Even more links for student journalists

One of the new adds to my Google Reader is Pat Thornton's The Journalism Iconoclast blog. Here are some great posts.

My advice for j-students who want to make a difference (and get a job)

Build a digital résumé and make yourself stand out

Summer reading list

Give your bloggers the tools to succeed

From me (shameless, I know):
Top Ten List of Tips for Journalism Students - The Linchpen

Random business-related link
MediaShift . Digging Deeper::In Digital Age, Journalism Students Need Business, Entrepreneurial Skills | PBS

Montclair newspaper funding restored

An AP story (via Editor & Publisher) from this morning reported: Funding restored to N.J. college paper.

Here's an except:

Montclair State University's student government decided Wednesday to temporarily restore funding to the school's weekly student newspaper, after its decision to freeze the paper's funding a week ago was criticized as an attempt to stifle freedom of the press.

After more than five hours of deliberation, the Student Government Association legislature voted 12-0, with seven abstentions, to restore funding for printing and office supplies to The Montclarion for 30 days, during which time student government and newspaper leaders are expected to try to resolve their differences.

Here's a news story from The Montclarion: Montclarion Budget Unfrozen for One Month and here's my original post on the news: Monclair State newspaper funding cut by SGA.

Wednesday's career advice from Poynter...and an NPR tidbit

Originally written: Jan. 30 at 10:23 P.M.

As I've said before, Poynter Online is a great resource for journalists. I read Joe Grimm's "Ask the Recruiter" column every weekday and Colleen Eddy's "Colleen on Careers" every week.

I found both of today's editions particularly interesting and relevant to student journalists:

Ask the Recruiter - Starting a Professional Web Site?

Colleen on Careers - Asking For the Moon in Online Job Ads

Also from Poynter, in last night's the E-Media Tidbits, is a great j-school-related article:

E-Media Tidbits - J-School: The Right Tools Teach the Right Mindset

Weigh in: Do you have a personal or professional Web site?

Update, 11:45 A.M.: I was listening to NPR's "Talk of the Nation" podcast when I wrote this first part of this post. A few minutes later there was an interesting conversation about the jobs and the workplace.

Check out the podcast for Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 46:48.

Below is an excellent quote from U.S. News and World Report's contributing editor for careers, Marty Nemko. Nemko said the following (at 1:05:58 in the podcast) in response to a caller who said he always asks, "Why should I work for you?" at the end of a job interview:

"A job interview should not be an interrogation, it should be a kind of first date where both of your are trying to check out whether you are right for each other and whether you should go steady. And I think that is very empowering of the worker, and an appropriate empowerment of the worker. Those kinds of questions suffuse through the interview both confidence as well as you're going to get a better sense of whether you are going to fit."

Epilogue, Jan. 31 at 2:06 A.M.: Why did it take so long to post this? Well, I couldn't find out Nemko's name before I had to go into Wednesday deadline mode. Now that we've finished, I just replayed part of the podcast to find out his full name and check it online.

Journalists aren't just reporters

This is in response to Ducks go quack, quack, cows go moo — SOJo: Student of Online Journalism by Megan Taylor

I agree with Megan, Pat and Chris.

If someone says: "An online journalist or designer (also called a visual journalist) is somehow less of a journalist because..." that is ignorant and demonstrates a lack of understanding about what journalism is. It's amazing that people--journalists in particular--are still stuck in a very narrow mindset.

Journalism is basically storytelling, and there are many ways to tell a story: in a newspaper, in a magazine, on a Web site, in a book, through video (TV and Web), through audio (radio and Web), etc. and through forms that have not even been invented yet.

It's difficult to understand a story (written, aural or visual) if it's not organized well, the same way it's hard to read a page if it's not designed well, watch a video if it's poorly edited or listen to a podcast if the segments aren't in order.

Different types of journalists tell stories in different kinds of ways. It's that simple.

Weigh in: What do you think?

Links to other class blogs

Here is a list of links to the other student blogs from my CNJ 442 Online Journalism class:

dontcountyourchickensbeforetheyhatch.blogspot.com
establishthis.blogspot.com

heathercolvin.blogspot.com

kasperbroue.blogspot.com

kschmidt2.blogspot.com
matthewmullin.blogspot.com
natyva00.blogspot.com

sandrahurtado.blogspot.com

Weigh in: Comment on the blogs to get conversations started.

Update, Jan. 31 at 10:08 P.M.: Per a suggestion by Anna Haynes in a comment, here is a Google Reader public page for the class.

Monclair State newspaper funding cut by SGA

The Student Government Association at Montclair State University in New Jersey has cut the paper's funding. As a result, they are no longer able to publish:

Montclarion Presses Stopped by Student Government

Here is the paper's editorial.

The New York Times picked up the story yesterday:

Student Dispute Threatens Montclair State’s Paper

Here are the first three paragraphs of the Times' article, which give a good overview:

In a rancorous dispute that has pitted student journalists against student government, the editors of Montclair State University’s weekly newspaper were forced to stop publishing last week after the student body president froze the paper’s financing.

The editors of the paper, The Montclarion, claim that the president, Ron Chicken, improperly used his authority, cutting off the newspaper’s funds to silence criticism of the student government.

The student body president, however, told the Montclarion’s editors that they had violated the by-laws of the student government association by hiring their own lawyer.

The Society of Professional Journalists (full disclosure: I'm a member) posted on its site a letter to the Montclarion editor, excerpts of which were just to members sent via e-mail:

Letter of support to Montclarion editors and staff

Weigh in: What are your thoughts on the situation? Has this happened/could this happen at your university?

How to...use FeedBurner

I have been asked to do a tutorial post for my online journalism classmates on how to use FeedBurner, so here it goes!

Step 1 - Register
Go to FeedBurner.com and click "Register" in the upper righthand corner to create an account:


Step 2 - Add
Enter your blog address or an existing feed. With Blogger (the platform we're using for class), find your feed by clicking this link at the bottom your blog posts that says: "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)."


Step 3 - Burn
Enter a title for your feed and complete the feed address, such as with your name or blog title:


Step 4 - Integrate
Integrate your new feed with your blog. For those in class, look at the Blogger section and select "Redirect your Blogger feed to your FeedBurner feed."


Step 5 - Publicize
To publish a chicklet, click the "Publicize" tab in your FeedBurner account. Select the one you would like to add. For class, I would recommend including the default RSS feed icon and then adding Google and Yahoo later.


Once you select the chicklet you want, scroll to the bottom where it says "Use as a widget in" and click the drop-down menu to select the type of blog you use. For class, select Blogger and confirm it as a new page element. Another option is to copy the provided code into your blog.

Other information

• "Analyze" is the most useful tab in your FeedBurner account. Explore the contents to see essentially any bit of information you could possibly imagine regarding your feed, such as how many subscribers you have and how many hits your feed has.
• FeedBurner Help Center's explanation. (added Jan. 31, 11:39 a.m.)
  

Questions: Please feel free to ask questions by commenting.

Weigh in: What did you think of this tutorial? It's my first, so be brutal.

VIDEO: TheMiamiHurricane.com redesign

An introduction to the redesign process for TheMiamiHurricane.com, focusing on the content management system.

Dave Barry for president! (Yes, of the United States)

Dave is back and running again! He had been on the sidelines for a little while, covering the New Hampshire primaries and doing a presidential Q&A online, but now he's in the thick of it for real.

Check out the campaign video and be sure stop over at Dave's blog.

Dave Barry '08
"It's Time We Demanded Less"

UPDATE: Another video related to Dave's run:

Mobile post test

Hello! This is my first mobile blog post.

Please feel free to mobile comment.

Converting to Drupalism

Drupal is looking more and more attractive as a replacement content management system for The Miami Hurricane's Web site. Our webmaster, Brian Schlansky, recently downloaded it and set it up on a virtual server on his laptop.

Here are some Drupal-related links:

• Newspapers on Drupal
• What can Drupal do for my newspaper site?
• Newspaper Sites with Drupal
• Now on Drupal HamptonRoads.com and PilotOnline.com
• Vanderbilt student media site opens up to the community » Invisible Inkling

College newspapers with Druapal (Media sites using Drupal):

• InsideVandy (Vanderbilt)
  
• The Hoya (Georgetown)
• Stony Brook Independent (Stony Brook University)
• Olivet College Echo Newspaper (Olivet College)

I'm going discuss Drupal's settings and modules in greater depth with Brian and post my thoughts. Stay tuned.

Background: Drupal is a free, open-source CMS and used by other newspaper for their site management, so it definitely seems like a viable option. We currently use College Publisher, which doesn't give us the freedom we would like and has been very frustrating recently.

Other CMS options I looked at:

• Ellington - a recommendation from Rick Hirsch, managing editor for multimedia at The Miami Herald. The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal World and Naples News, both of which have great sites, use this. The features looked great, but it just wasn't in our price range.
• Expression Engine - a recommendation from Kim Grinfeder, an assistant professor of visual journalism at UM. Looks nice, but isn't geared so much towards news sites.
  
• Joolma - an open source platform similar to Drupal, but it didn't stack up as well.
  
• Town News - used by The Independent Florida Alligator, which underwent a redesign during the summer. Looks like a good option, but has a price tag.
  

Weigh in: What CMS does your newspaper site use? Why is it good or bad?

Howard Owens on the roles of modern journalism

Howard Owens always offers good insight. It wouldn't be a stretch to call him the Journalism Listmaster (2008 objectives for today’s non-wired journalist).

Here is his latest list, on the Six roles, or job duties, of modern journalism:

• The Ethical Role
• The Guide/Filter Role
• The Understanding and Context Role
• The Conversation Leader Role
• The Aggregator Role
• The Straight News Role

I particularly like the following, which hits on the potential value of having a greater number of reporters and editors blogging:

"I know many really, really smart reporters and editors. These people should have blogs, and they should serve readers better by taking the news of the day and putting it in context, combing articles for the tidbits that need to be weaved together to make a bigger whole, and explaining what it all means."

New to the neighborhood: EveryBlock

A new hyperlocal site created by Adrian Holovaty and others called EveryBlock was recently reviewed by Al Tompkins, who writes "Al's Morning Meeting" on Poynter Online.

Check out Tompkins review here, but be sure to give EveryBlock a look-see of your own.

The site currently includes New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Miami should be an interesting one...

Weigh in: What do you think of the site?

UPDATE, Jan. 25 at 12:14 P.M.: Journalismenterprise.com also did a review here.

UPDATE, Jan. 25 at 1:31 P.M.: Mindy McAdams posted about it too.

NYT: Aghan journalism student sentenced to death for blasphemy

I'd fallen behind with reading the New York Times in my Google Reader, but just ran across this disturbing item:

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan court in northern Afghanistan sentenced a journalism student to death for blasphemy for distributing an article from the Internet that was considered an insult to the Prophet Muhammad, the judge in charge of the court said Wednesday.

The student, Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, 23, who also works for a local newspaper, was charged with insulting Muhammad by calling the prophet “a killer and adulterer,” the judge, Shamsurahman Muhmand, said in a telephone interview.

The articles were written by his brother, the story says. Furthermore:

The case is the third time that clerics have called for death for a blasphemer in the six years since the removal of the Taliban leadership and reflects the deep conservatism that prevails even under the more liberal government of President Hamid Karzai.

Kambakhsh has the right to petition the decision to the and supreme courts, the article says.

Weigh in: What's your take on this situation?

Update, Jan. 31 at 2:37 A.M.: CNN has a follow-up story:

Afghan lawmakers back reporter's death sentence - CNN.com

Get "Wired," journalists

Wired Journalists is a great new social networking site on Ning for journalists that's quickly taking off. What's a wired journalist? Howard Owens explains.

To compare "Wired": It's like a closely-knit Facebook group. And while it doesn't have the functionality of Publish2, which I just recently was accepted to and have yet to fully utilize, it's extremely easy to use and looks like it's going to be a great forum.

Here are some blog posts on the subject. But don't take our word for it, check it out for yourself here.

Introducing WiredJournalists.com » Invisible Inkling

Introducing WiredJournalists.com, a place people looking for new knowledge to get help | Howard Owens

WiredJournalists.com | Zac Echola

Wasserman the next Nostradamus?

I read Ed Wasserman's coumn Monday morning, then saw this Monday night:

CNN readers respond angrily to 'race or gender' story - CNN.com

Top Ten List of Tips for Journalism Students

After sharing links to interesting articles and posting my thoughts on online journalism for a little while, I wanted to compile a "top 10" list of suggestions for journalism students. I actually thought of this idea the day before Howard Owens posted his objectives for today’s non-wired journalist, which reaffirmed my desire to do this.

This list couldn't possibly include everything, but I know I would have certainly appreciated knowing several of the items as an incoming freshman. There is, of course, some overlap, but I tried to break it all down as best as possible.

Before I start, I'd like to emphasize something Rob Curley said in his remarks at ACP/CMA (thanks to Bryan Murley for the audio): "Mindset is important. Have the right mindset. ... All that being said...it doesn't hurt to have some skills."

Disclaimer: I'm a student. I've never done hiring for a professional newspaper, Web site, TV or radio station. I don't claim to be a long-bearded, learned scholar. I don't have a Ph.D., a Master's or even my Bachelor's degree yet.

There's no guarantee you'll get a job or internship if you do the following. This is merely intended to be a compilation of what I've read and heard from others who have the qualifications to give such advice. So think of it as just me relaying research to you, one student to another.

Enjoy! (Be sure to comment at the bottom)

1. Get Web savvy: But aren't all young people already? Yes, in a sense. If you're 18 to 20-something year-old student, you probably already use Facebook or MySpace, chat using an instant messenger, read news online, check a blog or two, use or edit a wiki somewhere, etc. Now take it a step further. Subscribe for e-mail news alerts and RSS feeds – make friends with Google Reader. Take advantage of what the Internet has to offer; it's not just a series of tubes. Do you know what Digg, del.icio.us, Fickr and Twitter are? You don't have to use them all, but you need to know what's out there and be able to utilize new tools (many of which are free) at your fingertips to better do your job. I have mine linked on the right side of this blog.
2. Read online journalism blogs: What are your peers doing? Ryan Sholin, Megan Taylor and Dave Lee are great destinations for students. What are professionals and professors discussing? Mindy McAdams, Mark Briggs, Paul Conley, Howard Owens, Jeff Jarvis, Rob Curley, Alfred Hermida, Bryan Murley, Paul Bradshaw, and others will give you an inside look. A good tip for expanding your blog horizons is to check out who is on the blogroll of your favorite bloggers.
3. Start a blog: The next logical step. This could be on any topic you're interested in, but be sure it's something you'd be able to write about at least once a day. A blog is a great way to keep writing. Use images and hyperlinks. Be careful about the tone and content of the blog because it's going to be part of your digital legacy, something future employer will see. You want to avoid being too opinionated about a subject you may one day cover, because it could create problems later. Also, avoid writing a rancorous partisan blog – that probably won't help you either. Be professional, but have fun. Another note: use the blog to link to all your work online, a sort-of "quick clips" page you can e-mail to a recruiter or editor.
4. Learn how to tell stories in more than one way: Journalism is essentially storytelling, so why not tell a story the best way(s) possible? Audio, video, photos, polls, interactive features and games can help. You don't have to be Steven Spielberg behind the camera or have a voice like Don LaFontaine. You don't have to be able to hack NORAD or reinvent Monopoly (no, I won't link) for the Web. To be among the most viable candidates, based on what I've been told and read, you need to be able to capture, edit and upload content you captured with a camera, voice recorder and/or video camera. It's really not that hard. Programming knowledge (HTML, CSS, etc.) is a plus, but not essential (yet?). Nevertheless, you should be able to work with programmers and online editors to tell a multimedia story. The best way to learn any skill is to do it yourself. If you're waiting for someone to take your hand and lead you down the path of multimedia, it probably isn't going to happen. Use online tutorials or courses. Practice. Learn from your mistakes. Practice some more. NOTE: As one of my professors, Chris Delboni, always says, "It's not about technology!" She's absolutely right. Technology doesn't tell the story; it helps you tell the story. And technology changes. (Foreshadowing number 10...)
5. Two important Web sites: Join LinkedIn: Like a Facebook for professionals, LinkedIn combines your resume with who know. It's great way to keep in touch with reporters, editors and recruiters you've met. You can also link to your blog, school (insert medium here)'s Web site, a page with links to your work and links to your social networking sites. If you're ever asked to e-mail a resume for a job or internship, be sure to include a link to your public LinkedIn profile – and a homepage, if you have one. Overall, this is just one more way to show your Web savvy and shape your digital legacy. Bookmark Poynter: Poynter Online should be at the center of your online journalism world. The site has articles on a variety of journalism topics, columns, NewsU training courses and will soon have social networking with the planned Poynter Online Groups. Jim Romanesko's blog on the media is a must-read. Any one who wants to go into journalism or who is in journalism should subscribe to Joe Grimm's "Ask the Recruiter" column, which runs Monday through Friday, and take a glance at Colleen Eddy's weekly "Colleen on Careers." Put all these feeds into your reader. Another area is Career Center, where you can look for job opportunities, post your resume and get career advice.
6. Are you experienced? Join campus media: This is an item that everyone should know, but for some reason people still don't do it. Why? In the most simplistic way I can rephrase it: Recruiters are not going to select you for internships without some kind of previous experience in that field, and you need internships (note the plural) to get a job. Dabble in the various student media at your college or university. Find the one you like the most and focus on it, but don't leave the others behind. Establish working relationships in the spirit of cooperation/convergence to better tell the story. You need to be familiar with other forms of storytelling (see number four). Gear it towards the Web (number one) and blog about it (number three). Look for off-campus opportunities: When I took Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman's sports reporting class last spring, she told of how she, as a student journalist, would go through the UM team rosters and pitch features to a player's hometown paper. Be entrepreneurial. You're going to need clips, and simply working for a campus news outlet isn't likely going to be enough, depending on where you apply. Try to string for your hometown or college town paper during the summer to get clips and quality experience. But when? Don't wait until you're a senior, or even a junior or a sophomore. If you can, try to do it before you even get to college; experience in high school helps with this. Once you're in school, apply for multiple internships EVERY summer. Leave the comforts of a familiar setting if you can. The only way you have a chance anywhere is to apply. Interview as an underclassman, even as a graduating high school senior to help you evaluate where you are and where you need to be to get a position. This will also help you establish a relationship with a recruiter early on in the process.
7. Utilize campus resources: Part I -- Talk to older students: Who are the best professors? What should I being doing this semester, next semester, next summer, next year? Talk to your peers. Find a student mentor. Professors and deans make great mentors as well (see part II), but having a peer – someone who you can better identify with – guide you is a great asset. As a first semester freshman, I met a journalism/political science major who was two years older and offered a lot of great advice for both areas. Part II -- Get to know your professors: Assistance can also come from professors, outside the classroom. Shocking, I know. You likely have access to a wealth of academic and professional knowledge in your journalism school or department – take advantage of this. I enjoy talking to my professors and, in the many countless hours I've spent chatting with them in their offices, I've received a great deal of help. Internship advice, information on upcoming classes, story ideas, study abroad opportunities and more. Where should you look to intern and/or freelance? Networking is huge (i.e. LinkedIn and next item) and professors are probably some of your best connections to newspapers, TV, radio and online news sites. Even if they didn't work at whatever organization you want to go to, they might know someone who does.
8. Network: Meet people. This is an essential part of your job as journalist. If you can't network with students, journalists, professors, reporters, editors and recruiters, what does that say about you're ability to connect with readers/viewers and maintain good contact with sources? This overlaps with the previous two items, but networking warrants its own segment. Networking will help you do your job better, as well as get a job or internship. You're much more likely to get a position you want if you know someone at the paper. The best references are people who the recruiter or editor knows and trusts, or those who have a well-known reputation. But how? Go to job fairs and conferences. Comment on blogs and articles. E-mail your favorite writers and reporters.
9. Know the business: Subscribing to Romanesko (part of number five) will help you keep up with the industry in which you hope to work. Another great way to do so is by reading Editor & Publisher. If you can have a conversation with a recruiter or editor about the current state of the news business it will show two things: 1) You're passionate about the profession and 2) You're not just another green college student – you comprehend the world you want to get into, its harsh realities and why people are both optimistic and pessimistic. Reading blogs (item two) and talking with professionals (item eight) will help you to do this.
10. Be able to evolve and have an open mind: Above all, you must be able to adapt to the changing world of journalism. Evolving is at the heart of numbers one through five. This concept also involves having an open mind, as Curley and others note. Similarly important is being entrepreneurial (six) and being able to do it yourself (four). Being spoon-fed ain't gonna happen, folks. You need to take the initiative to learn on your own. A Jan. 9 post by Paul Conley triggered a wide-spread discussion about training and adapting. While I don't think that train has left the station (sorry for the horrible pun), training should not be a crutch. Training should be supplement, a way to learn new tips and tricks. (Insert "old dog" cliché here).

Weigh in: Did you find this list useful? What would you add or remove? I will take into consideration suggestions and recommendations for adjusting this list.

Past posts with tips:
Trying to 'survive and thrive' in journalism (Dec. 15, 2007)
Talking dirty diapers (Dec. 17, 2007)
Poynting out one's online identity (Dec. 27, 2007)
Non-wired journalists and non-wired cameras (Dec. 30, 2007)
Links about journalism education (Jan. 6, 2008)
Bloggers' thoughts that student journalists should heed (Jan. 11, 2008)
More words of wisdom from journo-bloggers (Jan. 15, 2008)

Journalism was my destiny!

I looked at my birthday on Wikipedia for the first time today and learned that I was born on the same day the telegraph was first used to send a news dispatch.

Another interesting factoid: I share a birthday with Ben Bradlee. I wish I knew about that before I met him in October (he's in the middle). Oh well, there's always next time.

What's gnoo?

Stewart and Colbert, beware...the gnooze is here.


Thanks to Journalism Enterprise.com for the link.

Journalism education links, part deux

A brief follow-up to this previous post on journalism education:

Time for the r/evolution of journalism education « Reportr.net

Reviving the J-School :: Inside Higher Ed :: Jobs, News and Views for All of Higher Education

Are journalism schools dying? | The News is NowPublic.com

Thanks to Alfred Hermida's Reportr.net for the post (the first item) and the two links.

Worldview: To put journalism education in a more global context, here are some reads on journalism education in China:

For China's Journalism Students, Censorship Is a Core Concept

The Uncertain Future of Journalism Education in China

Here are some journalism-related articles and a blog post I wrote while in China last summer on a feature writing study abroad trip (Shanghai Journalism Project):

Documenting Shanghai's documentary TV channel

Communication University not unlike Western schools

Beijing newspaper looks to be more 'cosmopolitan'

Chinese university students give insight on education

Times correspondent fulfilling career dream in China

Journalism journey continues at university, newspaper

A day of television and acrobatics (blog)

VIDEO: Romney and AP reporter butt heads

This blog isn't about politics, but the video below features a journalist, the AP's Glen Johnson, with a laptop covering a Mitt Romney event, so I'd say it's fair game for posting here:



Thanks to Romanesko for the initial post.

UPDATE, Jan. 19 at 8:30 P.M.: A compilation of reactions from Poynter's Kelly McBride:

Calling out the Candidate

Weigh in: What's your reaction to this video? Who do you side with? Why?

A trip to the Everglades

I journeyed to Everglades National Park with a photographer, visual journalism student Johnfrank Dieguez, Friday to report a project for my CNJ 595 In-Depth Reporting for Convergent Media, which I took last semester.

Our subject was La'Keisha Harris, a law enforcement park ranger. Johnfrank took the pictures and I captured audio; we make a good team.

The class project will eventually result in audio slideshows and text stories about various National Park Service employees for the agency's diversity recruitment program Web site, the link to which I'll post when our piece for the site is posted. The site was designed by another class, CVJ 341, last semester.

Additional student groups will visit other parks during the course of this semester for the site.

Cover It Live

I was catching up with Alfred Hermida's Reportr.net blog and came across this great app for sites and blogs: COVERITLIVE.COM

The concept is brilliantly simple. Instant messaging, which this is very similar to, has been around for a long time. Of course, this is not instant messaging, it's a perfect blogging tool.

Look out for a test when I get a chance to liveblog...

Wait, why would I say that, check it out:



UPDATE, Jan. 19 at 10:13 P.M.: I had a question earlier today, "Is the text in the window searchable?" It turns out that it is. I Googled a line from my liveblog and got this result. Success!...somewhat.

Poynter site redesign process: A good model

I really like how Poynter is approaching their site redesign, it provides a good model for how TheMiamiHurricane.com, and others, should go about it.

Here's a video from Poynter's YouTube channel:



For more information about their redesign, check out the Poynter Online - Poynterevolution page.

Troubling (but not surprising) news about teen readers finding online news 'troubling'

From Romanesko:

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2008

Teenagers say reading online news is a stressful experience

Romenesko Misc. | Northwestern Media Management Center
While the 14- to 18-year-old participants in a Northwestern-sponsored study [PDF] describe time spent on YouTube or social networking and music downloading sites as a treat or time-out, they describe their online news experiences as stressful or a reminder of the world's dangers. "We found teens are unlikely to follow serious news online, but that they will click on news stories that appeal to them when they find them on other sites," says Michael P. Smith, executive director of Northwestern's Media Management Center.
> News organizations' websites are not a prime destination for teens (RI)

Posted at 5:30:24 PM

This isn't very surprising, but it should make us stop and think about teens and their news consuming habits. That's not to say, "Well, we better just post all Britney, all the time."

No. News organizations need to find a way to remain relevant to younger audiences without compromising the quality of their coverage. Do I have the answer? Unfortunately, I do not. If I did - as the line goes - I'd be out there trying to make money off it.

Weigh in: For my peers, how would you characterize your online news reading habits?

Other news:
Also from Romanesko, an interesting CJR article that discusses bloggers organizing and being paid for their work: Blogonomics. As you likely know, most news organization don't pay their staffers to blog.

Maybe I should have called this post "Romanesko Round-up." Nah.

Definitely add Romanesko to your RSS reader.

Followup to Chinese blogger death post

I posted this last week about a Chinese blogger who was beaten to death. Here is an update on the case from David Barboza, a New York Times business reporter based out of Shanghai:

Bloggers Push China to Prosecute Beating Death

It's encouraging to learn that "[c]ity officials in Tianmen in Hubei Province in central China are being punished and investigated for their role in the killing of the man, Wei Wenhua, the general manager of a construction company, and the beatings of five villagers during a dispute on Jan. 7, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported."

As a side note, I had the pleasure of meeting David when I was in China last summer on a UM study abroad trip. Here is a story I wrote about him.

Newspaper site traffic data

From Editor & Publisher online, citing Nielsen Online:

EXCLUSIVE: Our Monthly Top 30 Most Popular Newspaper Sites -- 'Newsday' Pulls Ahead of WSJ.com

By the numbers:

Brand or Channel -- Unique Audience (000) -- Year-over-year % Change

NYTimes.com -- 17,177 -- 29.9%
USATODAY.com -- 9,939 -- 9.1%
washingtonpost.com -- 8,478 -- 11.2%
Newsday -- 6,450 -- 182.8%
Wall Street Journal Online -- 5,409 -- 109.0%

LA Times -- 4,607 -- (-6.4%)
Boston.com -- 4,364 -- 15.0%
Chicago Tribune -- 3,891 -- 14.0%
Daily News Online Edition -- 2,956 -- 23.2%
New York Post -- 2,851 -- (-5.7%)

SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle -- 2,785 -- (-30.9%)
Philly.com -- 2,300 -- 33.4%
International Herald Tribune -- 2,250 -- 14.9%
Village Voice Media -- 2,224 -- 70.6%
Chicago Sun-Times -- 2,186 -- 8.3%

Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- 1,974 -- 26.2%
The Houston Chronicle -- 1,946 -- (-18.6%)
The Seattle Times -- 1,840 -- (-19.3%)
DallasNews.com - The Dallas Morning News -- 1,828 -- 21.9%
Seattle Post-Intelligencer -- 1,785 -- (-0.1%)

The Politico -- 1,672 -- N/A
Orlando Sentinel -- 1,522 -- 78.6%
NJ.com -- 1,455 -- 40.1%
Azcentral.com -- 1,435 -- (-36.6%)
Baltimore Sun -- 1,332 -- 26.2%

MercuryNews.com -- 1,315 -- (-15.1%)
The Detroit News -- 1,256 -- 21.4%
The San Diego Union-Tribune -- 1,180 -- 10.4%
Detroit Free Press -- 1,168 -- (-22.9%)
The Washington Times -- 1,161 -- (-24.9%)

Weigh in: Does Newsday pulling ahead of WSJ surprise you?

NYT improves coverage of toilets

The saga continues. I'm telling you, the New York Times has some of the best toilet coverage around:

Prelude to a Public Toilet: Thank This Man

Here's my first post on this phenomenon from Jan. 11: It's potty time!

School of Comm dean finalist for Syrcause spot

Here's a breaking news story I reported Tuesday night, thanks to an item from Romanesko:

Communication dean finalist for spot at Syracuse University (The Miami Hurricane)

This was the first local reporting of the story, which broke in Syracuse. It has more background and the first public comment from Grogg.

Opening Knight

The University of Miami's Knight Center for International Media named its two chairs this morning:

Joe Treaster (left) formerly of The New York Times, and Rich Beckman formerly (right),of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Their appointment comes almost one year after the Knight Foundation announced a $10 million grant to the school.

Here is the UM press release, here is a letter from the NYT's business editor and below is a video of the press conference:



We're on our first deadline of the semester, so I'll add more to this post after we finish. Stay tuned.

UPDATE, Jan. 17 @ 9:58 P.M.: Both of these guys look like great additions to the School of Comm. Their words at press conference were very encouraging.

Check out two of Beckman's projects from when he was head of visual communications at UNC:

The Ancient Way (about elders in Galicia, Spain)

Chiloé Stories (about language of native people on Chiloe Island, Chile)

Quick tip: Use RSS

RSS feeds are a great way to get news and updates. I use Google Reader, which I find very easy and clean with plenty of good features. I also check it on my smartphone from time to time. Whatever reader you choose to use, you will find it makes your online life so much easier--no more millions of tabs open with endless news and blog posts to read.

RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary

Here are some good references from Megan Taylor's blog, SOJo: Student of Online Journalism, for those who are not familiar with RSS. The first post is from today, the others I found under "Most Popular Posts."

• An introduction to RSS (Jan. 15, 2008)
  
• Staying in the know with RSS (May 19, 2007)
• 10 ways to combine media and RSS (April 3, 2007)

Weigh in: Do you use RSS feeds? If so, what reader do you use?

More words of wisdom from journo-bloggers

As I hope is obvious by now, this blog is intended to be a resource for journalism students, in addition to discussing online journalism and The Miami Hurricane. Here are three links that are very insightful:

paulconley: Three job tips for students (Paul Conley)

Teaching Online Journalism » Getting (and keeping) a job in journalism (Mindy McAdams)

BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » A diploma and a blog (Jeff Jarvis)

A phrase that I've seen on various journalism blogs is "if you're reading this, you're already doing something right." I'll echo that sentiment and emphasize that students need to go further.

Jeff Jarvis' post is a compilation of comments about journalism students and blogs. You obviously read blogs. That's good. Read more. Keep reading. Different j-bloggers give different time periods to read blogs. I think you need to read enough to get a feel for it. That could mean a couple days or a couple weeks. Whatever you feel comfortable with, as long as you do it.

Weigh in: What are you doing to become a better journalist?

Update: I'm putting the finishing touches on my Top Ten List of Tips for Journalism Students. Yes, it's so close to completion that I'm now capitalizing and italicizing it.

Back in action...sorta

The newsroom was abuzz for the first time in more than a month.

Editors abound. Couches pulled out. Ideas overfloweth.

It was great to see everyone again after break for The Miami Hurricane's first staff meeting of the semester. Old faces and new faces, all ready to get back into action (please excuse the cliche).

Here are some of the topics we discussed:

• Copyediting all possible content before layout, which will begin with first issue
  
• Outlook for multimedia this semester and what role the multimedia editor and assistant multimedia editor will play
  
• Preview of Web site overhaul, which will be a collaborative, semester-long effort; Art Director/Visuals Editor Will Wooten, Webmaster Brian Schlansky and I will take the lead, working with other staffers and Chris Delboni's CNJ 442 class
• New Sunday meeting structure
• Outline of SG spring election coverage timeline
• What everyone's favorite color is
• Adjustments to process for editorials
• Emphasizing the importance of blogs and being connected
• Highlighting that we are not just a newspaper, but a news organization
  

Weigh in: What would you like to see from the paper this semester?

Putting newspaper stands on their heads

I think the men in white coats are going to lock me up for the idea that somehow came out of my head and onto Ryan Sholin's blog post: The one dollar newspaper.

Here's the craziness I just conjured up in a comment about ideas for a new variety of newspaper box/newsstand:

“We could all use a little change.”
-Smashmouth

I like the general concept because I never carry change either and still enjoy holding a paper in my hands.

Going out on this limb even further (and assuming these boxes are powered), why not have a blank below-the-fold? That way, when you purchase the paper, it prints the latest news in brief while you still have your main day’s news/feature above-the-fold and all the inside content.

Or even a news kiosk that prints tab or 8.5×11 papers on-demand with ALL the latest news. This would be the drunken love-child of an old newsstand and El Pais’ 24 horas (elpais.com/24horas).

Stay with me for a minute. You’d have these strategically placed in high-traffic areas, such as metro and bus stations, government centers, shopping malls, business districts, etc.

It may not the most practical idea, but it’s a good marriage of portability and timeliness. I don’t mind reading news on my smartphone, but I think a lot of people would prefer this kind of product on-the-go. You could print it with at what ever size font you want and even customize what you want to read. Don’t read sports? Double your business section. Like pictures? Print photo stories.

How about the ultimate one-stop-shop: It dispenses coffee or tea for another buck. Heck, throw in a muffin.

I’ll stop these mutterings for now. Any thoughts or suggestions for this hair-brained scheme?

UPDATE, 5:53 P.M.: Just to clarify, this wouldn't be a go-to source for breaking news, merely a way to get updated news in place of reading a newspaper that is X hours old.

Weigh in: What do you think about this idea? Would you give me the money to try it OR would you say I flew the cuckoo's nest?

'Filipino Monkey' phenomenon

I learned of this story after it was picked up, but this is the first time I've heard about this "Filipino Monkey" character:

"Navy Times': Strait of Hormuz 'Showdown' with Iran May Have Been the Work of Prankster

Here's the original article, ‘Filipino Monkey’ may be behind radio threats, ship drivers say and a couple links it includes:

See the Pentagon’s version of the video

A link to the Iranian version (click the camera icon)

It's potty time!

Ok, so I'm in the mood for posting links tonight.

This story is one that's not to be missed. I mean, how often does the New York Times write about toilets? It's a great narrative. And I love the Star Trek references.

While the subject of this article isn't the Man's Bathroom (see video clip below), designed by Tim "The Toolman" Taylor, it's quite a spectacle in it's own right:

Greetings, Earthlings. Your New Restroom Is Ready.

I know what you're thinking. Are they low-flow? According to the Times' City Room blog, absolutely not: A Toilet That Uses 14 Gallons? Oh Gosh!

Dave Barry would have personally killed each one if they were low-flow. Of course, he had the news at 8:19 A.M. this morning, with an update at 2:48 P.M.

Here's another NYT blog post on the chrome throne: New Yorkers, You May Be Excused: A Pay Toilet Opens

Weigh in: Would you use NYC's new public potty?

Just for fun: As promised...

A 'Fine' letter to Sam Zell?

Check out Jon Fine's column in BusinessWeek magazine, which I peruse whenever I'm home because my dad subscribes. I may not agree with everything Fine opines (sorry for the rhyme), but he's always interesting to read.

This time I found him online, writing a light-hearted column to Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell:
You've Got Tribune. Now Do Something.

If you're interested, here's his blog: Fine On Media.

Full disclosure: I've interned at two Tribune companies in the past, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Forum Publishing Group, which is owned by the Sentinel.

Weigh in: What do you think of Fine's to-do list for Zell?

Bloggers' thoughts that student journalists should heed

Similar to the links I posted on journalism education a few days ago, here are some bloggers' thoughts on the skills and such that student journalists should note.

Further notes on the new journalism skillset » Invisible Inkling (Ryan Sholin)

Teaching Online Journalism: Dreams vs. reality in journalism ambition (Mindy McAdams)

What sort of things should an aspiring journalist be thinking about? (Rob Curley)

Take note of what these three detail and be sure to subscribe to their blogs.

I'm glad I waited a day to publish this post, because Ryan Sholin wrote a post called Your real competition, which links to related Paul Conley and Dave Cohn posts, that all student journalists should be aware of.

If you go to interview for an internship or job at a place that says what Ryan writes below, you'll A) Not be exposed to the kind of working environment that will help you compete for jobs and B) Probably not have a job very long because the organization will become irrelevant to most readers, especially younger ones.

"If you’ve said the words ‘Oh, well we’ve always done it that way’ in the last FIVE YEARS, you have a problem with addressing the question of who is competing with your organization.

If you’ve said the words ‘Oh, but that won’t work here’ in the last THREE YEARS, you definitely have a problem with addressing the pace of change in the news business."

I'll soon post a Top 10 list of advice for student journalists that will help them to stay relevant, viable and competitive in the evolving world of journalism.

CNN: China blogger beaten to death

A reminder of the dangers: China blogger beaten to death - CNN.com

From the article, quoting Reporters Without Borders:

"Wei is the first 'citizen journalist' to die in China because of what he was trying to film," the group said in a statement.

"He was beaten to death for doing something which is becoming more and more common and which was a way to expose law-enforcement officers who keep on overstepping their limits."

Links about journalism education

A journey through the murky depths of my electronic correspondences (read that, trying to clean out my Gmail inbox), brought me to the ACP Web site and led me to these very interesting reads:

Are journalism schools ‘getting it’? Jarvis, Greenslade, Woods - Editors Weblog- Analysis

Pajamas Media: What Journalism Schools Should Be Teaching

Is journalism school really unnecessary? - Editors Weblog

I found this less recent article article by ZDnet's Larry Dignan after a quick Google search of "journalism education." How journalism education should change | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

"...most schools still segment folks–magazine focus, TV focus, newspapers etc. All of those specialties should be infused with online learning." - Larry Dignan, executive editor of ZDNet news and blogs

Looking forward to future j-education coverage from the SPJ Classrooms and Newsrooms blog:

"For the August 2008 J-Ed issue might we analyze and evaluate the various ways newsrooms and classrooms intersect ~ be they innovative student internships or practica, unusual professional development programs for instructors, curricula that integrate newsroom practices or products into instruction, or the recruitment and retention of professionals into the academy? This weblog would be a perfect venue to propose or flesh out ideas."

Click Quill 2008 Journalism Education Issue for the original post.

I'm already pondering some ideas.

Weigh in: To students, what do you want to learn? To editors, what should we learn?

Setting the stage for college newspapers online

An interesting look at the "stages" of community college newspapers online, though the breakdown is also easily translatable to a four-year, private institution like the University of Miami:

How to put the community college press online - Online Journalism Review (May, 1. 2007 by Rich Cameron)

I'd say The Miami Hurricane has reached the tail of the stage three beast. Looking forward to next semester, we'll continue to work on creating a better sense of community and concurrently plant at least one foot in stage four with even more breaking news, updates, online exclusive content and blogs.

Weigh in: What would you like to see from TheMiamiHurricane.com in the coming semester in terms of features, content, blogs, multimedia, etc.?

A look at Poynter Groups concept

"Bringing journalists together in a more organized way online" seems to this week's theme.

I posted an item Tuesday about journalist/blogger Ryan Sholin's ReportingOn concept for a Web site, where reporters could discuss what they are covering. Today, I received a PoynterEvolution column by Interactivity Editor Ellyn Angelotti announcing Poynter Online's plans for groups -- a feature I first learned of by looking at one of their Web redesign concept images.

Of course, I'm all for connecting journalists and getting them talking. Communication is the name of our game. If we can't communicate and interact well with each other as journalists, what does that say about our ability to do the same with readers?

Below is an excerpt of the column, click here for the full version.

"When we asked users last year how much they care about connecting or reconnecting with colleagues, we were surprised at the high level of interest. Maybe we shouldn't have been. When we set up a page on Facebook called "Journalists and Facebook," hundreds of you joined right up and more than 5,700 belong today.

That kind of response -- and the need it suggests -- is driving the creation of a network of our own -- Poynter Online Groups. Not exactly social networking, not exactly professional networking, Poynter Groups represents our effort to tailor something special for the Poynter Online audience. We'll differentiate our service from others you may belong to by keeping journalism at its center -- especially content created by you and resources produced by Poynter faculty and staff. "

Weigh in: Do you use Facebook and other social networking sites to discuss journalism? Would you use Poynter's groups? Would you stop using the other ones if you did?

Sacked newspaper editor's column

A partial version of the quote below in one of the comments posted on a very telling column by now former San Angelo (Texas) Standard-Times editor Perry Flippin:

Columnist caught up in newspapers' changing times

"The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

I haven't heard this quote in a little while, but was inspired to use it to kick off an occasional "quote of the day" post. I'll post an interesting quote, either current or historical, if I run across something I find noteworthy. I won't just throw on a quote for the sake of doing so.

Thanks to Romanesko for posting the link to Flippin's column.

Weigh in: What's your reaction to Flippin's column?

Linchpen recognized by fellow journalism blogger

Trying to be humble, I didn't plan to post this link. But then I figured this was relevant site news since it's my first time being linked from another journo-blogger...and it made my mother proud. Take a look:

Out with the old; in with the new

Reporting on the "ReportingOn" concept

I've been reading Ryan Sholin, who blogs about journalism, for a few weeks now. I always enjoy his posts, but I found one item on a list of New Year's resolutions particularly interesting.

The third resolution ("Graduate.") includes creating a proposal for a Web site concept aimed at journalists, specifically beat writers, to discuss what they are reporting on; thus the name "ReportingOn." To the right is a screenshot of the page, where anyone can submit feedback.

I think this a great concept to help better connect journalists — and readers — to improve the flow of ideas. One concern on the Facebook group wall (which is like a test site of the idea), is being scooped. Ryan replies: "Keep it broad. You might be working on a story about alternative energy, but there's no need to say which type or which company is building it. Imagine a site where one click shows you a list of everyone 'reporting on' alternative energy..."

I'm a competitive being, as most journalists are, but the purpose of our profession is to inform. If you don't want to be scooped, don't give away the scoop. We must continue to adapt how we do our job to better inform readers and this site would be a great way to help do so.

I can't wait to see the final site and join.

"ReportingOn will be a way to improve local news by giving reporters access to people they don't talk to often enough: each other. This isn't Facebook for journalists or Twitter for reporters or your own private Digg; this is the place to talk to the expert in the next cubicle, which happens to be three towns over — or across a continent." - ReportingOn.com

Related links:
Web site
Blog
Facebook group

Ryan's posts regarding ReportingOn:
Resolutions » Invisible Inkling
(Jan. 1, 2008)
ReportingOn: An ever so slightly more detailed explanation » Invisible Inkling
(Oct. 24, 2007)
I don’t care what journalists are reading; I care what they’re writing » In atvisible Inkling
(Aug. 15, 2007)

Weigh in: Journalists and readers, would you participate? What are some pros and cons?

Update, Feb. 9 at 1:01 a.m.: Ryan posted an update with a mockup.