Breaking crime news is probably the most basic story to write (and that’s probably why newbie reporters often start on the cops beat). Until you get into the nitty-gritty of the life of the victim(s), alleged perpetrator, etc., you’re basically dealing with the five W’s. Unless a reader knows someone involved in the crime, the ‘where’ of the story may be the most interesting and personally relevant piece of information. People want to know about crime near them. That’s why mashups that incorporate police reports and maps are useful.
Today, this brief from the Chicago Tribune caught my eye: Driver fatally shot on Near North Side. I used to live on the Near North Side of Chicago near Cabrini-Green, but my memory fails me as to where Larabee and Oak Streets are exactly. So naturally I went to pull up Google maps to find out where this occurred. Turns out, it was not near my old apartment and I immediately got a better impression of the situation because I know which parts of that area are more prone to crime.
It took me maybe 30 seconds to pull up the map and link it here. (Were WordPress not giving me issues, I could have also embedded the map itself in this post.) The reporter or producer who posted the story could have done the same thing on the ChicagoBreakingNews.com blog and provided valuable information to the reader. Since the site already uses mapping in other contexts, there’s really no reason not to.
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