About the Workshop

VISUAL EDGE 2005

As America watched and worried about all those affected by Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath, a group of visionary visual journalists gathered at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., prepared to learn about the best of visual reporting in print and broadcast for the Web.

While Gulf Coast communities decimated and shattered by the violent storm searched for the will to moved forward and rebuild, thousands of stories presented themselves, needing desperately to be reported. Back in St. Pete, 20 journalism professionals and educators, all affected in some way by the enormity of the storm, the aftermath or the coverage, all labored to explore ways to give voice to the voiceless and to find, document and publish those stories in an honest and compelling fashion.

These journalists hail from points across the country, from Sacramento, Calif., to San Diego, Calif.; from Tampa, Fla., to New York, N.Y.; from Corpus Christi, Texas to Selinsgrove, Penn.; they endeavored to learn how to be better storytellers in this digital age. They spent a week enduring change, exploring the vast possibilities of a world in which still images, video, sound, animation and compelling written prose are part of every storyteller's toolbelt.

By the end of the week, more than eight multiple media projects were created and a new generation of digital journalists advanced to another level. Working in the VE sphere (the concept ascribed to the laboratory environment for the week) journalists stretched their imaginations, envisioned new possibilities and honed their skills to produce the dynamic site and visual record presented here.

Please enjoy the VE sphere.