KTVT in Dallas/Fort Worth has launched an elaborate educational website about the Upper Trinity River watershed. The graphics are superb and the interactive features are well executed. With a little tweaking, it could be a top notch effort, but it does need a little tweaking.
The basic problem is that site intends to educate visitors about watersheds, but if you don’t know care about watersheds already, there’s nothing to entice you to explore the site. The site doesn’t make a strong, immediate connection between watersheds and what people want — clean water, places for outdoor family activities, homes for wildlife, communities safe from floods, etc… You have to dig pretty deep into the site before these things are revealed.
Journalists call this kind of communications mistake “burying the lead” — failing to make the most important part of the story explicit and prominent.
This website has so much going for it. I hope the station puts a little more effort into the project so it achieves its potential.
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I agree; defining a watershed is second in importance only to definitively and creatively stating WHY a person should be interested. People resonate with clean water, recreational uses, and kids — make it a relevant message so you “hook” your potential viewers, then get into the nitty-gritty of what a watershed is and what might be impairing it. You should absolutely offer suggestions and ideas and partnerships so people can make a difference and take positive action, and have someone to turn to with questions.