One 'big idea' of 2012, when money was less of a problem, has gone in the latest round of BBC News cuts. The Visual Journalism Unit, formed under editor Amanda Farnsworth, is no more. At its peak it boasted 10 online journalists, 10 online designers, 10 developers and around 50 TV designers. The ambition was one multiplatform team, providing graphics, data visuals and editorial content across TV, Connected TV, PCs, tablets and mobiles for UK and global audiences.
The end doesn't mean the end of cute graphic backgrounds for Huw, Sophie, Fiona and Clive to nod knowingly towards when they take a catwalk trip around the news studio; most of those tv designers are simply moving back in the TV News Operations team.
And it probably doesn't mean the end of trying to stop separate teams developing different graphics to address the same basic facts - but it'll be harder.
The truth is probably that the integration has proved more difficult than everyone thought - what looks good on a large living room tv doesn't always translate to a smartphone. And the software tools in use are still different. What will be lost are stories that start with just data, and become more meaningful because someone has found a way to present them that's easy to understand. And that's a loss.
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