Animation has become part of the way we tell stories online. It's an option we use to give more credibility and reality to the piece. We're always thinking about making the story animated if we can, and more interesting to the readers. I think it has changed the way we tell stories dramatically. You can't just copy a news graphic and paste it on the Web page and expect it to engage the reader.

With all the changes we've seen in just the past six years, it wouldn't surprise me if something else came along. But they would have some serious catching up to do. With each year and each version of Flash, it becomes harder for anyone else to catch up.

Ideally, early in the planning stages, before reporters and photographers are assigned to a story, we like to be involved at that point, to make sure the content gathering keeps our needs in mind. If we don't find out about it until the night before, we're often not able to produce an interactive graphic.