Focusing tool

Here’s yet another use for Twitter: as a tool to help focus your stories. The suggestion comes from former Washington Post editor Craig Stoltz, who says the discipline of writing substantive Tweets helps to reinforce the key journalism skill of making every word count.
Fact is, it’s tough to convey any substance in 140 characters. [...]

So many ways to tell a story

What do you get when you move a 50-something magazine editor to the Web side? In the case of John Byrne, executive editor of BusinessWeek and editor in chief of BusinessWeek.com, you get a full-fledged convert. Byrne told the UNC-SABEW site Talking Biz News what he finds so appealing about online news:
I believe [...]

Print edition online

Let me say this right up front. I don’t get it. The San Jose Mercury News has just launched a new e-Edition, offering “every story, picture, and ad exactly as it appears on every page.”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this feels like the ultimate in shovelware. Would you want to [...]

Video shooter’s advice

At the NPPA-sponsored Multimedia Immersion workshop this week, 50 participants are getting their first crack at shooting video. Most are newspaper photographers who want to learn how to shoot for their publication’s Web site. One of the instructors again this year is Colin Mulvaney, multimedia editor at the The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, [...]

Compelling newspaper video

The talented team at the Raleigh News & Observer has done it again. Their online multimedia companion to a five-part print series on mental health reform gives users multiple ways to explore the story. Photojournalist Travis Long’s video is compelling, Judson Drennan’s interactive map breaks down spending county-by-county and Valerie Aguirre’s flash [...]

In the “knewsroom”

The best news isn’t up to the minute, it’s up to you. That’s the slogan at the new Knewsroom, an online experiment from Kluster.com, that calls itself “a community-directed news publication where not only do you have a voice—you get paid to use it.”
How does it differ from other sites that pay for content?  [...]

Getting good audio

As more and more journalists begin to carry their own video cameras on stories, the need for more video training is growing.  The Society of Professional Journalists offers a Newsroom Training Progam that includes a module on video newsgathering.  Recently, some of the trainers involved have discovered many print newsrooms seem to be buying gear that’s [...]

Mobile video doohicky

That’s what photographer Don Himsel of the Nashua Telegraph is using to stream live video to the paper’s breaking news blog.

After some experimentation, the rig now combines a Nokia N95 mobile phone with a Sennheiser shotgun mic and a C-clamp.
How’s it working out? Not bad. It’s a completely different animal as to other video [...]

Hidden cameras make a comeback

Did they ever really go away? SPJ’s Jon Marshall contends that hidden cameras fell out of favor in TV newsrooms after the ABC News-Food Lion case in 1992. On his NewsGems blog, Marshall writes, “Fortunately, it looks like they’ve made a strong comeback as part of some great stories.” His post highlights [...]

The best of the Web

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then you might want to consider complimenting the winners of the 2008 EPpy Awards by imitating them.  At the very least, you’ll want to check out what some of these folks are doing online.
The EPpys are awarded by Editor & Publisher to honor superior online content.  Feel [...]