Posted on 09/11/2021 7:59:27 PM PDT by algore
New York (CNN Business)Journalism is often considered the first draft of history, but what happens when that draft is written on a software program that becomes obsolete? Adobe ending support for Flash — its once ubiquitous multimedia content player — last year meant that some of the news coverage of the September 11th attacks and other major events from the early days of online journalism are no longer accessible.
For example, The Washington Post and ABC News both have broken experiences within their September 11th coverage, viewable in the Internet Archive. CNN's online coverage of September 11th also has been impacted by the end of Flash.
That means what was once an interactive explainer of how the planes hit the World Trade Center or a visually-rich story on where some survivors of the attacks are now, at best, a non-functioning still image, or at worst, a gray box informing readers that "Adobe Flash player is no longer supported."
Dan Pacheco, professor of practice and chair of journalism innovation at Syracuse University's Newhouse School, has experienced the issue firsthand. As an online producer for the Post's website in the late 1990s and later for America Online, some of the work he helped build has disappeared.
"This is really about the problem of what I call the boneyard of the internet. Everything that's not a piece of text or a flat picture is basically destined to rot and die when new methods of delivering the content replace it," Pacheco told CNN Business. "I just feel like the internet is rotting at an even faster pace, ironically, because of innovation. It shouldn't."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
"USA Today is not rebuilding every old experience for today's news consumer. But individuals inside the news organization are giving special attention to certain projects. Jim Sergent, senior manager of graphics at USA Today, said his colleague Mitchell Thorson keeps eyes on the functionality of the interactive map within the Pulitzer-winning feature, "The Wall," about the US-Mexico border and former President Donald Trump's campaign to build a wall.
"'The Wall' is a great example where we did just unbelievable work and we realized, 'Okay, yeah. We want this to be out there for as long as it can be,'" Sergent said. "
Makes it much easier to rewrite history.
Archival Hardware loaded with archival s/w can’t still get the job done?
“the dog ate my homework”
Are Digital copies of the Queeran still functional?
If so, No Problem....
BS for sure.
The guy probably wasn’t logged-in.
Down the Memory Hole.
“Makes it much easier to rewrite history.”
Was thinking the same. Perfect recipe for Orwellian memory-holing.
Tech ping.
Reminds me of the missing Apollo 11 video tapes, and telemetry data. Also missing are a bunch of technical files on the construction of equipment.
Well, Flash videos may not run on your newer versions of your browser, but most video players still run flash videos.
Just download them and open them with VLC or a similar player if you really want to see them. They are also easily converted to more durable video formats with many programs. Some programs you can convert them in batches with just a few clicks.
Well Flash is basically unsafe animated graphics. They should still have all the source materials that went into it. Images and text is pretty much all it is. They could redo it with newer tech if they wanted. There’s actual camera footage anyway and we all know what happened.
Ermmm...where are the original videos? They don’t start as Flash (.fla) files. BS for the uninformed masses. The content is still there, the desire to safeguard it? Maybe not so much...
Oooo, now you have me intrigued. Explain further.......seriously.
NASA taped over the master copies of the Apollo 11 moon landing. They also erased the telemetry data (basically the black box infomration) between the Lunar shuttle and central command. NASA stated that the data was of no value. Even some of the blueprints and data of construction of the Saturn V and LEM is lost.
Saw a multi-hour video (on YouTube?) of the 9-11 events mixed with the Howard Stern radio show as it aired that morning. Eye-opening. While thousands are dying, Howard just keeps churning out lame sex jokes even as he’s been told what is going on right outside his window. Classless but that’s nothing new.
I agree... BS... There are Linux apps that will open Flash. I’m sure there are other 3rd party Windows apps that will do it.
Where’s the “Rosetta Stone” of technology?
And much less pollution than burning a book or a film.
This is why we must be vigilant. Never forget, and repeat this history to future generations so they, too, will have their opportunity to squelch the lies, fraud, and disparities when the time comes and truth is needed.
Some of what is missing:
USA Today has archived many of its old interactives by storing the original files on its servers. Since some of the online interactives were converted for the print newspaper, they also saved associated static graphics. Zarracina said he was able to open some of the files originally made in Adobe’s FreeHand software in a newer creative software suite called Affinity.
The New York Times has brought back some its old Flash-based interactives by using Ruffle, an Adobe Flash Player emulator that is part of an open-source project, said Jordan Cohen, The Times’ executive director of communications.
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