Header

“There is no such thing as information overload, only filter failure”, stated Clay Shirky during a presentation at the Web 2.0 Expo in September 2008.

According to Briggs there are two challenges to all this information:

  1. Personal: being able to take advantage of all the tools out there to manage your day.
  2. Professional: seizing these opportunities to futher yourself as a journalist.

First things first… ORGANIZE YOUR E-MAIL.

David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, suggests spending no more than two minutes on every e-mail. If you’re able to reply in two minutes, then do it, otherwise save it for later.

Finding the right Web sites for you will go a long way in organizing your digital lifestyle.

According to Briggs, there are many things to be managed: e-mail, contacts, to-do lists, calendars, notes, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, images, databases, project management, Web or graphic design, and collaboration with colleagues.

Here is a list of some fantastic Web sites to help manage all these things:

  • Instapaper: Saves Web sites to read later.
  • Rememeber The Milk: For to-do and task lists.
  • Oh don’t forget: Reminders sent to cell phones.
  • Evernote: To-do lists and note taking, can use audio with your cell phone.
  • Jott: Audio to-do lists and note taking with your cell phone.
  • Dropbox: Stores files/documents to be accessed anywhere.
  • Backpack: Information organizing, calendar, task lists, document sharing, etc.
  • Basecamp: Project managing.
  • Socrata: Create databases from spreadsheets or from scratch.
  • MindMeister: Mind-mapping software.

So what can one do with all of this digital information? According to Briggs, every story is a field of data. Any story can then be broken down into separate field for analyzing purposes.

Share the data: API, or application program interface, has allowed people to tap into other Web sites data and information. New organizations can open up its content through APIs which has two important developments: technical and political.

Copyright: blogs.ukoln.ac.uk

Spreadsheets and Databases: Briggs suggests starting with spreadsheets to organize information then move it into a database. These two tools are very helpful in organizing information.

One can then use databases and maps to tell stories and produce more information for an audience.

Data, data, data, and more data. Keeping oneself organized is the golden ticket.

Some things just can’t be expressed with words. That’s where the POWER of videos comes in.

Copyright: avcreative.co.uk

“The tools have changed, but the game remains the same: visual journalism is about telling compelling stories that connect an audience with subjects, people and issues.” – Mark Briggs

First thing to know about making videos to tell one’s story is that perfection is not necessary. A video’s authenticity and behind the scenes feel, can go much further sometimes than a “perfectly” edited video.

PLAN YOUR VIDEO AND GO

  1. Use different approaches depending on the project.
  2. Storyboarding.
  3. Mix up the shots.

Some good accessories to have are:

  • Tapes and batteries: Make sure you have enough power and space.
  • Microphones: Built-in mic for natural/environmental sound, wireless-mic for interviews and shotgun mic to get conversations among several people.
  • Tripod: There’s nothing better than a steady shot to produce a professional video.
  • Headphones: Listen while you shoot to make sure the audio is good.
  • Lighting: Powerful lighting produces a powerful video.

Some great lessons for visual storytelling, according to Briggs, are:

  • Define your story in the first 20 seconds; make sure to HOOK your audience.
  • There must be a beginning, middle and end.
  • Don’t let your viewers get bored! Short clips are the way to go.
  • Focus on only ONE central idea and stay with that ONE idea.
  • Characters are what make your stories. Better characters = better story.

Final thing is to publish your video online. Posting it on your own website is great, but viral video distribution is that way to go. Freelance multimedia journalist Angela Grant recommends using TubeMogul that will automatically upload your video to 20 different video-sharing sites, including YouTube.

Bottom line: Shoot, shoot and shoot some more.

Jim Iovino, editor from NBC Washington, came and spoke to our Comm. 361 class today. He spoke to us about online journalism and how to make it better than the next person.

 Copyright: megancloherty.com

Iovino started his journalism working as a writer for a newspaper in Pittsburgh, then transferred over to TV, then was a senior news editor in Columbus, Ohio, then finally came to Washington, D.C. to pursue his career as an online journalist.

I wanted to be ahead of the next curve,” Iovino said. “I knew that there was a transition from print journalism to online journalism and I was ready to get into it.”

He showed us a video that Pat Collins did during the DMV snowstorm of 2010. The video, which can be viewed here was just an interview of a woman who walked 6 milesin the snow for a free sandwich. Iovino explained that Pat is good at what he does because he’s not afraid to take chances and cover stories others don’t even think of.

Iovino said, “Find an interesting angle to a story that you think nobody else is going to have and OWN it.” Don’t be afraid to try something different and see how it does.

Iovino explained how there’s a lot of collaborating on the NBC Washington website. He showed us the blog The 20 which has various blog posts from other journalists in which people can comment on.

How do you set yourself apar from others?

Iovino explained how, “You want to be the first one out there with the story. You want to be able to say that YOU were the first one to break the story.”

He also showed us a really cool part of the website called “Adept or Inept” which is an original series produced by American University’s Spring 2011 Intro to Studio Television class. It’s a site compiled of student produced videos that has ordinary people learn how to do certain skills such as become a male cheerleader, dance hip-hop, or even bellydance. At the end of the video viewers can then vote whether they found the person to be adept or inept to the skill. Very cool!

In regards to video, Iovino explained that, “People love to see rough footage.”

Sometimes less really is more. Very helpful presentation.

My team, which is comprised of Melissa, Ryan, Nick, Lijam and Julia, is doing our project on theraputic hockey. We are specifically focusing on the NoVa Cool Cats hockey team based in the Northern Virginia area.

Our team created a storyboard on MindMeister, which can be found here.

My role in the project is to create a slideshow of pictures from the Cool Cat’s practice, contribute blurbs and information for our ZeeMap that we’re embedding on our final project and helping Melissa with the information for the feature story.

 

Copyright: people.com

“American journalism, in many ways, needs a spine transplant,” Rather said, “We’ve lost some of the grit in our gut.”

This was just one of the many things that Dan Rather had to say about being a journalist and where journalism is in our current social media frenzy of a world.

On February 24, 2011 Dan Rather and Tucker Carlson joined Steve Scully, the political editor for the C-SPAN networks, and participating students from George Mason University, Purdue University, the University of Denver and Georgetown University for a live video conference.

Rather, who was a former news anchor for CBS Evening News, touched on many issues dealing with his experiences with journalism and journalism today. Rather now also hosts his own show titled Dan Rather Reports and can be viewed on HDNet.

Rather explained how there are three important components to being a good journalist:

  1. Curiosity
  2. Relentless determination
  3. Ability to write well and quickly

“Curiosity is the bedrock of being a good reporter,” Rather said.

When discussing his experiences with covering the  Kennedy assassination, he said, “As a professional you must seal out your emotions and focus on the job at hand.”

He explained how it’s our job as journalists to get the facts right and to be true to your story and your audience.

Which leads into the topic of social media. Rather explained how he’s seen the leader in how consumers get their journalism go from radio, to TV, and now the overwhelmingly dominant Internet.

“Obama is our first Internet president,” said Rather. “However, the strength of TV is that is puts you there. You can see the reality and make your own judgement.”

Copyright: inquisitr.com

Tucker Carlson, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller, joined Rather in dicussing the emergence of online journalism and social media and what needs to be done.

Carlson explained how, “The problem with online media is that it’s young and there’s not a lot of money there.” It’s still emerging into our society and it’s a good and bad thing all at the same time.

Rather explained how, “Consumers need to be educated in order to improve online journalism.” Consumers needs to be able to sift through what’s fact and what’s fiction.

A very powerful statement that Rather said was “News is something important that someone in power doesn’t want the public to know.”

Encouraging students to be aware of the checks and balances system that the American journalism has stemmed from, and tying that in with a “sense of independence.”

The video for this particular video conference can be found here.

The distance learning course, which is produced by C-SPAN, is a unique opportunity for students to interview guests via video conference. the course airs on C-SPAN3 on Fridays at 5 p.m. and also streams online here.

« Newer Entries - Older Entries »