer said.

“We have people who come in and only look for used DVDs and CDs,” Hofer said. “However, if we didn’t have vinyl, we’d go out of business. People come in with their old records because they grow out of stuff and are amazed that people are interested in [their old records]. I have people who come up and ask when we put out new stuff and I always say, ‘All day, every day, dude.’”

Sign outside Dave's Records in Lincoln Park (Photo by Katie Schweiker)

“No CD’s. Never had ‘em. Never will.” This sign hangs on the door to Dave’s Records in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. For owner Dave Crain, there is no other alternative to the sound of vinyl records. Dave’s, “will always be a store where vinyl is king,” Crain said.

Dave’s Records is one of the few strictly vinyl shops in Chicago with at 40,000 titles to choose from. When you walk in you are greeted with the sweet, musty aroma of vinyl. The floor tiles beckon you further into the store with their checkered pattern. The walls are lined from floor to ceiling with vinyl. Each record in its spot is watched over by Crain as he sits at a raised counter.

These include new albums by new artists, used albums, imports, reissues and even albums that are out of print and difficult to find. Hand Crain a record and he will throw it on the store’s turntable for a spin to help shopper’s make an educated decision. Dave’s makes sure that if you can’t find what you are looking for in their store, they will send you to another local record store. Crain said Dave’s is for “people who love records. They are part of the ever evolving and ever revolving world of record shoppers.”

Dusty Groove America is a hub for certain niche music lovers: jazz, soul and funk are what the store specializes in. Customers appreciate the specific target audience compared to other music providers.

Dusty Groove America in Wicker Park, Chicago (Photo by Leah Hendrickson)

“Best Buy is trying to cater to a broad audience,” said Phil Garrison of Chicago while he thumbed through a stack of records. “It’s going to be hard to find obscure items. That’s the main reason why I come to places like this.”

According to Nielsen SoundScan more than 2 million vinyl albums were sold in 2009. That is an increase of 35 percent from 2008.

While record sales are on the rise, CD sales continue to fall. Even though CDs cost nearly half as much as their vinyl counterpart, their sales have dropped 20 percent this year, according to Nielsen. However, vinyl record sales only account for about 1 percent of all album sales.

Statistics show that digital music formats aren’t going away, either.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the digital music industry grew internationally by about 25 percent in 2008, making $3.7 billion. Digital platforms now account for nearly 20 percent of all music sales, a five percent growth from 2007, IFPI said.

One reason for these figures is the ease and portability of things like the iPod, whose numerous models can store anywhere from 500 to 40,000 songs.

“iPods were a crazy new inventions when they came out, but I think the novelty of them is starting to wear off,” Hofer said. “.mp3s and digital music, even CDs, are functional but that’s about it. They’re like decorative buttons on a sport coat. Whereas something like an LP comes down to being able to hold it and having a thing, like buying a book that you really like instead of just reading it on the Kindle. If I were to sum it up in one word, I’d say ‘physicality’ plays a big part in it.”

Bob Dylan records are popular among vinly listeners (Photo by Katie Schweiker)

But while the idea of having physical media is important to some, comparing things like audio quality and physicality is like comparing apples and oranges.

“Are [records] better? I don’t know,” said Stephen Sowley as he shopped in Reckless’ Wicker Park location. “For me they’re better, but for others .mp3s are better. ‘Better’ is a relevant term, you know? You can’t take a record player with you when you go jogging.”