Interactive Poll on Drink Tax

This interactive poll ran on my local paper's website (http://www.enterprisepub.com/). This one, again, did not specify who created it or when, so I'm assuming the local newspaper staff did recently. I saw it on the website beginning September 14. However, I'm surprised at how often the graphics I see online don't mention who created them or when they were created. This is something I make my journalism students do all the time.

The strength of this piece is that it deals with a current and local topic that affects nearly everyone who will read this online paper. The photo that appears at the top of the poll is a visual that attracts viewers to the text below. The weakness of the piece is that, as a poll, it doesn't really impart much solid information. Some of the options to choose in the poll are not very helpful or informational. Some of the options are amusing, but they don't tell me how people feel about the topic. That should be the whole purpose behind an interactive poll.

This poll does inform viewers that there is a new city tax on dining, drinking, and catering, but most local viewers will already know that. This information graphic is short on the information end. Even an interactive poll can and should inform readers.

One way to enhance and improve this interactive poll would be to include better options for viewers to choose. Like I mentioned before, while some of the options are amusing, they aren't informative and don't tell us how people feel about the tax. Each of the six options is negative. While I agree it's safe to say that a vast majority of people are not for teh taxes, it defeats the purpose of an interactive poll to only show one side. Additional options that show a variety of opinions would enhance this graphic and make it more informational and accurate.

This interactive poll is intended for a local audience in a city just outside of Omaha because one of the options says, "Just another reason not to go to Omaha." The local online paper will draw mostly local readers.

The design of the poll is effective if not dazzling. The photo at the top of the poll draws attention, while the blue question stands out to viewers. The simple buttons on the bottom to "vote" or "view results" are simple and easy to understand and use. Overall, this is an example of a graphic that is "pretty" but has no useful information for readers. It was definitely not created by an information architect.