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THE RECALL OF JOURNALISTIC MAPS AND OTHER GRAPHICS La mémorisation et le rappel des cartes journalistiques et des autres graphiques Patricia GILMARTIN University of South Carolina / Columbia, S.C. / U.S.A. ABSTRACT Research has shown that most people are able to recall only a very small percentage of the news items which they read in newspapers. Various researchers have stated, however, that maps and other graphics in the mass-media serve to attract reader’s attention and help them remember accompanying articles. This assumption, along with a desire to enhance the overall visual appeal of the newspapers, has prompted many editors to increase the use of graphics of all kinds with news stories and features. The study reported here addressed three questions regarding journalistic maps and other graphics : 1)When people read a newspaper, are they aware of maps and other graphics in it ; 2) Do they learn anything from maps which accompany news stories ; and 3) Does the presence of illustrations increase the attention given to the news story which it accompanies ? In this study, graphics did perform the latter function. It appears that subjects did not pay much attention directly to the graphics, however. RÉSUMÉ La recherche a montré que la plupart des gens ne sont capables de se souvenir que d’ une petite portion des nouvelles qu’ils lisent dans les journaux. Divers chercheurs ont déjd constaté que les cartes et autres graphiques dans les médias de masse servent d attirer l’ attention du lecteur et les aident d se souvenir des articles qui les accompagnent. Cette affirmation, doublée du désir de rehausser la qualité visuelle générale des journaux, a forcé plusieurs rédacteurs d accroître l’utilisation des graphiques de toutes sortes avec le récit de nouvelles. Cette communication pose trois questions concernant les cartes et les autres graphiques journalistiques : I) Quand les gens lisent le journal portent-ils attention aux cartes et aux autres graphiques qui s’ y trouvent ? ; 2) Apprennent-ils quelque chose des cartes qui accompagnent les articles ? ; 3) Est-ce que la présence d’ illustrations graphiques augmente l’attention donnée aux nouvelles qu’elles accompagnent ?Dans cette recherche, les graphiques remplissent bien la fonction mentionnée d la dernière question. Il semble, cependant, que les personnes interrogées ont porté peu d’attention aux graphiques eux-mêmes. INTRODUCTION Journalistic maps are probably seen by more adults in North America than any other map genre. The circulation of daily and weekly newspapers, alone, is around 114 million, and many of these editions contain maps (1). Add to this the number of maps which appearin news magazines and television news broadcasts, and it is clear that we are talking about a very large number of maps which are seen by a large number of people. As a cartographer, I am interested in all facets of map design and communication. Journalistic maps appear to comprise a rich potential for information on these topics for several reasons : first, simply because they are seen by so many people ; second, because so little research has been done on them to date ; and third, because journalistic maps are produced within a rather extreme set of design constraints (2). The study reported here was designed to address three questions regarding journalistic maps : 1) When people read a newspaper, are they aware of the presence of maps and other graphics in it ? 2) Do they learn anything from maps which accompany news stories ? and 3) Does the presence of a map increase the attention given to the news story which it accompanies ? But before the study itself is detailed, it would be useful to provide a brief background for it. IBACKGROUND First of all, what do I mean by journalistic maps ? I will adopt a definition offered by Walter Ristow almost thirty years ago (3). That is, maps which « illustrate and amplify stories and articles published 83 in mass communications media, ranging from daily newspapers to quarterly journals. » To bring this definition up to date and to make it comprehensive, it should be broadened to include maps that accompany television news reports. The design and perception of television graphics may be somewhat different than for the print media, however, because of their use of color, the fact that they are formed by emitted rather than reflected light, and because they are viewable for only a few seconds. Some research has been done specifically on television news...

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