Lessons I learned from an in-depth online reporting project

Over the course of two and a half months, I worked on an in-depth project examining gender at Whitworth University.  I focused on building the project specifically for the web and used it as a chance to take on the role of a multi-skilled, multi-platform journalist that is being asked for in the field today.  To find out more about the project or what I did, read the previous post.

Here is what I learned through the process of using multiple tools and skills in this project.

Applying what I learned: ‘The Women’

While those of you who have been following this blog may know that this fall I took on an independent study to look at how the internet has influenced journalists’ roles, many of you may not know what I’ve been up to this spring.

In the final semester of my undergraduate education, I sought to apply the lessons I learned this fall. I learned that journalists need to be multi-skilled and multi-platform, so I developed a project in which I could demonstrate that.

Over the course of two and a half months, I worked on an in-depth project examining gender at Whitworth University. Nearly 60 people were interviewed. I wrote more than 50 articles of varying lengths both news and features, took and edited video clips, created databases, posted documents, created a graphic element, did the coding for the Web page, added links and did some of the photo work for the project.

Today it is finally complete, with only a few finishing touches needed. Check it out: The Women

In an upcoming post, I will debrief and talk about what I learned through this experience.

Getting the news online: The presentation

This presentation was used at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference on April 25, 2009. It came out of a paper by the same name that was done for an independent study this fall.

Presenting on the role of journalists and the emergence of the Internet at research conference

From September through December, I set out to find out what the role of journalists is with the emergence of the Internet as part of an independent study course at Whitworth University. The result was a paper of the same title as this blog. I found that while the definition of journalism remains the same, defining who a journalist is and what his or her roles are has become more complex. The emergence of the Internet has resulted in increased expectations for journalists that are still taking form across the United States.

I will be presenting my findings and the paper at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference on Saturday, April 25. The conference will be held at my school, Whitworth University. I will be speaking in session 3 at the 9 to 10:15 a.m. time slot along with four other general submissions. The presentation will take place in Weyerhaeuser 204. To find out more about the other presentations at the conference, visit the conference Web page.

If you are at all interested in the topic, I encourage you to come. I can always use the support. After the presentation, I will post the PowerPoint of my presentation by Slideshare to the blog for all of those who are interested and can’t make it.

links for 2009-04-18

• Poynter Online: “How the Gray Lady uses color on the Web”
  (tags: journalism newspapers design nytimes website color)
• Reportr.net: “The perils of bringing together print and online newsrooms”
  (tags: onlinejournalism newspapers newsrooms)
• MediaStorm: “Ten ways to improve your multimedia production right now”
  (tags: journalism onlinejournalism storytelling multimedia MediaStorm)
• Old Media, New Tricks: “Gain more Twitter followers for your news organization”
  (tags: twitter socialmedia journalism onlinejournalism)

Online Journalism Links: 4/17/09

Here are some links to recent articles and posts about online journalism I found interesting:

MediaShift: “An After-Life for Newspapers”: MediaShift brought together five people who are working for newspapers or who have worked for them in the past and are now making independent efforts online. This combination of text and videos include discussions of business models, the content audiences want, database journalism, how to work the online network and more.

10,000 Words: “Do you have a multimedia emergency plan?”: Mark Luckie highlights the importance of having a game plan for reporting a crisis online including multimedia and highlights examples of things to consider like connecting people with resources, mapping and audio slideshows.

Huffington Post: “Citizen Journalism Publishing Standards”: The Huffington Post posted its standards for citizen journalists which include fact-checking sources, omitting irrelevant opinion, avoiding hearsay and others.

Teaching Online Journalism: “Do’s and don’ts for slideshows”: Mindy McAdams provides examples of what to do and what not to do when producing audio slideshows, including emphasizing the importance of storytelling and having human elements in images.

10,000 Words: “Beyond Twitterfeed: Innovative uses of Twitter in the newsroom”: Mark Luckie provides examples of what newsrooms are doing to embrace Twitter as a way of spreading information and listening to audience members, including landing pages on Web sites, showcasing tweets about the city and crowdsourcing.

Panelists discuss the state of local media in the Inland Northwest

Spokane does not have a healthy media ecosystem but neither does anywhere else in the United States right now, local media officials said at a panel Saturday on The Changing Media Landscape in the Inland Empire.

The panel, part of the Get Lit! program, featured Luke Baumgarten of the Inlander, James McPherson of the communications department at Whitworth University, Cheryl-Anne Millsap of Spokane Metro, and John Orr of KYRS. Ryan Pitts, assistant managing editor for digital media at the Spokesman-Review, moderated. About 45 people attended the event in Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane.

Finding a job in journalism

With college graduations quickly approaching, those getting handed their degree in journalism are in for a tough market.

An estimated 8,097 jobs have been lost to layoffs or buyouts in newspapers in 2009, according to Erica Smith’s Paper Cuts. Last year there were 15,866.

These numbers are not encouraging and make the job market tougher given the increasing number of journalism graduates. A recent Baltimore Sun article reported that journalism schools are more popular than ever with Columbia University‘s program seeing a 40 percent increase. According to the article,  Columbia graduates about 224 master’s students each year and Northwestern about 320. Those are only two programs.

So what can my peers do?

Online Journalism Links: 4/9/2009

Editor & Publisher: “Chapter (11) and Verse: Details on Five Major Newspaper Companies that have Declared Bankruptcy”: This article provides details on the five newspaper companies that have declared bankruptcy since December including the Tribune Co., Star Tribune Holdings Corp., Journal Register Co., Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, and Sun-Times Media Group Inc.

OJR: “Top 10 business mistakes that newspapers must avoid as they go online-only”: Dave Chase shares mistakes he thinks have made local media sites unsuccessful. Most of his suggestions have to do with the business side and doing enough market research to understand your audience and not make assumptions.

Emily Ingram: “How to Market Yourself on the Web: Online Extras”: Emily Ingram provides a presentation on how journalists should network and build their identity online. I had a guest speaker reference this post in Online Journalism Lab today as useful advice, especially if you are considering freelancing.

Newspaper Association of America: “Don’t Stop the Presses!”: NAA asked 10 news industry experts to tell them what elements of the current paper they would include if they were starting a print product from scratch and predict what print products will look like in the future.

Innovation in College Media: “Advice from a few Pacemaker finalists”: Lauren Rabaino asked Online Pacemaker finalists for 2009 their tips. There are some useful insights. I also include this link because I was quoted at the end as online editor for The Whitworthian, which is a finalist in the four-year non-daily category.

Online Journalism Links: 4/3/2009

Save the Media: “‘Old journalism’ standards that shouldn’t die”: Journalist Gina Chen highlights seven journalistic standards that she thinks should remain the same across mediums. Enterprise and quoting regular folks are on the list as well as things like accuracy and the watchdog role.

Teaching Online Journalism: “Visual storytelling tips”: Mindy McAdams highlights a tutorial she found on Slideshare that talks about telling stories with photos. It is a fairly basic guide but good for those beginning to understand developing audio slideshows.

E-Media Tidbits: “Real-time court reporting with Twitter”: Will Sullivan gives a rundown on some of the recent court decisions and orders dealing with issues of breaking news about court cases through texting.

Mashable: “Top 20 Ways to Share a Great Blog Post”: Ben Parr provides a list of ways to get your blog posts out there through social media networks and other means. Check out the list. What would you add?

Editor & Publisher: “Online Journalists Show ‘Uneasy Optimism’ For the Future”: A survey of 300 members of the Online News Association by the Project for Excellence in Journalism found that most respondents were more hopeful about the future of news than their traditional media peers journalism. More than 60 percent said their online publication is currently is making a profit, and 40 percent were “very confident” that online news can find a profitable business model. Check out the full report for complete results or read Editor & Publisher’s summary.