Tag: web

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.

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?

Fair comment? Where do you draw the line with user opinions?

Online article comments are being talked about more and more, most recently in Miami Herald ombudsperson Edward Schumacher-Matos’ column in today’s Herald.

The topic was also discussed at the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors conference I attended a two weekends ago. Two of the sessions I attended focused part of their discourse on this issue: A writing for the Web session with The Herald‘s Martin Merzer and a session on ethics by Kelly McBride from Poynter.

Here are some articles to check out:

When comments cross the line by Steve Meyers

Looking for ways to tame poisonous words on Web by Edward Schumacher-Matos

Trying to ‘survive and thrive’ in journalism

A crash course EVERYONE in journalism needs…

Last night I started reading a little, 128-page book that was sent to me in the mail early in the fall semester. “Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive” by Mark Briggs (assistant managing editor for interactive news at The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wa.) covers a range of topics that are pertinent to the modern reporter.

Some of the material has just been a review, but I have also gleaned many interesting facts and bits of advice that have spurred a number of ideas for The Miami Hurricane.

Here’s a list of topics I’ve leafed through thus far: RSS feeds, Web 2.0, tools and toys, new reporting methods, how to blog, how to report news for the Web and digital audio and podcasting.