hannah fairfield, the new york times climate editor, told us about her work in storytelling at one of the world’s most renowned publications. she highlighted the importance of infographics, and of telling stories through data visualization.

these techniques are so important because they translate science and data into easily consumable stories.

while the story, “greenland is melting away,” includes a written article, the important information that appeals to the viewer’s emotions is in the infographic that combines the footage of a drone and satellite. the viewer can see the researchers’ tents set up near the river, and then zoom out and see that it is not just this one river, but many rivers melting greenland from the inside out.

this is layered with data, relaying all of the surprising and important facts about how much water each river carries, and the impact these rivers have on the land mass of greenland and salinity of the surrounding ocean.

up next: reality revolution: how ar/vr can create empathy, urgency, and a new sense of place >