J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism University of Maryland

 

Sign Up for Email Updates


Google

Web
J-Lab.org

Cool Stuff:
Finance and Healthcare
Making healthcare and investment decisions can be overwhelming, so media organizations are using interactive exercises to help weigh the options.

FinancialAidLetter.com - Letter Decoder

A former U.S News reporter developed this site as a Kiplinger fellow; it's dedicated to helping students and parents decode and understand the jargon and consequences of applying for and receiving college financial aid. Using database analysis and user interaction, the site demonstrates the journalist's best use of technology.

Minnesota Public Radio - Medical Matchmaker

As part of its Prescription for Change series on emplyee health care, MPR offers this interactive tool that generates 12 pairs of fictional health insurance plans and asks users to choose a favorite from each pair. Based on those decisions, it shows what features -- such as monthly premium, provider choice and deductible -- are most important to the user in choosing a health plan, then tells what existing plan is the best fit.

J-Lab is a center of the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. It is a spin-off of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism (www.pewcenter.org). © 2004 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism
Subscribe to J-Lab's RSS feed (What is RSS?)