New York Times Video

http://video.on.nytimes.com/

I watched a video on the New York Times website ("Financial Crisis Hits Teens") about a New York City high school. There were interviews with the students and teachers about the economy and how it is starting to affect the younger generations. I thought the story was done well, the interviews with students who had specific examples of seeing their parents try to save money, or discussing things that they always taken for granted but now are not sure about (getting a mortgage on a house like their parents did) helped drive the point of the story home. The principle talked about the students finding money for college, something else I thought was a very real problem that many students are facing. However, this was one private high school, and I think it may have been interesting to also get a look at this from a public school's perspective since it would have been a good opportunity to get even more varied backgrounds.
Had this story been done text only it would have been an interesting story. It would have gotten the point across and given some good quotes from students and teachers experiencing the changing economy. But by doing the story as a video, it made the students people who you could see and relate to. It made them real. You could see how attentive they were in their economy class, knowing how important the lessons would be, and see the worry on their faces as they discussed their options and the changes in their lives.