Mobile Content is King

Tearline employs a "mobile first" and responsive design philosophy so the reporting will travel further in a world of more smartphone and tablet screens than desktops, especially in emerging markets. The web browser version will respond well on any modern smartphone or tablet.

Native apps are also available in the Apple Store and Google Play. The functionality of the app is parred down slightly from the web version. Search for "Tearline."

Green Data Links

Readers will notice two types of links within this section: regular blue hyperlinks and green data links. Green data links point to underlying data sets. If you hover over a green data link with your mouse, a pop-up box will show the data type as listed in the "Data Sources" section.

Tracking Changes within the Living Document

Tearline uses a "living document" model to update the public reports. Readers will be able to see when the story was last updated and track revisions by clicking the rewind and forward buttons in the text section. Green and red color coding will highlight the changes to the text.

As you scroll up or below the fold, navigation buttons will guide you to the revisions. You can remove the revision formatting by clicking the "Last Major Revision" link.

If the buttons are grayed out, this signals to the reader that changes have not been made to the text section. A responsive browser view of fewer than 767 pixels in width (average tablet portrait width) will not serve out the revision buttons. If the buttons are visible, test it now. Hit the rewind button several times then move the story forward for the best experience reading the changes.

Major Revisions, Spotlight Updates, and Revision Descriptions

New feature to web version as of 12/1/2020

The "update" spotlight section below the title (latest, impact, and update) will briefly summarize the type of revision made and in what Tearline section. For example, the update spotlight could read "updated timeline" or "updated data sources" or "updated map." If a revision is flagged as major by the authors, the spotlight update section will read "edits to text section." The living document functions noted above stay the same - readers can toggle the text back and forth to see the changes. The "days ago" description in the spotlight update section is a legacy feature as of 12/1/2020. The native app versions of Tearline lack spotlight section features but readers can track the changes in the text section by hitting the rewind and forward buttons.