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We want your topics for our nationwide lesson

January 30, 2009 in internships

After one video essay, 10 applicants, 245 votes and one tough decision, the first CICM intern is logged in and blogging!

Hello readers. I’m Lauren Rabaino and I can’t wait to get started. A few things you should know about me: I’m the online and multimedia editor for mustangdaily.net, the student newspaper at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I’m a journalism sophomore with a concentration in “print” journalism– although I like to consider myself (unofficially) a “new media” concentration. I love the web and design and sharing what I know.

Enough about me. Let’s get to business.

I see my time with CICM as an opportunity to represent the student voice amidst this changing industry. I have plenty of tutorials up my sleeve to help you improve your news sites and restructure staff.

But this isn’t all about what I can do. I want to know what you can do.

The first large-scale, community-based project that I cannot complete without you:

The Nationwide Classroom

Once every few weeks, we are holding “nationwide lesson” which includes a full-blown tutorial and live Q&A on topics like shooting video, making flash graphics, training staff, and whatever other suggestions you have. (I’ll announce the exact date of our first lesson soon).

I expect everyone who is willing to learn can use our tutorials as a newsroom resource.

The challenge:

  • Take our tutorial to your newspaper staff (or if you don’t work for a publication, absorb it on your own).
  • Use what you learn to create a project, and when you’re done, post it to our comments.
  • We’ll feature projects that make best use of our tutorial.

Not only will it be a great opportunity for you to learn, but it will be an invaluable source for your staff/reporters to pick up some new multimedia skills. Not to mention, it’s a great way to get exposure for the work you’re doing.

The key is that it’s powered by you. I am simply the voice and the aggregator.

If you have ideas for what our first lesson should be, input on how my plan can be improved, or suggestions for how the tutorials should be conducted, please let us know in the comments, on Twitter, or in an e-mail [cicmintern (at) gmail (dot) com].

And, as always, please spread the word.

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links for 2009-01-29

January 29, 2009 in industry news

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MediaShift post on the economy and college media

January 28, 2009 in blogging

My latest piece for PBS’s MediaShift is up and running. Would love to hear feedback.

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Meet the CICM Intern!

January 26, 2009 in CICM shop talk, internships

Lauren Rabaino is the first CICM Intern. Congrats to Lauren.

And thanks to all the applicants. This was a tough decision, as we had good applicants. I wish I could hire them all. Honestly. Also, 245 people voted in the poll. I spent the past week agonizing over the decision and didn’t even look at the poll results until today.

Lauren will be showing up soon on the blog and on Twitter and elsewhere rep’ing the CICM. We’re excited to have her.

We hope to have this program again in coming semesters, so I encourage all the others to keep an eye out for the future.

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From “breaking” to “developing”

January 26, 2009 in breaking news, Websites

An example of a breaking news intro graphicImage via WikipediaIn conversation with some students today, I came across some different perceptions of what “Breaking news” means. Through the discussions, we came to the conclusion that perhaps “breaking” isn’t the best word to use in all instances.

Perhaps the 24-hour cable news networks have overused the “breaking news” lingo to talk about everything from what Michelle Obama was wearing on Inauguration Day to a press conference by Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich to a plane landing on the Hudson.

So I think it would be useful to have a distinction.

“Breaking news” should be reserved for something BIG. On campus, this could be the death of a student, or a fire, or something. “Breaking news” needs a swarm of reporting to get the facts out immediately and follow-up with a real sense of urgency.

“Developing news” should be something that is probably newsworthy enough to post some relevant facts or source documents on the web site – like your standard Friday afternoon “news dump” of a coach resigning, or your university PR office sending out a press release that has some actual news. But – especially when officials won’t return their phone calls – won’t result in the all-out swarm that follows a breaking news event. And you likely won’t send out an e-mail blast to subscribers (because we know people hate that whole “cry wolf” thing, right?).

It’s a distinction that has some value, at least as you’re transitioning students to a web-first mindset. Your thoughts?

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My, how times have changed

January 26, 2009 in General Media

Via the CMA Listserv:

“We’re not in it to make money.” Heh.

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links for 2009-01-26

January 26, 2009 in industry news

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links for 2009-01-25

January 25, 2009 in industry news

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Timely reminder for young journos

January 24, 2009 in career talk

Rumaging through our Blip.tv archives, I came across this video I shot with Dwayne Yancey from the Roanoke Times (posted in early 2007).

It reminds me of a conversation I had with an editor for a Chicago metro magazine who spoke at EIU last year. She said one of the big impressions students make on her when they are applying for a writing position is their web presence. She specifically mentioned weblogs, but with the rise of social media tools like Twitter, I imagine there will be soon be even more of an emphasis on the use of these tools. A student journalist who has shown at least a familiarity – hopefully mastery – of those tools will have a much better portfolio to present to potential employers.

Will that make the difference? Perhaps. I’m sure there will still be hiring editors who are stuck in the 20th century. But their tribe is decreasing. In a tight job market, anything you can do that makes you more valuable to your employer is going to be crucial. It’s not just about coding, or the more elitist “raising the bar“. It’s about spreading the truth through available channels, and doing so in a web-first manner.

Just sayin’

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Pulling back the curtain: Daily Tar Heel’s “Know your editorial board” interactive

January 24, 2009 in College Media, ideas, Websites

Catching up on e-mails, here’s an example of an interactive graphic that “pulls back the curtain” by putting a face and some details to the names of the editorial board:

dth

When you click on a photo block, a window pops up with a brief introductory video from each editorial board member. Credits for the package: Film by Jarrard Cole, Editing by Dioni Wise, Design and programming by Mary Katherine Ayers.

One encouragement I’d have is for the online staff to link to the interactive on the Opinion section of the site, and also on all the pages that contain edit board editorials (like this one).

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