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New Scientist seeking data journalism/reporting intern, deadline Feb. 15

February 5, 2013 in career talk, internships

Here’s an interesting opportunity for a journogeek who likes to explore data and science:

New Scientist is looking for a budding data journalist to join its San Francisco office for a six-month paid internship. You’ll brainstorm and work on data-driven stories and visualizations under the supervision of Peter Aldhous, our San Francisco bureau chief, and also contribute news items and blog posts on science/technology to the print magazine and newscientist.com.

The ideal candidate will already have some experience with data processing/analysis and online presentation (desirable skills include familiarity with SQL, JavaScript, and a scripting language such as Python), and be itching to apply those skills to the big stories and questions surrounding science, technology, medicine, and the environment. A degree in science or technology is desirable, and you should demonstrate your flair for journalism, especially data-driven projects, by sending examples of relevant work.

Follow the link above to see some samples of the type of data journalism NS is doing, and more details about applying. Deadline is 10 days away!

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SPLC looking for education outreach coordinator

July 6, 2012 in Academics, career talk, Jobs

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer, despite the heat. Here’s a job posting that might be of interest for folks:

Education Outreach Coordinator

The Student Press Law Center, a nonpartisan IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Arlington, Va., seeks a versatile, energetic, technology-savvy Education Outreach Coordinator to develop educational programming to energize young people about the First Amendment, and to represent the SPLC in building partnerships with groups in the education sector whose mission complements our own.

(snip)

A successful candidate will have a proven track record of youth outreach and/or grassroots organizing in the nonprofit sector, a passion for the First Amendment and the power of youth voices, and the ability to create content across digital platforms. The position is full-time, but we would consider a contract arrangement with a candidate located outside of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

DUTIES

  • Build partnerships with education organizations with interests complementary to those of the SPLC.
  • Develop campaigns to build awareness of and support for the First Amendment in schools, including programs that promote the teaching of journalistic skills and values as fundamentals of online citizenship.
  • Monitor the development of public policy at the federal and state levels on education issues of concern to the student media community.
  • Develop teaching materials to widen exposure and utilization of SPLC educational resources.
  • Expand SPLC’s audience reach through public speaking, writing and other audience-building activity.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Experience in organization-building, outreach, or grassroots organizing
  • Degree in Education or related field
  • At least 2 years’ classroom teaching experience or comparable work experience

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Chris Seper: Knowing your audience, building community

April 2, 2012 in career talk


Chris Seper, CEO of MedCityNews and Eastern Illinois University journalism alumnus, talks about one essential skill journalists need to succeed in the online news business. Transcript is at the YouTube link.

 

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Expectations are there for new hires and social media

February 29, 2012 in career talk, social media

I know you’ve probably heard it here plenty of times, but the drumbeat for online journalism skills continues to grow louder from every professional journalist I’ve spoken to or listened to at a conference or workshop this year.

When I was at the Mid-America Press Institute’s “Managing Change” workshop recently, one quote brought this back to mind. It was from Alan Herzberger, digital managing editor of The Oklahoman.

Here’s what I tweeted at the time:

Herzberger said the Oklahoman expects new hires to be active on Facebook and Twitter, and to have some followers (for more on the Oklahoman’s social media strategy, read the story at mpinews.org, along with others from the workshop).

That dovetails with something Steve Yelvington wrote recently that I though deserved some attention: The new baseline skill set, which includes this skill:

Be prepared to use social networking to further your job goals. This includes listening, engaging and promoting your work.

There are a lot of web sites out there that will give you advice about how to achieve success in social media these days. My only advice is this: Get to it!

If you’re not using social media to connect with other journalists, with potential readers, with industry sources, you’re flailing at your journalistic responsibility.

When we started this blog, one of the things we talked about early on was that news is now a conversation (that’s not my terminology, but it describes the way news has evolved). It’s more true now than ever.

 

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Information overload: RSS reader edition

January 31, 2012 in blogging, career talk, General Media, industry news

UPDATE: via Jason Kottke (and my RSS reader) this related, lengthy piece from journalist Brian Lam, whose site I’ve never read.

Last week, my intro to multimedia classes discussed RSS feeds, and why they were a good thing. I love RSS feeds for keeping up to date on matters at the intersection of technology, journalism and college media. A lot of people have started using Twitter as an alternative to RSS readers, but I don’t find that a good thing, necessarily. The real problem for me is the amount of information that come through the RSS reader in a day. I was amazed at how much content some of the blogs I follow was pumping out in a day, so I decided to try an experiment. I “bankrupted” my Google Reader yesterday (Monday, Jan. 30, 2012) at 4 p.m. Central Standard Time. There were no unread items.

It’s now 2:30 CST on Tuesday, and I just went in to see how many items were in the unread RSS inbox. As you can see, there are 276 unread items. And I don’t follow any traditional media outlets (NYT, Washington Post, etc.).

The main contributors to this RSS glut?

Five sites, 170 new items in less than 24 hours!

Now, granted there’s probably a lot of good information in some of those blog posts, but who can keep up? I’m sure most people don’t read all these firehoses of niche information, preferring to focus on one or two. But if you’re trying to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings in a certain area, it’s not always an option.
It’s no wonder one of the more recent tech terms to become a buzzword is information overload.

I’m sure someone has a workable situation for this conundrum. I think one of the things we’ve created with the fast pace of the Internet is the need for constant content, some of which is little more than a picture and a blurb from another blog or a press release. And that’s not helping us get quality information, much less act upon the information we’re getting.

This isn’t specifically a college-media-related issue. But as journalists of the future, one of our college students’ key functions will still be to serve as trusted curators or information sherpas for people who don’t have time to follow all this content. And that means they will have to find strategies and tools to go where the information is and discover what’s important without having to spend hours in front of a screen sifting through stories.

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SPLC looking for spring interns

October 3, 2011 in internships

The Student Press Law Center is looking for interns for the spring semester. Deadline is Oct. 17 – two weeks away. It’s paid! See here for details.

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Denver Post looking for junior web developer

March 1, 2011 in career talk

Passing along a job opportunity posted to the CoPress listserv yesterday from Dan Petty:

The Denver Post is looking for a Jr. Web Software Developer.

You’ll be joining senior web developer Joe Murphy (@joemurph on Twitter) and another, yet-to-be-named senior web developer. We’re looking for folks who are excited both about fulfilling the local mission of a large-size regional daily news organization and doing innovative work with presenting structured data on the web.

The Jr. Web Software Developer will provide support to the interactive team with all aspects of building and maintaining digital products.

Essential Functions:

  • Support senior staff with website + web application design and development, maintaining websites, and input and verification of data to ensure product delivery.
  • Participate in meetings and carry out research as it pertains to projects.
  • Carry out other duties as may be assigned or requested.

Physical Working Conditions:

  • Standing 5%, walking 10%, sitting 85% of shift.
  • Use computer to design and develop digital products approximately 85% of the shift

Qualifications:

  • Possess basic knowledge of web development methodologies.
  • Fundamental skills in OOP – Python or PHP skills are a plus.
  • Experience with a DBMS.
  • Command of grammar and spelling.
  • A passion for local news, structured data.
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
  • Detail-oriented with the ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
  • Ability to listen to others and accept input from team members.
  • Values internal and external clients and responds to their needs as they arise.
  • 4 year degree or certificate from art or technology institute desired, or equivalent experience.
  • Understanding of a version control system.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to e-mail dpetty@denverpost.com or Diane Exline, director of technology systems and solutions, at dexline@denverpost.com. Feel free to pass along to anyone who you feel might be interested or qualified.

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Managing in the Digital Age

February 12, 2011 in management, social media, Training

I’m tweeting from the Mid-America Press Institute workshop “Managing in the Digital Age” today and tomorrow.

There’s going to be a lot of talk about social media, analytics, and mobile journalism, and a discussion about app development with folks from stltoday.

You can find details about the workshop here, and follow the tweets using the hashtag #mpinews

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Deadline approaching: Summer multimedia opportunity

January 18, 2011 in Academics, Educational opportunities

Description: The train-station of Perpignan, F...
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Rachele Kanigel reminds that the deadline for applying for the multimedia journalism summer program is fast approaching: February 1, 2011.

More details about the program below the fold:

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We’re doing it live! Louisville Workshop site now up

October 31, 2010 in CICM shop talk, Training

streetstoriesweb

The one-stop shop for the video stories produced by our Louisville workshop participants – Main Street Stories (cicmstreetstories.org) is now open for business.

Please drop by and check out the work of these dedicated workshoppers. I’d say it was some pretty good work for a weekend.

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