Poynter Online live chats

Thanks again to the amazing Twitter feed of the ACP, I have a new obsession.

The Poynter Institute, the pinnacle in journalism instruction in this country is now starting to push live online chats about topics that are very helpful, especially to me as a college student.

From how to help change journalism curriculum to what the current and future job market for journalists is, theses chats, which are moderated by Poynter faculty are opening up the opportunity to get these questions we have about our industry answered.

For updates on the newest Poynter chats, follow them on Twitter or visit their website. If you are also a journalism student, resister for a free Poynter NewsU account.

National Press Foundation "Why Journalism Matters" essay

Thanks to my friends at the ACP for tweeting the details about the National Press Foundation "Why Journalism Matters" essay. My job... describe what journalism means to me in only 100 words. Here is my response.

Journalism is truth. It does not matter by which medium it is delivered, but that it is presented to the audience in a way that is right, fair and informative. We now transition into a time where the birth and development of social media sharing can allow anyone to generate information and publishers have become overwhelmed with the obsession of their publication's bottom line. Luckily, there are still a few individuals and media outlets are doing it with the singular goal of getting the best content to the masses.

If selected, I will win an all expenses trip to Washington D.C. for to sit at the head table of the 2010 National Press Foundation Awards. My essay would also be read to the group.

The meaning of "neue journalism"

Journalism is evolving.

The tricky part is trying to figure out when it will stop. In the last 2-3 years alone, I have seen the birth and rise of Facebook, Twitter and the smartphone revolution. All tools that have become my primary way of viewing media.

This change, dubbed "new journalism or new media" is making an entire industry re-think everything it has relied on for the last 50 years. So in this change, who will come out on top? The answer is me... the college student.

By learning all of these new tools in the classroom, I will graduate with all of the knowledge and necessary resources to jump right into the "new media" market as within the next 3-4 years it will finally figure out what the meaning of journalism truly is.

As far as the neue part goes, I just love Helvetica and Helvetica Neue.

Late nights = quiet and productive

I may be a little out there in saying this, but I love being able to clock out at my "day job" and come back to the newsroom for another four hour shift.

By the time I get here, the place is practically empty, and by 6ish it's just me, The Communicator Online and my iTunes library.

Now that we have hit Feburary, I know I'm gonna need more nights like this as we are now just a couple of weeks away from judging for the two biggest awards in online collegiate journalism, and I will be damned if we don't win them both.

Now, back to work.

Lessons learned in a college newsroom pt. 4

Step back:

I have always had the ability to step into big situations and handle them under pressure. My problem starts when that situation ends.

I have a good idea of how to avoid stepping on peoples toes and where "the line" is. And I respect that, but up until this quarter, I was also always the one who was ready to spring at any opportunity to step in and help. The thing that I now realize is that I'm not helping them, but hurting.

So I can happily say that When it comes to the print version of my student newspaper, I have made myself disappear, and if there is something that the rest of the staff needs done... They will have to learn it.

This also allows me to give my undivided attention to The Communicator Online, which is being judged this upcoming month for the nation's two most prestigious collegiate journalism awards (ACP Pacemaker & SPJ Mark of Excellence)

Multimedia Journalism 225

For the first time ever at SFCC, a multimedia based journalism class is being offered. The idea of the class is to take our knowledge of good storytelling and implement multimedia aspects.

By looking at any major newspaper around this country, it is easy to tell that this form of storytelling is not only becoming increasingly popular, but anyone who knows how to do it, can get a job.

So, for the classes first assignment, we were given one week to do an audio-only, single source, non-narrated, no ambient or artificial noise profile piece.

Let me just lay this out there... This was one of the more difficult assignments I have ever done. Unlike a print story, there is no narrative or artwork to carry the story. I cannot write my way out of a bad quote. What I recorded is what I had to work with.

Here is the link to the piece, let me know what you think. The profile is on Sara Edlin, Drama teacher and play director at SFCC.

http://faculty.spokanefalls.edu/Communicator/sections/multimedia/multimedia/sara_edlin_multimedia.mp3

Implementing "Neue Journalism"

I love social media... I mean love it. Everything from Twitter to Facebook to Flickr, it all makes everything more fun and entertaining (except for MySpace, so dumb).

So why are so many people still out of the loop?

Monday marked the start of the new school year at Spokane Falls, and with it came one of the largest staffs in Communicator history (over 30 people in a closet sized newsroom). Most of the students were new to the paper, only making new Editor-in-Chief, Hilary Vandenbark's head hurt that much more.

But beside the massave number of students, one other thing caught my attention.... Only about half of the staff owned and operated a twitter account. This not only blew my mind, but also got me thinking why?

Things like Twitter are not only essential tools for students, but student journalists even more so. These are tools tht allow the news to get out quicker, more accurate and to a wider audiance.

So, today I strongly suggested that everyone in the newsroom not only create a Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn account, but use it. So far quite a few students have set accounts up, and I am interested to hear the feedback of what they think both now, and at the end of the term. My guess is they will never think twice about social media again.