Great Use of Graphics

I was on CNN.com last night searching for commentary and feedback about President Obama's first address to the nation. While I was looking, I ran across an interactive map that allowed you to look at the unemployment rates, foreclosure rates, and jobs by industry in states across the country (http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/map.economy/index.html). By dragging your mouse to each spot on the map, the statistics for that state appeared. It was a fast way to learn some great information and truly see the economic trouble this country is in.
What I liked most about the map is that there were also individual stories for the statistics as well. It wasn't overwhelming like 5o different stories for the 50 different states, but just a few sprinkled in that humanized the map immensely. Not only did I have something with hard numbers that gave me perspective, but also a story from someone who could be my neighbor or the father of a fellow classmate. There was only a blurb that described his/her situation, and the viewer had the opportunity to click a link for more details or to just stick with the blurb and move on. I thought to myself, "This is the perfect example of interactive and useful journalism."
I think we as journalists get so nervous now with the turn of technology and the state of the market which is understandable. But just think, five years ago a graphic like this would have been unimaginable. It's scary to think what jobs will be left in the journalism field in a decade, but it's more exciting to think about the better stories we can tell with the newer technology and the more people we can touch with them. I'm one of those weary journalism students who worries if a job will even be available when I graduate, but I'm excited that technology is allowing me to tell my stories better. Learning how to use it is another story, but we'll worry about that another day.