Tag: media

SPJ Mark of Excellence national win and UWIRE 100 nod

SPJ Announces 2007 Mark of Excellence Award National Winners (announced Monday)

Online News Reporting
• National Winner: Greg Linch & The Miami Hurricane Staff, University of Miami, “The Presidential Forum at UM”

Thanks to everyone who worked on that package, getting everything posted within a few short hours. Congrats!

  • Karyn Meshbane, news editor/liveblogger/videographer
  • Erica Landau, reporter
  • Marissa Gutherz, photo editor
  • Holly Max, photographer
  • Matt Wallach, assistant multimedia editor
  • Nicole Alibayof, videographer
  • Anthony Minverva, videographer

Also this week: UWIRE, a university news service, made public today their list of top 100 student journalists in the country:

UWIRE 100

Newspaper adviser Bob Radziewicz and journalism professor Sam Terilli nominated me for this honor I greatly appreciate their kind words. Also, thanks to journalism professor Chris Delboni and news editor Karyn Meshbane for the recommendations they sent.

See what they wrote here.

Congratulations to the other winners, especially:

And congrats to another UM student who received a nod, Dan Kaslow (UWIRE page).

Also see

UWIRE 100 – Megan Taylor

Thoughts on Fish At Bay interactive storytelling class project and convergence

After a semester of work, my interactive storytelling class launched its site about fish in Biscayne Bay launched last Wednesday: Fish At Bay.

Hats off to our converged class of “print” and visual journalism students: Walyce Almeida, Maria Arroyave, Erica Landau, Brian Schlansky, Jen Shook, Jamie Straz, Alex Thacker and Jason Walker.

Our professors, Kim Grinfeder (visual journalism) and Sam Terilli (print journalism), did a great job overseeing the project — and recruiting everyone. Also, thanks to our TA, Zeven Rodriguez.

To provide some background, Grinfeder and Terilli have collaborated the past two fall semesters with their Web production and in-depth storytelling classes, respectively. I was in the fall 2008 in-depth class.

With this spring’s (experimental) interactive storytelling class, they took it to the next level of convergence. As far as I know, this was the first class at the University of Miami School of Communication to combine the talents of print and visual journalism students in one class.

I took advantage of the opportunity to get more experience shooting and editing video, as well as to become proficient with Final Cut Pro. I particularly enjoyed being able to work in so may areas:

  • Write history story
  • Shoot b-roll and take photos for history video
  • Edit history video
  • Edit and write cutlines for history photos
  • Edit Delicate Balance video
  • Shoot an interview for the Building on the Bay video
  • Copy edit all stories
  • Write about page
  • Add p tags and hyperlinks (plus find links for) all stories

I’m usually critical of the lack of collaboration between the print and visual programs, but I’ve seen some very encouraging strides this semester.

Grinfeder and Terilli get it. Chris Delboni, my online journalism professor, and Michelle Seelig, the spring Web production professor, get it. (More thoughts on the online journalism class and our collaboration with the Web production class to follow).

So, what now?

Without a question, the interactive storytelling class should be a standard course, and it should be required for all journalism students at UM. Yes, that means bringing in broadcast as well. And there needs to be more converged classes, like an introductory storytelling class (more on this to come as well).

Resistance is futile. You must adapt.

Weigh in: What do you think of the Fish At Bay site?

What’s the best video equipment for a student paper’s first purchase?

(Preface: It’s not about the technology. It’s about the story and how you tell it. Technology is just a tool.)

Kevin Koehler, contributing editor at the Wake Forest Old Gold & Black, asked a question via Twitter Tuesday evening:

kev097 Need to recommend HD camcorder for newspaper today. Probably going with hard drive. Suggestions on models, accessories, research?

Kyle Hansen (TheSpartanDaily.com editor at San Jose State), Kevin and I discussed ideas via Twitter and I volunteered to post the equipment The Miami Hurricane plans to purchase before next fall:

  • Canon HV20 a mini-DV, HD video camera (2) [should we get the HV30 instead?]
  • Canon BP2L14 battery (2)
  • Rode shotgun microphone (2)
  • Sennheiser Evolution G2 EW100 wireless mic combo kit (1) [looks like this this has been discontinued from B&H]

    • Includes EW100 G2 Combo System, EW100 G2 Lavalier System, ENG Handheld Microphone, Storage Case and Cables
  • Hosa MIT-156 XLR to mini connector (1)
  • EH 150 supra-aural closed back stereo headphones (2)
  • Sunpak 7001DX tripod (2)
    • Three-way pan/tilt head with quick release
  • Tiffen 43mm UV filter (2)

This year we have primarily used Flip video cameras after starting off with point-and-shoots (Matt Bunch and I). These have worked OK, but the big problem was audio. The best quality videos came when we checked out equipment from the School of Communication.

And I’ve used my HV20, which I bought during spring break, for the paper. For example, a video of the PD press conference after a student died on campus:


(This is the pretty one the assistant multimedia editor, Matt Wallach, edited. Here is the quick-and-dirty version I posted right after the press conference, sans b-roll. I miked the chief with a lav.)

I love my HV20. It’s not perfect, but it does everything I need.

More about video: Newspaper Video – Yahoo! Groups

Weigh in: What video equipment does your organization use? What do you think about The Hurricane’s planned list?

Nevada Sagebrush uses Twitter to liveblog editor selection meeting

The Nevada Sagebrush (University of Nevada Reno) liveblogged its editor selection meeting Saturday afternoon using Twitter.

The tweets were very comprehensive and, needless to say, flooded my Twhirl window for the duration of the meeting, but it was all good fun.

Thanks to Chelsea Otakan for directing followers of her Twitter account to the Sagebrush’s.

In an interesting twist, I recognized in an early tweet that one my fellow Miami Herald summer 2008 interns is on staff at the Sagebrush. It’s a small world after all.

Weigh in: Does your news organization use Twitter?

Shameless plug: The Miami Hurricane‘s page.

(Since you’re in the neighborhood, check out mine too.)

CommTogether right now, over…journalism

I’m a student in the School of Communication at the University of Miami, but you would think that the various journalism programs (print, broadcast and visual) speak different languages sometimes from the lack of collaboration that is present.

Yes, there have been several notable successes — and I’ve been lucky to be in three classes this year that focus on convergence (In-depth reporting for convergent media, online journalism and interactive storytelling) — but the level of cooperation is still not where it should be.

I kept all this is mind while devising a new final project for my CNJ 442 online journalism class, after the first plan regarding the new TheMiamiHurricane.com didn’t work out a planned.

The result is a social networking site the class is developing using Ning:

CommTogether

The general idea came to me one night as I was chatting online with Hurricane Visuals Editor Will Wooten (check out his recent site redesign). Regarding the group name, which I love, credit goes to Kiersten Schmidt.

Here are details from the CNJ 442 proposal that I drafted and the class helped refine:

Goals

  • Bring together in one forum the three journalism programs at the University of Miami School of Communication: print, broadcast and visual
  • Recruit students, faculty, staff, alumni and prospective students
  • Begin a conversation about the future of school’s journalism programs
  • Conceptualize collaborative projects for classes, students, media outlets, etc.
  • Take ideas and turn them into reality

Elements

  • Profile pages: students, faculty, administrators
  • Groups: programs, classes, projects, media
  • Feeds: blogs, news, etc.
  • Photos and videos
  • Blogs: internal
  • Comments

Action plan

  • Discuss and decide on name for group (complete)
  • Create network (complete)
  • Create profile pages (complete)
  • Create groups within network: programs, classes, media, organizations, etc.
  • Invite/recruit students, professors, administrators, staff, alumni and prospective students (in progress)
  • Table in the SoC courtyard
  • Solicit ideas from everyone regarding the future of curriculum, organizations
  • Conceptualize possible collaboration projects, way to converge
  • Maintain the discussion
  • Continue to recruit new group members

UPDATE: I forgot one very important reason for this site:

Students should have a voice in the development of curriculum.

Weigh in: Any suggestions/ideas for this site?