Ron Sylvester, a 30-year veteran journalist, has started a blog to chronicle his transition to online/multimedia reporting. It’s a good resource, partly because it destroys the old notion that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but also because he breaks down some of the behind-the-scenes lessons he’s learning during the process. (thanks to Mindy McAdams for the pointer) #

I especially like this advice, from a post about his first online-only project: #

Rule No. 2 of Multimedia Reporting: Don’t let them hear you whine. Don’t complain about not having the right gear, the right talent, anything.You might end up getting buzzed. Do whatever it takes to get the job done. For print stories, I’ve taken notes on the back of napkins. #

As we’ve often noted here, it’s not the equipment that makes the story. And – thanks to lots of open-source tools, relatively inexpensive equipment, and work-arounds – you can produce some excellent multimedia with a minimum of resources. Yeah, it’s nice to have expensive equipment – audio, video, computers – but you can get the job done with less. #

I’m also pointing this out because the project Sylvester is writing about – the Crawl – is something that any college media outlet could do as well. It’s evergreen, and every place. If you’ve got an arts scene near your campus, you can do this too. #

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