Introduction to multimedia reporting

Blogs  Blog posting 2: Write a 300-word (minimum) blog posting about winter in the Panhandle. Some suggested areas to explore: Do you enjoy the cold? Do you still stay active during the cold weather days? Does winter weather energize you or depress you? What do you do for fun during the winter weeks? What's a southerner to do when the sun doesn't shine and the wind on the beach is too cold to endure? (Yes, this blog posting is a bit longer than the last assignment) Deadline: Post to your blog by the start of class Tuesday, Jan. 18.

What makes a good blog?  High quality blogs share four fundamental qualities:  They have a well-defined and narrow topic  They provide brief, incremental updates  They are well reported  Their authors engage with the audience  (Source: Producing Online News: Ryan M. Thornburg)

What do I blog about?  A personal blog is like a diary  An opinion blog advocates  A beat blog covers a specific topic and follows journalistic standards and ethics  A breaking news blog provides quick updates about live events for consumption by a general audience  (Source: Producing Online News: Ryan M. Thornburg)

All blogs must…  Be free of grammar and punctuation errors  Follow Associated Press Style regarding all usage…from abbreviations to the use of numerals.  Contain paragraphs of 1-3 sentences  Sentences words (on average)  Be accurate with facts  Be carefully edited before posting

Online news revolution  Online journalism provides multiple platforms to tell compelling stories that outstrip print and broadcasting products.  The Web frees up the restrictions of the “news hole.”  The Web allows online news web sites, newspaper and TV/Radio newsrooms to go 24/7 if they have the resources.  The Web levels the playing field. All can compete.

Online news revolution  Definition: A multimedia news story is any piece that uses two or more media to tell it.  “Media” is the plural of “medium.”  A medium is the substance which information is transmitted and stored.  Paper is a medium. Computer screens are a medium. Video broadcasts or DVDS are a medium. The Internet is a medium.

Online news revolution  There are degrees of multimedia integration. The degree of multimedia integration is called convergence.  When journalists use one medium to tell one aspect of a story and other media to tell other aspects of the same story, they are achieving high levels of media convergence.  (Source: Producing Online News: Ryan M. Thornburg)

Online news revolution  On the Web, journalists can blend a variety of media to break stories.  Example: The mass killings in Tucson as covered by the hometown newspaper.  Watch:  As covered by Politico.  Watch:

Small news operations  Can compete with the “big boys” if they have the technology, bandwidth and desire  Even small newspapers can achieve high levels of convergence. 

Online news revolution  Feature stories now can be enhanced with photo galleries and video.  The melding of mediums has a great impact on the imagination  It furthers our understanding of the human condition  Watch : roadside/ roadside/

Online news revolution  Convergence is costly and problematic  Convergence can make or break a news operation  Equipment, training, reshifting of resources, layoffs of staff unable to cope with online technology  Bandwidth needs, hackers, ethical concerns  Younger staff with proficiency but lacking traditional journalistic standards and training.