Month: December 2010

Posted in Education, multimedia journalist

Best of NABJDigital: Creating A “Hinge” Between Newsroom, Classroom

Posted on by nabjdigital

Editor’s note: we are off this week, so we’re re-posting our most popular columns.  This column, from contributor Bliss Davis, was originally published Aug. 18.

By Bliss Davis, Multimedia Journalist

I recently read an article about Allbritton Communications’ TBD.com news website and their partnership with American University’s School of Communication for interns, and another between NYU, which will run The Local East Village, a hyperlocal news site for the New York Times.
While the concept of gaining professional experience or familiarizing yourself with a profession isn’t news, it is welcoming to hear news of programs like this gaining ground.  Even NABJ recently broadened its converged student media newsroom to include a bootcamp-like for high school students as well as those in higher education.   All of these programs have something in common — namely having digital media as either a forefront or major component of their partnerships.
Even with these progressive programs, there is a huge gap in how much journalism students (especially those still in high school) are exposed to professional media.  Besides journalism, one of my passions is moving forward with a steady gaze on what’s behind me–for the second half of my college experience I taught journalism at an inner city high school.  The school needed journalism teachers and through a special grant project I was brought in along with a few others.  My primary reason for doing so was being from the inner city myself, and remembering how my high school’s journalism program was canceled from funding issues.
The joint grant initiative was a meager project and I am barely in the professional journalism realm myself, but our efforts paid off.  With the help of professionals and professors, several in the class graduated with a working knowledge of multimedia and a desire to become journalists themselves.
It is much too premature to rave about joint programs of course, but hopefully they take off in other forms.  Besides helping raise general interest in the world, there is a growing interest in using non-traditional platforms.  After getting their newspaper down the class in the grant program wanted to publish a digital version as well.  While still in the works, it will be interesting to see what they come up with in the coming school year.
Taking the focus away from the students, the only way for these hinge programs to continue to be successful depends on professionals who already know the ropes.  None if these programs  function without the help of someone already familiar with the industry and can only work with pros willing to get their hands dirty.
Posted in Social Media Correspondent, TwitterNewsChat

Tweet a Lead Using the Hashtag #TwitterNewsChat

Posted on by nabjdigital

Social Media in the Classroom

By Serbino Sandifer-Walker, DJTF V.P., Texas Southern University Professor, http://socialmediacorrespondents.net/
TSU Student NewsFeed

One of the most important aspects of any news story is the lead.  It is often the most difficult for beginning news writers to learn to master.  It must be well-written, compelling and capture the reader’s attention.  The Poynter Institute’s Chip Scanlan said a good lead beckons, invites, informs, attracts and entices the reader.  If there is any poetry in journalism, Scanlan added, it would have to be in the lead. However, writing a lead that truly captivates a reader can be a daunting task, even for an experienced writer.

Because lead writing can be such a daunting task, I decided to step outside of the traditional classroom paradigm and use Twitter as a tool to teach students how to write leads.  The micro-blogging, social network has been an excellent platform for showing students how to use words effectively.  Twitter’s 140 character limitation has been a very good model to help students critically analyze how to structure the lead with precision and maximize storytelling in a few words.

The Process

Using the Hashtag #TwitterNewsChat, students posted leads daily during the semester. The Hashtag grouped the leads on Twitter into a real-time designated section and was required to be included in the Tweet [Twitter’s 140 character post].  See exhibit I.

The students’ leads were generated from stories that they covered on campus, community beats and current events. Some of those stories were about Texas Southern University’s NASA center, the theater department’s production of Westside Story and the School of Communication’s Intercultural Communication Conference and the midterm elections.

The students also developed enterprise stories.  The enterprise story was one in which the student cultivated from a specialized topic.  One such topic the students focused on during the semester was the Houston Area Women Center’s Sexual Assault Awareness campaign.    The center used social media like Twitter and Facebook to draw attention to the impact of sexual assaults and domestic violence in the Houston area and on college campuses. The students tweeted leads daily about the campaign. The tweets also included multimedia such as photos, radio wraparounds, television packages and links to web-ready stories [detailed story] that the students produced for their blogs.  The blogs provided an in-depth story of the tweeted topic.

Another issue students covered was the 50th anniversary of Houston’s first sit-in. The anniversary program included a re-creation of the march civil rights leaders did on March 4, 1960.  The students not only tweeted leads before, during and after the event, they also tweeted photos and video about the program from their smartphones. See www.houstonstudentmovement.com.

Local and national Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds from organizations like the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/index.html , USA Today http://www.asp.usatoday.com/marketing/rss/index.aspx , Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/rss/index.html , Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/news/rss/ , CNN http://rss.cnn.com/rss/cnn_topstories.rss , NPR http://www.npr.org/rss/ , ABC http://feeds.abcnews.com/abcnews/topstories , CBS http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/12/utility/main666437.shtml , NBC http://rss.msnbc.msn.com/  and DIGG http://about.digg.com/rss  were used as resources to help students understand the dynamics of writing an effective lead and using social media to tell the story.

Outcome

The lead tweets [a post on Twitter] helped students to develop a keener understanding of quality content and the importance of concise writing.  This exercise heightened students’ awareness of current events from downtown Houston to Soweto, South Africa.  Equally important, it helped students to weigh the value of using a social media network as a reporting tool instead of a miscellaneous social forum.

This approach to writing leads established several important benchmarks.  First, student motivation improved. They were already using a multitude of social networks. My student demographic is majority African-American.  Twenty-six percent of Twitter users are black, according to a 2009 Pew study.   Requiring them to use Twitter as a writing tool empowered them to be more insightful and creative in structuring their sentences.  Academic skill levels and performances on writing tests improved. There was a keener understanding of the writing process.  Students also learned the importance of self-branding and professionalism.  They took great pride and ownership of the #TwitterNewsChat hashtag and viewed it as their own newsfeed.  As a result of this assignment, I now reference the students as social media correspondents [use social media networks to report the news].  Several of these correspondents will be tweeting leads [post to Twitter] throughout the holidays and the beginning of the year (@MeenyMinyMoe Ameena Rasheed, @lisamantha Samantha Vallejo, @Anomaly713 Kenneth Ware Jr.) Overall, a generation of technologically perceptive students was inspired to perform at higher levels by maximizing lead writing and storytelling in a succinct manner.

(See more details on writing leads using the #TwitterNewsChat hashtag #TwitterNewsChat Lead Writing Details)

Posted in journalism, multimedia journalist, Social Media

New Media/Socia Media/Multimedia: Where Is The Diversity?

Posted on by nabjdigital

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

I was scrolling through my Google Reader earlier this month when I read this Dec. 8 post on Steve Buttry’s informative blog on multimedia.  He was writing about News Foo, an invitation-only event that was (as Steve wrote) a “stimulating and thoughtful interaction with creative and innovative journalists, entrepreneurs, digital thinkers and technology pioneers.”  The event was held at the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.  When I read Buttry’s post, my first question was “I wonder how many journalists of color were in attendance?”  You can see the list of attendees here.

I sent out some Tweets to people I would guess should have been invited.  A handful were, but chose not to attend for whatever reason.  But then this post from Retha Hill, director of the new media innovation lab at ASU – who did attend News Foo – offered more information.  And Hill asked the bigger question – why are new media conferences lacking in minorities?  That, in turn, led to a spirited live Twitter chat yesterday hosted by PBS Media Shift, which featured Doug Mitchell, chairman of NABJ’s Media Institute, among other things.  You can follow the chat at the #mediadiversity hash tag.  My big takeaway was one side saying “we don’t know where you new media journalists of color are” on one side and “here we are, but you ignore us” on the other.

Here at NABJDigital, we have worked hard to spotlight and champion journalists of color who we think are doing some interesting things on the new/social/multimedia side of the business.  Below are the ones we’ve done since starting this blog in October 2009.  If you know of others, PLEASE – let us know.!

Posted in journalism, multimedia journalist, Social Media

Best of NABJDigital: Separate But Equal: Juggling the Personal and Professional with Social Media

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Editor’s note: we are off this week, so we’re re-posting our most popular columns.  This column was originally published March 1 by our treasurer, Melanie Eversley of USA Today.

By Melanie Eversley, Rewrite Reporter at USA Today, DJTF Treasurer

At first, it was a novelty.

You sent out your first “tweet” and your eight followers – including your best friend, your cousin Skip and two coworkers – learned you were “proud of making a successful bowl of guacamole.”

But in time, your use of social media blossomed. You sent out links via Facebook and Twitter to the latest postings from your blog and to the news stories you’d written for your employer’s website. You connected not only to dozens of relatives and every friend from elementary school on, but also to just as many business contacts.

So what do you do when you’ve grown to hundreds or even thousands of followers or “friends” from your personal and professional lives? Journalists, authors and writers advocated separate accounts for personal dealings and business or, if you’re going to mix it up, avoiding controversial or negative postings that can get you into trouble – especially if you work for a mainstream news organization that demands objectivity in your work.

Author, screenwriter and former Miami Herald journalist Tananarive Due is one of those whose friends and professional contacts are comingled. She says she is making it work for her.

“Most of my friends are readers. Many of them are writers. There are also some family members, old friends and Hollywood contacts,” Due, who lives in the Los Angeles area, says of her activity on Facebook.

“These groups have very different interests, so I try to mix it up,” she says. “I post personal photos with my family, for example. I post silly thoughts, movies I’ve seen, or observations. That keeps it ‘real.’ “

Due uses Facebook to update followers on the progress of her writing, her books and movies being planned from her work, to draw followers to new entries on her website, tananarivedue.com, and her blog, tananarivedue.blogspot.com, to promote events and to advertise writing coach services offered by her and her husband, Steven Barnes, at diamondhour.com. She also maintains a fan page on Facebook for Tennyson Hardwick, the star character of three of her mystery novels.

Due says Facebook is her most reliable tool for readers and potential clients, but she is still figuring out how best to use it and other social media. She uses a program called statcounter.com that helps her track exactly how many hits have come from Facebook.

What helps her keep her friends and followers blended is that she stays away from negative or potentially controversial postings, she says.

“I do political postings I care about, but not often,” Due explains. “I try to celebrate on my page as much as possible, i.e. a new 18-year-old writer I support.”

Others maintain separate personal and professional accounts.

Tiffany Alexander works for CNN.com, and also is a children’s book author and blogger. She maintains separate personal and professional accounts on Facebook and Twitter, as well as a fan page on Facebook.

Alexander uses her professional accounts to educate readers about her characters and update them about publishing news and public appearances. The accounts also help her draw traffic to tiffanyalexander.com and childrensband.com, the website where customers can order her children’s books.

She also takes advantage of the privacy settings on Facebook that allow users to control who on Facebook or outside of Facebook can access information on their pages.

“There are a few coworkers in my personal network, but very few, and they are people I consider friends,” says Alexander, who lives in Atlanta.

“Actually, most people I work with are blocked from being able to access any of my personal information,” she continues. “My Facebook page won’t show up for them even if they search for me. If they want to connect with me, they can join my coworker network. They can access my fan page on Facebook and a few of them are fans.”

Author, activist, blogger and filmmaker Yasmin Shiraz uses Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn to keep followers abreast of film screenings and her speaking engagements, and to draw traffic to yasminshiraz.net. She says she keeps everything professional.

“Since I am in fact selling the Yasmin Shiraz brand, I remain true to it,” says Shiraz, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area. “I will admit that I’m not as opinionated on my LinkedIn account … As I learn more about social media, I feel that it’s important to remain true to my brand and so I’m intimately involved in every tweet, every post, every comment.”

Journalist and public relations specialist Greg Wright also is a huge proponent of keeping separate accounts for the personal and the professional.

Wright, who also lives in the Washington, D.C., area, is a senior public relations specialist for the National Association of Social Workers and maintains the organization’s blog, socialworkersspeak.org. As a freelance writer, he also has written several pieces advising people how to use social media to their advantage. Wright uses Facebook and Twitter to send out links to freelance pieces he’s written for magazines or websites or for new blog postings.

He points out that people can use LinkedIn to position themselves as an expert in an area by addressing questions posted to the site and taking part in the discussion boards. He also is an advocate of the Facebook fan page, which is not difficult to set up, he said.

Wright cautions, however, that while social media might seem like a great new invention that can boost marketing, it’s important to keep it all in perspective.

“You shouldn’t overdo this and don’t be online all the time,” Wright advises. “It’s not the end all and be all, it is just a tool.”

Wright continues, “It does not replace getting on the phone and saying, ‘Hey, let’s go have a meal.’ Some people, the only way they socialize is on Facebook. They don’t even hang out. That’s how they basically interact. People are becoming more and more isolated.”

 

Posted in Education, journalism, multimedia journalist

Best of NABJDigital: It’s A New Game: Teaching The Next Generation Of Journalists

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Editor’s note: we are off this week, so we’re re-posting our most popular columns.  This column was originally published Dec. 22, 2009.

By Serbino Sandifer-Walker, Texas Southern University Journalist and Journalism Professor, DJTF V.P.

Journalism professors must be willing to step out of their comfort zones and teach their students skills they will need to compete for 21st century job opportunities.  For over 10 years, I’ve been teaching students how to merge traditional storytelling with not so traditional technology.

In my online journalism course, I’ve pushed the envelope on how news stories are covered and presented.  Students not only learn journalistic reporting and writing techniques, they also learn how to integrate web-based technology, social media and video into the final piece.

For 15 weeks, I require the students to probe their topics thoroughly. I teach them how to use a variety of research tools including virtual libraries. Then they must go into the community and spend a considerable amount of time interviewing sources.  Once the reporting process is completed, the students write the stories.

Now the story must be written for a multimedia platform. This means students must incorporate Hypertext Mark-up Language and or web authoring software like Dreamweaver to deliver engaging content, dynamic images, audio and video to the Internet and other media platforms like smartsphones, DVDs, etc.

First, I teach them how to use hypertext markup language (HTML).  I provide them with a tutorial and walk them step-by-step on how to code.  The w3schools.com http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp is one of the resources I use.

Next, I teach them how to use Dreamweaver, which is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) program. Adobe TV is one of my resources. Click link http://tv.adobe.com/.

I also show them how to use Photoshop. Adobe TV is one of my resources. Click link http://tv.adobe.com/.

I also show them how to use the iPhone, traditional video cameras and digital audio recorders to capture dynamic images, video and audio.

Additionally, I introduce video editing programs like Final Cut Pro, Avid and Adobe Premiere.

It is a requirement for them to tweet daily using the hashtag #twitternewschat.

Of course, there is more; however, I will share that in the next post.

I know this is a weighty schedule; however, if you guide the students every step of the way, the results can be amazing.

These skills are absolutely necessary in this changing media landscape.  If they don’t learn them now, it may be impossible for them to make the cut in the future.

In the next post, I will share several j-student multimedia projects.

Posted in News

Many Fans Learn of Teena Marie’s Death on Twitter

Posted on by nabjdigital

By Serbino Sandfer-Walker DJTF V.P., Texas Southern University Journalism Professor, Multimedia Correspondent http://serbino.com/blog/

Teena Marie, the soulful songstress also known as Lady T and the Ivory Queen of Soul, died Sunday and many fans learned of her death on Twitter after a post from R&B icon Ronald Isley.

Right before 7p.m. (CST) Isley tweeted [a Twitter post], “Just found out a friend, Tina Marie passed away. I really did [n]‘t expect to hear this. RIP. We will miss you much!”

Shortly after, Isley tweeted again, “Sorry guys, yes Teena Marie has passed away.”

That sent Teena Marie fans on Twitter in a tailspin. Many were shocked. Some of the tweets said, “I hope Twitter is not killing off Teena Marie.”

Others like @MyPurpleFantasy said, “I understand completely. Twitter is good for killing off celebs.”

Many of her fans just wanted to find out the truth.  “Reports conflicting on Teena Marie. Some celebs saying she passed & others saying it’s a rumor. Trying to confirm,”  @FirmMagazine tweeted.

Then multimedia journalist, TV One and CNN correspondent Roland Martin @rolandsmartin tweeted, “Mike Gardner, the manager of @msteenamarie, just told me that it is true: the legendary R&B singer has indeed died.”

At the same time, Philadelphia’s WDAS FM radio also confirmed Teena Marie’s death.

“We regret to inform you that Music Legend Teena Marie has died at the age of 54. Tributes and further details soon at http://WDASfm.com,” @wdasfm tweeted.

 It was hard for fans to except that Teena Marie had passed. Twenty hours earlier, Teena Marie @MsTeenaMarie, who was an avid tweeter with 6,778 tweets, had wished her daughter Alia Rose also known as Rose LeBeau @RoseyDough happy birthday.

 “Nineteen years ago today, I was in Labor, bout 2 give birth to my Baby Girl! @RoseyDough I love u so much! More then you’ll ever know! Christmas10,” Teena Marie said in a December 24 Twitter post.

 Her last tweet was on December 25.

 “No I haven’t found it! What was the name of the Pope John Paul 2nd/Sarah Vaughan Project?“ Teena Marie tweeted one of her fans.

 For over 48 hours Teena Marie was one of the top trending items on Twitter.

Fans of her music were tweeting links to some of her videos on YouTube or her website. Songs like Portuguese Love, Square Biz, Casanova Brown and Ooh, La, La,La, were being introduced to the Twitter universe.

 She was lauded in the black community, especially, because of her distinct R&B vocals and keen understanding of black culture.  It wasn’t until her second album in 1980, Lady T, that fans learned she was white.  Barry Gordy, Motown head, said he didn’t put her picture on the first album, Wild and Peaceful in 1979, because he wanted her music to stand on its own merit. 

 R&B sensation Rick James mentored Teena Marie and collaborated with her on hits like Fire and Desire and I’m Just a Sucker for Your love.

 She was born Mary Christine Brockert in 1956.  She grew up in Santa Monica, Ca. and had a passion for soul music.

As one studies her tweets, it is clear R&B was woven in her DNA.

 On any given day you could find 20 or more tweets @MsTeenaMarie about the music she lived and loved to sing about.

 “Oh heaven must have sent you from above, heaven must have sent your precious love,” Teena Marie tweeted on December 22.

Teena Marie on Twitter
Posted in Uncategorized

Best of NABJDigital: Should Journalists Be Required to Use Social Media?

Posted on by nabjdigital

Editor’s note: we are off this week, so we’re re-posting our most popular columns.  This column was originally published Feb. 16 after the BBC issued an edict that all of its journalists would be required to use social media as part of their jobs.

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

I am the mother of a very precocious 4-year-old.  She is smart and is very strong in her opinions and what she will — and will not — do.  I learned early on if I wanted to get her to do something, I had to either make it seem like her own idea or offer some incentive that will lead her to where I want her to go.

Which is why I read a Mashable post on changes at the BBC with interest.  Peter Horrocks, the new director of BBC Global News, recently announced that all the company’s journalists will have to embrace social media or move on.   “This isn’t just a kind of fad… I’m afraid you’re not doing your job if you can’t do those things. It’s not discretionary,” he said according to an interview in the Guardian.

For the record, I happen to agree with Horrocks on the need for journalists to embrace social media. I’m just not sure issuing a broad edict is the way to go.  I am an old-school journalist who has embraced these tools enthusiastically.  But not everyone is like me, and there are a lot of people who do things the old way that are very resistant to this kind of change.

The article doesn’t say whether BBC will offer training and a transition period for its journalists.  I hope it does both, because it is much more likely to entice workers to do what needs to be done to embrace and see the possibilities of social media.  BBC can reach its goal much better by making journalists a part of the solution.

What is your company’s policy on using social media?  Does your company offer training?  If not, what have you done to include social media in your work process?  Tell us in the comments section.

Posted in Conferences & Conventions

Calendar of Multimedia Training and Events

Posted on by nabjdigital

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

  • Webbmedia Group has a great calendar of events that catches things not covered below.  If you want to subscribe to the calendar, click here. You can also subscribe to this calendar so the information appears on your personal Google Calendar. Just go to the Webbmedia Google calendar, click the “+Google Calendar” icon at the bottom right, and then click “Yes, add this calendar” in the dialog box.)
  • The Donald J. Reynolds Journalism Institute has updated its calendar of free workshops and webinars from now through May 2011.
  • The Poynter Institute’s NewsU is offering 30% off ALL Webinar replays and other training modules through the end of 2010. To get the discount, use code PTUESEOY30 through Dec. 31, 2010.  Webinar replays on digital training available including: Developing a Mobile Site: Tips and Techniques; Facebook for Journalists; Flash for Journalists; How Location-Based Services are Changing the News; Multimedia Tools: Your 2010 Shopping List; Reporting With Video: Basics for Print Journalists; Twitter for Journalists; Writing Headlines for the Web: 2010 Edition. It also includes series on APME Online Credibility, Digital Tools and Transition and Mobile and Multimedia Essential Tools.

JANUARY

  • The Knight Digital Media Center at UC Berkeley has opened applications for its 2011 Multimedia Training May 15-20. The workshop offers intensive training that covers all aspects of multimedia news production; from basic storyboarding to hands-on instruction with hardware and software for production of multimedia stories. Participants will be organized into teams to report on a pre-arranged story in the Bay Area, and then construct a multimedia presentation based on that coverage.  Applications are due by March 18.
  • Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is holding a Five-Day Intensive Digital Media Boot Camp Jan. 10-14, 2011.  Participants will learn the basics of visual storytelling concepts through video production and post-production with Final Cut Pro (for Mac). Participants will leave with concrete skills and a better understanding of the technologies that are transforming the news business.  The cost is $1,195, and registration begins in November.
  • The Society of Professional Journalists is now taking applications for its Pulliam/Kilgore Freedom of Information Internships.  One intern works in the offices of the Society’s First Amendment legal counsel in Washington, D.C. The other intern works at the Society’s National Headquarters in Indianapolis.  The deadline to apply is Jan. 14.
  • Syracuse University’s S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is now accepting submissions for the $5,000 Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting.  The Toner Prize will be awarded to the best national or local political reporting on any platform—print, broadcast or online—that was published, posted or broadcast between Jan. 2 and Dec. 31, 2010. The deadline for submissions is Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011.
  • The Poynter Institute is holding an online webinar, “Becoming a More Effective Reporter: Telling Untold Stories,” Jan. 17 through Feb. 11, 2011.  This course will help you improve your ability to find and tell stories off the beaten path. It will open your eyes and ears to story ideas buried in plain sight and show you how to mine communities, cultures and individuals for stories that often remain untold.  The cost is $399.
  • City University of New York’s J-Camp will hold a two-day course in New York City Jan. 18-19 from 9:30-5:30 called The Digital Journalist.  The workshop will look at these new technologies and teach students how to use these new tools to report in an entirely digital world.  The course is will be taught by Michael Rosenblum and Lisa Lambden, who own and run a group of New York-based media companies all based on the VJ-driven model. CUNY is offering a 20% discount for the first five NABJ members who register for the $450 course.
  • Mozilla’s School of Webcraft will begin holding FREE classes Jan. 26 on topics relevant to web designers and developers, including HTML5, JavaScript and CSS.  Registration opens on Jan. 8.

FEBRUARY

  • The Donald J. Reynolds Journalism Institute is offering a free webinar “Social Media 101, 202, 303,” Feb. 8-10.   Social Media 101 offers the basics for social media newbies.  Social Media 202 is tips for reporters about using social media sites as research tools. Social Media 303 will show how to filter to contain the clutter.
  • The Donald J. Reynolds Journalism Institute is partnering with the Investigative Reporters and Editors and the N.C. Press Association on a free Webinar, “Investigating Private Companies and Nonprofits,” in Raleigh, N.C.,  Feb. 23.  This Webinar help attendees find public documents on private companies and the basics of what you’ll find in those documents; understand the new Form 990 and the basics of nonprofits’ finances; and analyze and apply what you’ve learned — including discovering the power of spreadsheets to spot trends — to produce great stories.
  • The Freedom Forum Diversity Institute will hold its Multimedia Boot Camp for Journalism Professionals and Educators Feb. 23-27 at the John Seigenthaler Center in Nashville, Tenn. Participants will learn how to: produce multimedia on a budget, buy the right gear and find cheap ways to record and edit audio; use basic tools in Adobe Photoshop; edit an audio story with Audacity; produce an audio slideshow in Final Cut; produce two video projects, using Final Cut for storytelling and editing; and learn how smart phones can be used to gather news.  Tuition is $850.

MARCH

  • The Donald J. Reynolds Journalism Institute is holding a free Webinar, “Covering the Green Economy – A Western Perspective,” in Los Angeles March 4.  The daylong workshop will help you learn the latest sustainable trends impacting your local economy and will give you practical tips for navigating one of the hottest topics around.
  • The Knight Digital Media Center at UC Berkeley has opened applications for its Independent Journalists Workshop March 21-25.  The workshop will provide journalists with the hands-on training and tools to get started with an online publishing enterprise.  The deadline to apply is Jan. 28.

APRIL

  • The National Conference for Media Reform will hold its annual conference in Boston April 8-11, 2011.  The conference brings together thousands of activists, media makers, educators, journalists, scholars, policymakers and engaged citizens to meet, tell their stories, share tactics, listen to great speakers and build the movement for better media in America.
  • The Donald J. Reynolds Journalism Institute is holding a free Webinar, “Covering the green economy – Follow the green money,” April 19 at noon or 4:00 p.m. Eastern time.  You will learn the skills to find the green money trail on your beat. He’ll show you how to track green stimulus projects and identify the other cash trickling from Washington into your backyard.

MAY

  • The Donald J. Reynolds Journalism Institute is holding a free Webinar, “15 tips on time management for business journalists,” May 3.  Participants will learn simple things they can immediately incorporate into their daily work and personal lives that will allow them to juggle more efficiently. You can attend the hourlong, interactive session at either noon or 4 p.m. EDT on May 3.
  • Applications are now open for the Knight Digital Media Center’s News Entrepreneur Boot Camp 2011.  The boot camp will be held May 15-20, 2011, in Los Angeles. The one-week boot camp plus 6-week online learning program is designed for 20 competitively selected digital entrepreneurs with great ideas for community news and information initiatives in the public interest.  Applications are due Jan. 14, with final participants chosen March 7

JUNE

  • The Knight Digital Media Center at UC Berkeley has opened applications for its Web 2.0 workshop June 13-17.  This training takes participants through the progression of reporting news for multiple digital platforms, starting with quick text posts and moving through photos and video and finally ending with a full multimedia presentation. The workshop provides hands-on training using Twitter and Facebook for reporting and driving web traffic, creating data-driven map mashups, dynamically updating a blog for breaking news, publishing photo galleries and audio slideshows, producing videos and editing videos using Final Cut Pro.  The deadline to apply is April 15.

JULY

  • The Donald J. Reynolds Journalism Institute is holding a free Webinar, “Unlocking Financial Statements,” July 18-22.  The weeklong online seminar covers income statements, balance sheets, cash flows and writing about numbers.

If you have any items that I’ve missed, please drop me an email via the DJTF Yahoo! Listserv or at regaviationqueen AT yahoo DOT com.  Thanks!

 

 

Posted in journalism, multimedia journalist, Social Media

Friday Fast Five + Five

Posted on by nabjdigital

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

This will be the last Fast Five for 2011.  I hope you have found these helpful, and I look forward to continuing this column in 2011.   Next week, we’ll repost some of  our most popular columns in 2010.  So please enjoy your holidays, and we’ll be back live on Jan. 3, 2011.

  1. 10000 Words – Six must-have WordPress plugins for newsrooms
  2. Networked – Quoting the social Web: Using Storify to turn posts into stories
  3. The Young Writers Society – Essential websites for anyone trying to get published
  4. Innovative Interactivity – My advice to potential bloggers: Don’t ‘Just Do It’
  5. Business Insider – 25 New Tech Trends You Need To Know About
  6. Social Media Explorer – Five Social Media Trends for 2011
  7. Lifehacker – Make a Yearly Habit of Visiting Your Google Dashboard
  8. The Future Buzz – Niche Blogging Case Study – Ramping Up A New Blog From Scratch
  9. Make Use Of – 5 Cool Data Apps & Mashups Provided By The US Government
  10. GigaOm – 18 Tasks You Can Crowdsource