Writing for New Media

Paul Bradshaw has another thought-provoking post in his Online Journalism blog. This time around he asks:

Have you ever been to one of those meetings where there is a lot of talking - but no action? That’s what most news websites and blogs are like at the moment. One endless meeting.

Bradshaw suggests that online journalists go beyond that to connect with readers by employing "Five W's and a H that should come *after* every story." They are:

• Who can I connect with?
  
• What did the journalist read to write this?
  
• Where did this happen?
  
• When are events coming up that I need to be aware of?
  
• Why should I care?
  
• How can I make a difference?
  

Bradshaw followed up with a mock-up on how this would work. A fascinating idea that bears serious consideration.

Labels: audience, calendars, databases, mapping, social networking

The New York Times created something unique in my experience when they combined audio clips and a database to tell the story of people wrongly convicted of crimes. The result is titled “Exonerated, Freed, and What Happened Then.” Notice the "Choose a category for comparison button."

Labels: audio, databases

Mindy McAdams summarizes advice from Fiona Spruill, editor of the nytimes.com Web newsroom, in a Q&A at the Times site.

Journalists who can flourish in both the Web newsroom and the print newsroom today:

* Can package the news online.
* Can create original multimedia.
* Have solid journalism credentials.
* Have strong technical skills.

Journalists who expect to get a job will “walk in the door with”:

* A proficiency in Photoshop, HTML and blogging software.
* An understanding of Web publishing systems (content management systems).
* Experience in the production of multimedia — including the use of audio and video editing tools.

Labels: audio, html, multimedia, photography, photoshop, video

An article in the latest American Journalism Review looks at the spread of video on news Web sites. Perhaps most interesting is that not only are many still photographers making the change to video, but some are actually retiring their still cameras and grabbing frames from their HD video cameras.

While that news is mildly surprising, it is just one more step in the age of convergence -- and one more reminder that tomorrow's journalists need to be versatile. Towson professor Sandy Nichols reports on a recent class visit:

Mark Miller, News Director at WBAL-Radio, just spoke in my class and talked about this very phenomenon in radio news. His reporters are now carrying video cameras out in the field to capture video for the web, but also using the cameras for still shots for the web. They are all also carrying a computer to edit the video and clips, as well as record the voice-overs.

He showed the class several examples of stories on their Web site, emphasizing the importance of multimedia storytelling to an industry that has traditionally relied on sound to tell stories. He's spoken every semester since I've arrived at Towson, but this is the first time he's made such a strong statement. "If you want to be successful in radio now," he said, "you MUST know how to work across platforms."

Labels: photography, radio, video