Critique No. 7: Post-Gazette goes all out for breast cancer awareness event

This photo taken from the website of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

As I’m sure it is in other cities, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is a big deal in Pittsburgh. To cover this year’s event, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sent a reporter, a photographer, and a video producer — that I know of. The work of all three is admirable, but there are problems, particularly with the three-minute-plus video by Nate Guidry.

Upon viewing Guidry’s video, the first thing that stands out is the background noise. There’s entirely too much ambient sound, and at times it severely interferes with the viewer’s ability to listen to the interviewees. Although I’m sure the event was loud, I have to think there was a somewhat quiet spot nearby, somewhere suitable to tape interviews. Overall, the insights of five women appear in Guidry’s video. All the people who participate in the event have their own unique stories and their own personal connections to breast cancer. Because there are men involved, too, I thought it would have been interesting to see what one of them had to say.

In addition, there were some technical issues with Guidry’s video. At the start of it, he flashes the generic Post-Gazette opening slide, but it flies by too quickly. Also, I thought he could have picked a more acceptable way to display his sources’ names. With the lower third he selected, it looks bad when information about the second woman, a race organizer named Kathy Purcell, runs across the bottom of the screen, because her title is so lengthy.

Although Guidry’s video runs long and features some less-than-desirable aspects, perhaps I should be thankful that it simply exists. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a major competitor of the Post-Gazette, does not have a video as part of its coverage of the event.

(One last thing: Can you spot the typo in the screenshot above? In the “Related Media” box, Susan G. Komen’s last name is spelled wrong. Come on, Post-Gazette! … Note: At about 11 a.m. Wednesday, the Post-Gazette informed me via Twitter that Komen’s name is now spelled correctly.)