Flash Journalism

I don't understand Flash, but I appreciate its usefulness in helping people understand a story.  Our reading says, "Journalism, when done right, helps us understand the world.  Sometimes animation provides the best way to tell a story, to make it easy to understand."  This refers to animated infographics and comes after a section that talks about USA Today's interactive graphic after the space shuttle Columbia exploded.  In that case, the graphic didn't necessarily explain why the explosion happened, but it did give a visual representation of what happened.  Sometimes, text is not enough to understand a story, and Flash helps in that understanding.  Whether it is a slideshow or an animated graphic, readers and viewers have to use more senses, making them more engaged in the story.