University of Florida | 31 August 2010

Online Journalism: Wake-Up Call

Wake up! Read this: Journalists must build a personal brand: 10 tips

Presenting Yourself Online

• Your resume: LinkedIn (free); here is a former student's resume
• Your domain name (e.g., mindymcadams.com): Google Apps ($10/year)
• Your Web site: Weebly (free) or Google Sites (free if you have a domain name)
• Your blog: WordPress.com (free); get started today
• Your shared bookmarks: Delicious.com (example: see my bookmarks tagged with both "travel" and "africa"; see everyone's bookmarks tagged "scuba" AND "Florida"); see how it works
• Your RSS feeds: Google Reader or (NEW) Feedly for reading feeds (what is RSS?)

Look at the personal blog of a young journalist: Jill Kimball

Blogging tips from Adam Westbrook: Why journalists must blog and how

You already have FREE Web space here at UF (only 20 MB): plaza.ufl.edu

Online Journalism Courses at the University of Florida

• MMC 3260 Communications on the Internet (Carlson) Pre-req: MMC 2100
• JOU 4341 Reporting/Writing/Online (Cox) Pre-req: JOU 3101 Reporting
• MMC 4341 Advanced Online Media Production (McAdams) Pre-req: MMC 3260
• JOU 4946 Applied Online Journalism (Zerba) Capstone: Pre-reqs are MMC 3260 and (JOU 4341 or MMC 4341)

The links above take you straight to the course syllabus.

Tools for Creating Web Content

• HTML Dog
• Simple FTP Tutorial
• Free photo editor, similar to Photoshop: Gimpshop
• More tools

Some Wake-Up Calls from the Journalism Blogs

• A fresh look at reporting skills
• Journalism Grads: 30 Things You Should Do This Summer
• Why is ‘blog’ still a four-letter word?

Examples from the Pros

Finalists: 2009 Online News Awards (the Pulitzers of online journalism)

New York Times Multimedia (full page index)

MediaStorm (cutting-edge multimedia)

MSNBC.com: (1) Economic Adversity; (2) Inside the White House

Washington Post Multimedia (full page index; check out links at top left)

Reporter's Guide to Multimedia Proficiency

A series of basic beginner how-to lessons. No previous experience required.

1. RGMP 1: Read blogs and use RSS
2. RGMP 2: Start a blog
3. RGMP 3: Buy an audio recorder and learn to use it
4. RGMP 4: Start editing audio
5. RGMP 5: Listen to podcasts
6. RGMP 6: Post an interview (or podcast) on your blog
7. RGMP 7: Learn how to shoot decent photos
8. RGMP 8: Learn how to crop, tone, and optimize photos
9. RGMP 9: Add photos to your blog
10. RGMP 10: Learn to use Soundslides
11. RGMP 11: Tell a good story with images and sound
12. RGMP 12: Learn to shoot video
13. RGMP 13: Edit your video with iMovie or Windows Movie Maker
14. RGMP 14: Publish your video on your blog
15. RGMP 15: Maintain and update your skills

Resources

Teaching Online Journalism
My blog about digital storytelling and how newsrooms are changing.

Nieman Journalism Lab
An awesome resource for young, old and aspiring journalists. The latest and most cutting-edge topics in the evolution of journalism are covered here.

Innovative Interactivity (II)
Tracy Boyer keeps us up-to-date on trends in interactive multimedia in her excellent blog.

PhotoJournalism: Mark Hancock's blog
One of the best photojournalism blogs, with lots of good resources linked in the right-hand column.

Journalists' Toolkit
Frequently updated list of free online tutorials and resources.

NPPA Monthly Multimedia Contest
Check out current work in newspaper online video and audio slideshows, from the National Press Photographers Association (each month's winners linked on left side of page).

The Best of Multimedia Design
Society of News Design annual interactive awards. See links to the 2009 finalists.

Online News Association
The premier professional organization for online journalists.

Copyright © 2010 Mindy McAdams | University of Florida