by Denise

Something I get really excited about when it comes to The Rapidian is how we can think outside of the box. Our contribution base is a mishmash of backgrounds, talents, passions and publishing experience. Every once in a while, we get calls from timid but enthusiastic newbies asking if we think they’d meet our quality standards (answer: we work with everyone). But honestly, that’s where we draw our strength. In the current upheaval, there’s also room to rethink how to present news.

What’s exciting about having a base not conditioned by years in the field is that they are unfettered to re-envision news presentation. Cases in point:

1. Collaborative live coverage of the community mini-grant series, Sunday Soup
   
   
2. Stop-motion video for a collaborative news brief on Live Coverage, a local art event
   
   
   
   
3. Fill-in-the-blank madlib on how to talk like an art critic (local life piece during ArtPrize 2010). Screenshot of an MS Word doc but effective nonetheless!
   
   
   
   
4. Audio piece à la Sounds of Michigan on the ambience of the local amateur boxing gym
   
   
5. Mapping out a walking tour of women’s history in Grand Rapids
   
   
   View GR Historical Women: Walking tour in a larger map
   
   
6. Music performance review in comic form
   
   

So much potential! Cin-cin to more creative coverage in 2011!