What journalists wanted to know in 2009

OK, I may be taking a little poetic license with the headline, but I thought while every news organization in the country was doing “year in review” stories, Advancing the Story should, too.  So, in case you missed any of them, here are the most trafficked posts for our blog this year.

1.  Ten tips for writing TV news.  This is our all-time points leader for two years running.  Guess that should tell us something that people still want good information about how to write well.

2. Backpack journalism toolkit.  No surprise here, the first obstacle to overcome when embarking on a multimedia path is putting together the right set of gear and skills.

3. Skills a multimedia journalist needs.  See above.

4. Five video story forms.  As we know, the amount of video on the Web has exploded in recent years, and that’s prompted journalists to begin thinking about the ways in which this delivery system can or should change video content.

5. Ethics of music.  This post actually taught me a little something about the Web – audiences can come from unexpected places.  Months after it was originally published, this post caught the  fancy of a popular Web site and voila’ – the hits just kept on coming.

6.  J-school requires iPhone.  The popularity of this post could be attributed to the Missouri Mafia – the large network of Mizzou grads who remain true to their school.  But it’s at the heart of an important discussion:  How can we avoid getting bogged down in learning about specific tools and focus more on learning concepts?

7. Six video tips for multimedia journalists. Like many blogs, we often rely on outside expertise such as this post from photojournalist Adam Westbrook.

8. Video shooting tips.  More great stuff from Scott Jensen, who won his second NPPA TV photographer of the year award in 2009.

9. Visual storytelling secrets.  Ok, we get it.  Journalists want to know more about how to tell better video stories.  (Note to self:  Create more of these posts in 2010.)

10. “12 things I’ve learned about online news.” As we move into a new decade, it’s clear we’ll all need to be learning as much as we can about online news.  What traditional skills will translate well in the Web world and what new skills must tomorrow’s journalists master?

We hope the new year brings you new opportunities to do great multimedia work.  Thanks for reading!

Share

3 comments for “What journalists wanted to know in 2009

Comments are closed.