Where will the innovation come from this year?

Today (Monday, Aug. 25) marks the first day of school at Eastern Illinois, and therefore the first real issue of the Daily Eastern News.

The beginning of a new school year means new opportunities to try stuff and experiment with innovative storytelling methods.

So I’m curious to see what comes out this year around the nation. I’m sure there will be some great video, audio and mapping examples. But I’m curious where the most innovative stuff will come from.

Who will have some new database applications or flash-based projects? Who will try something really off the wall?

At the DEN, we’ve got a good online staff, including last spring’s online editor, and we’ve got the photo staff excited about producing more slideshows and (finally!) moving into the video sphere. The staff is trying to produce beat blogs again this year.

But we’re also trying to move the print editors into the production of the online site - posting stories on the web instead of relying on the online production staff. That’s a slow process, however, and I’m not sure whether we’ll get there this semester.

We finally got the design of our CP 5.0 site done, and at some point soon (cross fingers) will be making the switch from 4.0 to 5.0.

I should qualify this, however. When I say “we,” I really mean the DEN staff. If I was the editor instead of an adviser, I’d have the entire staff involved in producing content for the web and then repurposing it for the print edition. But as an adviser, I can’t *make* the students do that. I can point them in the right direction, show them examples, and be available to answer questions when needed.

But the heavy lifting belongs to the students.

So what are you planning for this semester?

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