Public Journalism’s Use of Visual Communication in an Election
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Only young readers have been found to be hindered by graphics (Wanta, 1995). In that
study, young readers were best able to recall information when it was presented in pull
quotes.
Pull quotes – extracted quotations that are run in larger type than story text – have
been shown to attract attention because their vivid examples are more attended to than
statistical data (Gibson, Hester & Stewart, 2001). Research has shown that pull quotes are
significantly related to enjoyment, readability, attractiveness, and information recall and
can greatly enhance readers’ understanding of the accompanying story (Wanta & Gao,
1994; Wanta & Remy, 1995). Furthermore, pull quotes can exert a persuasive influence,
fostering high levels of support for the position advocated (Gibson, Hester & Stewart,
2001). The authors warn that pull quotes should not be so out-of-context that the reader
gets the wrong impression.
Sidebars – short stories that accompany and amplify the main story – have also
been treated as graphic devices because of their typical presentation in boxes, often with
color tints. In two studies, sidebars were more effective than graphics at aiding reader
recall (Ward, 1992) and when sidebars or background boxes contained textual
information they helped readers’ understanding of stories (Griffin & Stevenson, 1992;
Ward 1992). Sidebar boxes were the second best of four elements tested at helping young
readers recall information (Wanta, 1995).
It has long been conventional wisdom, backed up by research, that boldface and
italic type is hard to read in large quantities of text but is good for emphasis, attracting
attention, and guiding readers through a story (Moen, 2000; Harrower, 1998; Tinker,
Convention