PAULINE'S PICKS: Springfield 'News-Leader' Highlights Fallen Servicemen

By: Pauline Millard A few days ago The Associated Press offered a multimedia project to its hosted members that profiled every serviceman and woman who has died in Iraq since the war started in 2003. It was a tremendous effort, but given that the Associated Press has the resources for such an endeavor, it's no surprise that they were able to do it.

On the flip side, smaller papers may find creating similar projects difficult. Software needs to be purchased and designers are expensive. Then there's the issue of manpower for research.

The Springfield News-Leader in Springfield, Mo., took the idea of cataloguing the fallen servicemen one step further. They focused on the 92 Missourians who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq and made a special project about them. Each entry has a photo, biographical information, how they died and an AP story that corresponds to them, if applicable. There is also a map that pinpoints where in Missouri they're from.

At a time when newspapers are pushing their local angles as a selling point, I think the News-Leader shows that they 'get it.' Dean Curtis, the paper's multimedia editor tells me that although it can be hard for smaller papers to pull off such projects, it's absolutely possible with a little planning and time management.

Here are some of my past Picks:

NYTimes.com Interviews Former East Germans Who Tried To Flee Via Bulgaria

AP Indexes All 4,000 Fallen Servicemen And Women In Iraq

Yahoo News Examines Life Of Legless Man