#TryItTuesday

I’ve started using my iPad and Brydge keyboard to write my stories when I don’t feel like lugging around my MacBook Pro. In the olden days, I used to use the iTalk app on my phone to record some of the people and events I used in my stories.

But then I found the Recordium ($4.99) app pop up one day on my Apps Gone Free list.  This app, good on the iPad and iPhone, is iTalk on steroids.

Users can highlight the track while playing or recording audio. You can also add
attachments, including  notes, tags, and pictures to any part of the recording, which improves the ability to search for certain items. Check out how Recordium works!

Calendar of Multimedia Training and Events

NOVEMBER

• States across the U.S. are quickly adopting new teacher evaluation systems that are radically different than the way teachers were judged in the past. Learn how to provide your audience with an insider’s view of this complex issue in Poynter’s webinar Grading the Teachers: Writing about Teacher Evaluation. This webinar begins on Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Enroll now.

• The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism will hold a free online workshop, “Sourcing with Social Media: Tips from a Corporate Sleuth,” Nov. 13 at  4:00 p.m. ET (noon PT).  Trying to find new sources? In this one-hour webinar Nov. 13, you’ll  learn the tools and techniques that competitive-intelligence experts use every day to find people who know their stuff. During this free, hour-long webinar, the principal in a competitive-intelligence firm will teach you how to harness social media to identify  regional and national “influencers”  in industries you cover and how to contact them successfully.

• The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism will hold an “SEC Filings Master Class,” Nov. 13-15 at  4:00 p.m. ET (noon PT). Have you ever wondered if you’re missing good stories because you don’t know where or what to look for? This free webinar with Michelle Leder, who makes her living unearthing news in SEC filings, is designed to help you feel more confident in your SEC-document sleuthing.

• Poynter’s News U will hold a free webinar, “Location-Based Social Media with Geofeedia: A Digital Tools Tutorial,” on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 2:00 p.m. ET. User-generated content from social media networks is a rich data source for today’s newsrooms. By leveraging new, advanced tools, media organizations have the opportunity to rapidly identify primary sources at the scene by tapping into rich sets of images, tweets and videos coming from the scene. Geofeedia enables hyperlocal search and discovery of social media across social networks such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr and Picasa. By searching first by location, Geofeedia helps journalists to rapidly identify new data sources that other prominent social media services miss.

• The Graduate School of Journalism UC is hosting the New Media Storytelling, Innovation & Technology Fall 2013 workshop “Smile: You’re On Camera“. When someone portrays a great on-camera presence we assume they are a “natural.” The reality is a natural on-camera presence requires training and practice. During this one-day workshop we’ll give you the confidence to become a “natural” through skill building exercises with live on-camera practice. Date: November 16, 2013. Tuition: $365.

• The Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California-Berkeley is hosting the New Media Storytelling, Innovation & Technology Fall 2013 workshop “Writing for Infographics”. Infographics have become an ubiquitous tool for those communicating complex information in an easy to understand visual format. The best infographics are often the product of collaborations between teams of creative professionals. In this two-day Writing for Infographics workshop kdmcBerkeley is teaming with Visually to train a new generation of professionals in the art of research and writing for the infographic. Date: November 19-20, 2013. Tuition: $545. Click here to apply.
• Learn how to more effectively counter false information and misperceptions in news stories in Poynter’s webinar How to Keep Misinformation from Spreading. Webinar begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time, Nov. 21. Enroll now.

• The Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio State University is looking for innovative journalists who want to use social media to build a stronger following, develop new sources and better cover their beats. The program also aims to sharpen your digital media public-affairs reporting skills, thus helping you hold government and institutions accountable. We’ll talk Twitter, Deep Web searches, crowdsourcing, public records, spreadsheets and online data visualization. The fellowship runs from Sunday, April 6, through Friday, April 11, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. Applications are due by Nov. 30, 2013. Apply here.

DECEMBER

•  Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford offers 20 journalists the opportunity to spend 10 months experimenting, testing and developing innovative ideas for the future of journalism. Open to full-time journalists, journalism entrepreneurs and innovators (which can include independent journalists or developers) and journalism business and management executives. Deadline: Dec. 1. Apply now.

• The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism will hold a free online workshop, “The Fracking Revolution: Finding Energy Stories Everywhere,” Dec. 4 at  4:00 p.m. ET (noon PT).  In this one-hour, free webinar, Marilyn Geewax, a senior business editor with NPR, will help you understand how this unleashing of massive supplies of fossil fuels is changing all of our lives. In addition to having a broad impact on the environment, tax revenues and politics, this energy revolution is making U.S. manufacturing competitive again and could soon be generating millions of jobs from Maine to California.

• Learn how to write better headlines for digital media, including smartphones with Poynter’s webinar Writing Headlines for Digital and Mobile Media. Readers looking at an app for a news site are often deciding what to click on based on the headline alone. Headlines are just as important in the digital era as they were in traditional media, if not more so. Webinar begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time, Dec. 5. Enroll now.
• Learn how to create specialized apps for a certain type of news for a specific target audience with little risk in Poynter’s webinar How to Experiment with Specialized Mobile News Apps. Mobile device users prefer apps that focus on doing one thing well. News publishers can have more mobile success by creating specialized apps for a certain type of news for a specific target audience. The webinar begins on  Wednesday, December 11, 2013 at 2:00pm Eastern Time. Enroll now.

• Prepare your newsroom to best serve the growing mobile audience in Poynter’s webinar Changing Workflow to Create a Mobile First Newsroom. With mobile traffic approaching or surpassing desktop traffic at many news organizations, it is time for newsrooms to make sure their cultures and workflows are set up to serve this growing audience. Just like the shift from print to Web or broadcast to Web, the shift to mobile requires thinking about the audience in a different way and making fundamental changes in how we cover the news. The webinar begins on Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 2:00pm Eastern Time. Enroll now.

• The CBC-UNC Diversity Fellowship Program is an intensive hands-on workshop led by professionals at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C. and the University of North Carolina journalism faculty in Chapel Hill, N.C. The program, scheduled for March 12-16, 2014,  is geared toward college seniors pursuing broadcast careers as producers, reporters, photojournalists and web editors. The deadline to apply is Dec. 15.

2014

• If you have the skills, passion and determination to be a journalist of the future – a trained professional who knows a good story when they see it and who has the confidence to tell it in a way that best imparts its relevance and importance to news consumers – an 18-month Hearst Fellowship may be right for you. Applications are open through January.

• The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism will hold a free workshop, “Investigating the Business of Government,” Jan. 23, 2014, preceding the Winter Convention of the Kentucky Press Association Jan. 23-24. If you dread analyzing the annual municipal budget for news and wonder how to tie government contracts to campaign-donor lists, come hone your skills at this workshop taught by investigative reporter John Cheves. The workshop will be held at the Hyatt Regency, 401 W. High St., Lexington, Ky.

• The Reynolds Fellowship in Community Journalism is accepting applications. This fellowship is be awarded to “a journalist of accomplishment and promise who is committed to the role of the community press.” Open to journalists working at a U.S. daily and weekly newspapers with a circulation less than 50,000, journalists doing online work for community newspapers, or journalists who have established independent local news websites in communities where the circulation of the local newspaper is less than 50,000. Must be a U.S. citizen. Deadline: Jan. 31, 2014. Apply now.

• The Nieman-Berkman Fellowships in Journalism Innovation are a collaboration between two parts of Harvard (the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society). This fellowship involves spending a year in residence in Cambridge, and full participation in both the Nieman and Berkman fellowship communities. Applicants must propose a specific course of study or project relating to journalism innovation. Open to working journalists or others who work for a news organization in a business, technology, or leadership capacity. Independent journalists are also welcome. Deadline: Jan. 31, 2014.Apply now.

• The Knight-Wallace Fellowships at Michigan is now accepting applications. Spend an academic year at the Univ. of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Fellows devise a personalized study plan with access to UM courses and resources, and are encouraged to nurture their creative and artistic tendencies. Includes twice-weekly seminars as well as domestic and international travel. Deadline: Feb. 1, 2014. Apply now: U.S. and international.

• The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism will hold a free workshop, “Perfecting Personality Profiles,” Feb. 5-6 at 4:00 p.m. ET (noon PT). To make your beat coverage more accessible and engaging, you need to focus on people – those in positions of power or influence, and those who consume goods and services, work for wages and pay taxes. In the first hour of this lively two-part webinar, Pulitzer winner Jacqui Banaszynski will explore the characteristics of memorable and accurate profiles, as well as offer a range of profile approaches that can suit your purpose, publication and audience. In the second hour, on Feb. 6, she’ll dive more deeply into the reporting and writing techniques that can help any beat reporter pursue sparkling profiles.

• Investigative Reporters and Editors and National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR) will hold their 2014 Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference in Baltimore, Md., Feb. 27, 2014 – March 2, 2014. Join IRE and NICAR for their annual conference devoted to computer-assisted reporting. Come and learn about tools you need to dig deeper into stories and give readers and viewers the information they want.

• The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism will hold a free workshop, “Social Media ROI for Journalists,” March 4 at  4:00 p.m ET (noon PT). In 2013, more and more newsrooms will revisit their social media strategy and ask, “What’s our return on investment?” How do we know if our newsroom is doing social “correctly”? What does this mean for our organization’s bottom line? This free, one-hour webinar will help you answer those questions on March 4.

• The best in the business will gather for more than 100 panels, hands-on classes and special presentations about covering business, public safety, government, health care, education, the military, the environment and other key beats at the 2014 IRE conference June 26-29, 2014 in San Francisco. Speakers will share strategies for locating documents and gaining access to public records, finding the best stories and managing investigations. Join the discussion about how to practice investigative journalism in print, broadcast, Web and alternative newsroom models.

If you have items you wish to include, please email them to me at benet AT aviationqueen DOT COM. Thanks!!

#TryitTuesday

I just got back from the Online News Association conference and my head is still about to explode with what I learned, especially things I saw at the interactive Midway space. One of the big takeaways for me was see what’s out there and try new things.

So now, every Tuesday, I’ll offer up a tech tool, app or something else that will help you do your job smarter and better.  One of the vendors on the Midway was the folks who created the Videolicious app. Videolicious allows users to shoot video and it’s magically stitched together and easily embeddable.

Please feel free to share your tools !

Benét J. Wilson is the immediate past chair of the NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force and is the social media/eNewsletters editor for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.  She is also a freelance aviation journalist and blogger.

Tools to Help You Tap Into Your Inner JournoGeek

By Benét J. Wilson, immediate past chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/eNewsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Earlier today, DJTF Co-Chair Kiratiana Freelon and I did a presentation – Tools to Help You Tap Into Your Inner JournoGeek   – at the NABJ Region 1 conference. We went pretty fast, so below are some of the tools I highlighted.

1. Storify – a storytelling tool that uses Tweets, Instagram/Flickr, YouTube, Facebook and links to tell a story. You can see the stories done by NABJDigital here.
2. HootSuite – I use this tool to handle my myriad Twitter accounts. I love that I can use HootSuite on my laptop or as an app on my iPhone and iPad. I can shorten links, schedule tweets and keep up with up to five accounts for free.
3. SoundNote ($4.99) – this iPad app allows you to take notes and record at the same time. And if you need to check on something that was said, just tap a word and the recording goes right to that section.
4. RebelMouse – this curation tool calls itself “your social front page.”  It allows you to connect your social media accounts, including  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram and show it off on a beautiful page. The feed can be embedded int websites. Check out my RebelMouse page here. And see how Al Jazeera America used it for a series on fast-food workers here.
5. Timeline JS – this is a simple to use, yet striking timeline creator. You can use media including Twitter, Flickr, Google Maps, YouTube, Vimeo, Vine, Dailymotion, Wikipedia, SoundCloud and other things to power your timeline. The Denver Post used Timeline JS as part of their coverage of the Aurora movie theater shootings.
6.  Flipboard/Pocket – If you are a news junkie and have an iPad or iPhone, you need to have Flipboard. This app allows you to create a customized digital magazine of your favorite publications and blogs. Mine is a mix of journalism, tech and aviation/airline stuff. If you want to save a story to read later offline, save it on the Pocket app.
7. iTalk (free or $1.99 for Premium) – we all know the built-in iPhone recorder is crap. iTalk allows you to record at good, better and best levels, with no time limits. With the free version, you can email smaller files, but need to download a program on your laptop to upload larger files. With the paid version, you can send the file to Dropbox or share it on SoundCloud.
8. iPrompt Pro – this is a great app for multimedia journalists because it turns your iPad or iPhone into a teleprompter (although I don’t recommend it for the iPhone).
9. Clear Watermark ($1.99)/Text on Photo – Both of these apps allow you to apply a watermark on your photos or video while out in the field.
10. Apps Gone Free – every day, this app offers for free between 4 and 10 apps. Be warned – you will see a lot of crap (photo editing productivity, games, to-do lists, etc.), but there will be some gems. I found SoundNotes, iPromptPro and Clear Watermark wth this app.

10 iPhone Apps I Recommend For Journalist Newbies

By Benét J. Wilson, immediate past chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/eNewsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Editor’s note: the new NABJ Print Task Force needs your help. First, we ask that you join our new listserv, here. Activities will include: print job postings, new hires, training opportunities, freelance positions, town hall meetings, webinars, advocacy opportunities and local, regional and national program planning outreach. Second, please take our quick 10-question Print Member Survey.  Your feedback will allow  NABJ to better address your concerns and establish your priorities.The deadline to submit your feedback is Thursday, Sept. 12.

My dead friend Christopher Nelson has *finally* abandoned his beloved (but aged) Blackberry, and he’s feeling a bit overwhelmed with what apps to get. I last did this column when former NABJ President Greg Lee got his new iPhone, so it’s time for an update. Enjoy!

1. iPhone Secrets Pro. Shell out the 99 cents for this app that keeps giving all kinds of great tips and trick that Apple will never tell you about iPhone. And bonus — the app offers new content and tips every week. It’s the gift that keeps giving!
2. Flipbook (and the companion Pocket). As a newshound, these have made the front page of my iPhone. Flipboard is my way of keeping up with my favorite blogs and news sites in a gorgeous and easy-to-use magazine format. You can email, and post links on Facebook and Twitter. With Pocket, you can save stories to read offline later.
3. HootSuite. Because I know how Christopher loves the Twitter, I recommend this app to handle it. I like it because I can use it on my iPhone, iPad or Mac because it’s web-based. I can handle all my Twitter accounts, shorten links and schedule tweets, all from this app. I use Echofone as my back-up Twitter app.
4. Apps Gone Free. Every day, this app offers 6 to 14 paid apps for free. Warning-you will see a lot of crap (games, to-do/productivity lists, etc.), but every now and then you’ll get a great paid app that will make it worth it.
5. iPrompt Pro. Since Christopher is in broadcast television, he might find this teleprompter app very useful. I also use it for speeches and presentations.
6. Recordium. This iPhone/iPad universal app is a great audio recorder and editor in one. It offers different recording quality, the ability to highlight important parts of a recording, and uploading via Dropbox or over WiFi. It costs $1.99, but I got it free on Apps Gone Free.
7. Hourly News. Again, I tap my inner news junkie by listening to this great radio app. Listen to updated news summaries from NPR, BBC, CBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, the Wall Street Journal, Voice of America, ESPN, and Deutche Welle to name a few. It costs 99 cents, but I got it free on Apps Gone Free.
8. Urbanspoon. Christopher lives in one of the great food destinations on the planet, so I advise him to put this great restaurant finder on his iPhone.
9. Clear Watermark. Let’s say you’re out on assignment and you snap some amazing photos and want to let folks know they’re yours. You can mark your pictures with this app. It costs $1.99, but I got it free on Apps Gone Free.
10. Genius Scan. You’re out on assignment. You need to get copies of some documents, but there’s no copier around. Use this free app to snap pictures of pages and turn them into PDF files. In the free version the files can be transmitted via WiFi or uploaded to iBooks. In the paid version of Genius Scan+ ($2.99), transfer files via Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Expensify, Google Drive and SkyDrive.

10 iOS Apps To Enhance Your #NABJ13 Convention Experience

By Benét J. Wilson, chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/eNewsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Regular readers know that I am a HUGE fan of my iPhone as a great tool to do my job as a journalist. But some of the same tools I love to do my work will also help make the upcoming National Association of Black Journalists Annual Convention and Career Fair a better experience. So below, in no particular order, are 10 apps to make your convention experience even better.

1. Hoot Suite: with this free Twitter app, not only can I keep track of my six Twitter accounts, I can also create columns to follow the #NABJ13 and #NABJ hashtags, along with key people like @NABJprez2011. 
2. Soundnote: I’ll be using this iPad app  to document convention workshops. This app records what you’re typing on your iPad.  As you play back the recording, you can tap a word, and SoundNote will jump right to that point in the audio. I pair my iPad with the Brydge keyboard, which allows me to leave the MacBook Pro at home.
3. Flipboard: this app is my go-to when keeping up with my favorite news publications and blogs. You create a personal magazine on your topics of interest (mine are hard news, travel/aviation, journalism and technology) and share them via Facebook, Twitter and email. And if you want to read an article later, save it on the Pocket app.
4. CamCard ($6.99): every year I collect a huge stack of business cards and only input a fraction of them on Microsoft Outlook. I hate paying for apps, but this one was worth the money. I can take a picture of a card and the information is automatically updated in my NABJ contacts group. Plus it’s environmentally friendly. ABMW President Troy Johnson also told me about CardFlick, a free app that allows you to share business card information, and DJTF Secretary Kiratiana Freelon swears by Card Munch, which pairs with LinkedIn.
5. Dragon Diction: this handy app allows me to post directly to my Facebook or Twitter accounts just by speaking. And because so much is going on, I can also use it to send myself reminders and updates.
6. Evernote: this is the best tool that you’re not using.  You can use one account on your laptop, iPad and iPhone to create notebooks that allow you to take notes or drag in text, save web video and audio clips and even email notes into the program.  With tags, you can organize all of your notebooks.  Here’s a great Lifehacker article that shows jut why this should be in your apps arsenal.
7. Concur: If you’re going on your company’s dime and it uses Concur, this app is golden. It allows you to keep track of expenses on the run. And after the convention, there’s no huge pile of receipts to track. Nice! If you don’t use Concur, click here for other suggestions.
8. Urbanspoon: Orlando is an up-and-rising city for food. Use this free app to find restaurants in the city, complete with menus, comments, directions and contact information. It also breaks down restaurants by cuisine and price.For my sushi lovers, I’m a big fan of iSushi.
9. Ustream: this app allows me to shoot live video from my iPhone. I can also upload the video to my YouTube channel.  I’ve also been playing with Tout, which allows users to shoot their own 15-second videos and post them to their Facebook, Twitter, email contacts, or even text.
10. GroupMe: this group text messaging app is a great way to keep in touch with a group of friends at the convention.

So, what did I miss? What apps would you suggest for NABJ?

10 iPad Apps I’d Recommend For Students

After I did a post recommending iPhone and iPad apps, I received a request asking for my picks for students.  Here they are.

1. CamCard (free) – if you’re good at the networking game, you will need a place to organize all the business cards I hope you’re picking up.  You snap a picture of the card, and you’re able to organize the information in your iPhone/iPad contacts.  I bought the paid version ($2.99) for the NABJ San Diego convention and have never looked back.  The free limits the number of cards you can download, so shell out for the paid version.
2. Ptch (free) – the tag line for this app is “An Instagram for all your media…” You can use it to create a presentation using videos and photographs.  It’s great for creating short pieces that can be included on a reel.
3. iMovie ($4.99) – you need a quick-and-dirty editing app and this is it.  But it has rich features, including the ability to create movie trailers, create and edit HD movies and share them across social media platforms.
4. LinkedIn (free) – this app is a great resource for those looking for internships and that first job.  Build up your network, join journalism-related groups and start reaching out to those who will help you in your networking efforts.  Also, join the group LinkedIn For Journalists.  You’ll learn how to use the platform for stories.
5. SlideRocket or Haiku (both free) – Looking for an alternative to PowerPoint or Prezi? Try out these two presentation apps.
6. About.me (free) – use this app to create a portfolio page to show off your work and let potential employers know who you are.
7. Resume Maker ($2.99) – this is a great tool to help you get your resume together.  You can create custom versions for potential employers and download it as a PDF.
8. Interview A-Z (99 cents) – so you’ve done the resume, and got the interview. Use this app to go over potential questions employers may ask.  it also offers interview prep tips and help with writing cover letters.
9. StudyBlue (free) – I’m teaching myself Spanish, and as part of the learning process, I use StudyBlue flash cards for memorizing key words.  You can create your own or crib from the hundreds of cards created by others.
10. Temple Run (free) – sometimes you just need to walk away and clear your head.  My 7-year-old daughter is a master at this distracting, yet fun game that lets you tap your inner Indiana Jones.

10 iPad Apps I’d Recommend To Dori Maynard Of The Maynard Institute

Yesterday I did a post on iPhone apps I’d recommend for NABJ President Greg Lee.  I posted a link on Facebook, and one of the responders was Dori Maynard of the Maynard Institute. Dori got an iPad for Christmas, so here’s the apps I’d recommend for her.

1. AppStart (free) – for the iPad newbie, this is a must-have app that offers great advice on the best apps to download as you begin your tablet journey.
2. Flipboard (free) – I’ve all but abandoned my Google Reader for this app. You can use it to do great magazine-style feeds of your favorite publications.  You can share story links via Twitter, email links or read them later.  I’d also download Pocket (free), which is an app that stores Flipboard stories for offline reading later.
3. CNN (free) – the news junkie in me loves this app.  I can read stories, see breaking news videos, get updates on important stories and even watch live programming (thanks to my DirecTV subscription).
4. Prezi (free) – step away from the boring, predictable PowerPoint presentation with this animated app.
5. Apps Gone Free (free) – every day, this app suggests between eight and 20 paid apps that are being given away for a limited time.  I’ve gotten some great photo/video and travel apps through this app.
6. SoundNote ($4.99) – I learned about this app via a post on best journalist gifts over at the 10000 Words blog. While you are typing your notes on your iPad, it also records.  When you want to play something back, tap the word and the recording takes you there.
7. Google Drive (free) – if you’re like me and have moved many documents to the cloud, having this app makes it simple to access all those files.
8. JoinMe (free) – let’s say you want to have an online meeting with the ability to share your screen.  This app does that, and works great on the iPad.
9. Storify (free) – Dori and former NABJ President Herb Lowe know I’m a HUGE fan of this multimedia storytelling program, and you can create the same magic on your iPad with this app.
10. Find iPhone/iPad (free) – this app will help you recover a lost iPhone or iPad even if the volume is off.  Combine this with a pass code to open your items, and you’re good to go in the security area.

Top 10 iPhone Apps I Recommend For NABJ President Greg Lee’s New iPhone

So I’m checking out the @NABJDigital Twitter account and I see that NABJ President Greg Lee has announced that he just got a new iPhone.  I’m an iPhone user (Santa bought me an iPhone 5) and regularly test and review iPhone apps.  So below, for my president, and the rest of you, are my picks.

1. AppStart for iPhone (free) – one of my geek tech friends told me about this app when I got my iPad last Christmas, and they have now released an iPhone version.  It offers dozens of suggestions for folks just getting started.
2. Apps Gone Free (free) – every day, this app suggests between eight and 20 paid apps that are being given away for a limited time.  I’ve gotten some great photo/video and travel apps through this app.
3. AP Stylebook ($24.99) – any journalist worth their salt has a copy of this on their desk.  This app puts it all in your hands, with a search function and the ability to bookmark key items.
4. Miriam Webster Dictionary (free) – I love this app. You can get quick definitions and pronunciations of words.
5. SoundCloud (free) – this app allows you to record sound for stories and upload it to Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Foursquare.
6. iTalk Recorder Premium ($1.99) – every good reporter needs  a recorder for interviews.  This is the one you want.  You can do good, better and best sound quality. Once the recording is done, you can email it (if it’s not too big), upload it via Dropbox or download the desktop app that automatically transfers files.
7. Camera+ (99 cents) – the built-in camera on the iPhone is crap. Spend the money to get this app, which includes a zoom, a grid, a stabilizer, a timer, the ability to take bursts of photos, quality adjustment, sharing on social networks and geotagging.
8. Video+ (99 cents) – again, the video camera on the iPhone is crap. so spend the 99 cents for an app that offers more than a dozen special effects, contrast and other settings, and the ability to use the flash as  a light for your video.
9. Ustream (free) – use this app to live stream events.  The video can also be automatically uploaded to a YouTube channel.
10. Evernote (free) – this app allows you to take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, record voice reminders–and makes these notes completely searchable. You can also access your notes via iPhone, iPad or desktop.

Tomorrow I’ll offer my top 10 iPad picks.  And I’d be happy to see what your iPhone/iPad app picks are!

5 Reasons Why You Should Submit Something To The Knight News Challenge On Mobile

By Benét J. Wilson, chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/newsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

The Knight News Challenge has release its third and final round, focusing on mobile.  For those new to the challenge, it was created “to accelerate media innovation by funding breakthrough ideas in news and information. Winners receive a share of $5 million in funding and support from Knight’s network of influential peers and advisors to help advance their ideas,” according to its website.

I first heard about the challenge in June 2010, when NABJ member and ASU professor Retha Hill won a grant for her CitySeed application.  My blog post on that is here; Hill also explains CitySeed in this YouTube video.

This Knight Challenge has $5 million to give away.  All you have to do is answer eight questions by Sept. 10 about “using mobile to improve news, information, democracy and communities, and your ability to execute on it.”  So here are my five reasons why you should apply.

1. It’s important that journalists of color get known in these communities that are helping to drive the future of news distribution.
2. Duh – it’s your share of $5 million, which can help fund your dream idea.
3. An explosive growth in smartphones has also fueled growth in news-related apps so why shouldn’t you get a piece of the pie with your idea?
4. How cool would it be to develop the next killer news app?
5. What do you have to lose — and how much could you gain if you win?