Illustration, design, and investigative reporting in the project that brought The New Yorker into the age of interactive documentary
What does it mean to tell a story whose consequences are still unfolding? How can an investigative report become a narrative experience that fully engages readers without compromising journalistic rigor? These are the questions at the heart of the event hosted by Salotto on June 22, dedicated to Cleared by Fire, The New Yorker’s interactive documentary that received a Peabody Award, one of the most prestigious honors in journalism and storytelling.
The conversation brings together four of the key figures behind the project: Sam Wolson, Visual Features Editor at The New Yorker; Aviva Michaelov, Digital Design Director; Nicholas Konrad, Art Director; and Emiliano Ponzi, one of Italy’s most internationally acclaimed illustrators. Together they will discuss not only how such an investigation is produced, but also how journalism, illustration, animation, cartography, interaction design, and web development can merge into an entirely new form of visual storytelling.
Cleared by Fire reconstructs one of the most controversial episodes of the Iraq War: the Haditha massacre of November 19, 2005, when U.S. Marines killed twenty-four Iraqi civilians—including women, children, and elderly people—following the death of one Marine in a roadside bomb attack. For years the incident remained the subject of legal disputes, political controversy, and conflicting public narratives. Drawing on military records, eyewitness testimony, photographs, architectural reconstruction, maps, and newly gathered evidence, the project pieces together the events with remarkable forensic precision.
Rather than presenting a traditional illustrated long-form article, Cleared by Fire invites readers to move through the story. They navigate buildings, examine maps, follow the movements of soldiers and civilians, and gradually reconstruct the sequence of events themselves. Interactivity is not used as a technological gimmick but as a journalistic tool that allows the audience to understand the complexity of the investigation. The project also marks a milestone for The New Yorker, becoming the magazine’s first fully navigable browser-based interactive documentary.
Sam Wolson has been one of the leading figures redefining the relationship between investigative journalism and visual narrative. As Visual Features Editor, he develops projects that combine reporting, video, graphics, animation, and interactive media, expanding what long-form journalism can become in the digital age. In Cleared by Fire, his role was to transform an enormous body of investigative material into a coherent narrative that guides readers while preserving the complexity of the evidence.
Working alongside him is Aviva Michaelov, whose role as Digital Design Director extends far beyond visual appearance. She designs how readers experience the story: how information unfolds, how navigation supports understanding, and how the pacing of interaction shapes emotional and intellectual engagement. In contemporary digital journalism, design is no longer decorative—it has become an essential narrative language.
Nicholas Konrad, the project’s Art Director, oversees the entire visual identity of the documentary. In a work dealing with extreme violence, the challenge is not simply how to depict events but how to do so ethically. The visual language must respect the victims while avoiding sensationalism and preserving historical accuracy. Art direction therefore becomes an editorial responsibility as much as an aesthetic one.
The contribution of Emiliano Ponzi adds another dimension to the project. Internationally known for his work with The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, Le Monde, and many other publications, Ponzi has developed a visual language based on clarity, synthesis, and emotional restraint. In Cleared by Fire, illustration is not merely decorative; it becomes a tool of reconstruction, allowing readers to imagine spaces, gestures, and moments that photography alone cannot fully convey. His images create distance without diminishing emotional impact, helping transform documentation into reflection.
The event also offers an opportunity to discuss the future of visual journalism itself. In recent years, investigative reporting has increasingly incorporated techniques borrowed from documentary filmmaking, information design, digital cartography, and even video game navigation. Cleared by Fire demonstrates how these tools can deepen public understanding rather than simply impress audiences with technical innovation.
Ultimately, the project illustrates how contemporary journalism has become profoundly collaborative. Reporters, editors, designers, illustrators, developers, and art directors work together from the earliest stages of an investigation, each contributing a different form of expertise. This interdisciplinary approach allows complex stories to be told with both documentary accuracy and narrative power. In doing so, Cleared by Fire points toward a possible future for journalism—one in which digital technology serves not to simplify reality, but to reveal its full complexity.
