Chapter 5: Groundwork
A journalist in many ways is an information architect. Journalists must regularly wade through complex information and find ways to make it easy to understand and accessible to a mass audience. Journalists tell stories that reflect what is going on in humanity.The information architect must identify how to best serve today's audiences in fast changing media. There are many skills that all journalists need to master no matter their choice of medium.
Journalistic research is an important skill. Skilled multimedia journalists regularly consult a variety of sources including books, legal documents, annual reports, websites, newspapers and many more sources. It is important to know which sources are credible and which should be used in your story. Your primary goal is to draw on the most up-to-date, accurate and credible sources. To narrow it down to these is crucial because you do not need to use every source you find.
Good journalists understand the difference between a topic and a story. Topics are nothing more than general categories, while stories are precisely focused. The editing process is a very complex balancing act between finding a tight angle and telling a full story.
Interviewing is truly and art form. The interviewer should assess each interview scenario individually and be able to adapt to each subject's personality and put the interviewee at ease so that they feel comfortable during the process.
The narrative arc concept is present in many forms of storytelling, from cinema to literature. It is a dramatic progression that is composed of a beginning, middle and end. You also allow the audience to get to know your subjects and establish a "plot line" for your story.
Journalism rests on the foundation of key principles which are the obligations to tell the truth, loyalty to the citizens, disciple for verification,and responsibility to present fair and balanced coverage. Critics have warned that the Internet has the potential to threaten journalistic credibility for established news organizations. It is often difficult to verify credible sources online.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Chapter 3: Planning Multimedia
The first step to spotting multimedia potential in a story is determining whether there is enough depth to arrant a layered approach that contains several discreet pieces. Not every story or piece of information deserves multimedia treatment. Some areas though you should look out for multimedia potential are photo galleries, photo slideshow, audio, video and information graphics.
Information layering is a concept used by many different types of news organizations as a method for providing multiple points of entry into a story package. Print media present story packages that include written pieces, photography, and information graphics. Information layering can also occur online. Short digestible chunks of information combined with hyperlinks often provide audiences with interactive experiences.
There are many questions that can help you asses a stories multimedia potential. Can the story be broken down into several topical chunks? Does the story describe a process? Is the story laden with figures or statistical information? Is there an emotional narrative to be told? Are there dramatic visual moments that can be captured in photographs? Does the story contain strong historical references? Is there potential for animation?
Web designers often develop site maps before diving into site production, this is called making storyboards. It is a great way for members of a collaborative team to indentify resources, facilitate brainstorming and get on the same page. Developing a storyboard can be broken up into a three step process. Divide the story into its main categories, consider which story forms are best for each main chunk, and create sketches that illustrate how the story will be packaged.
The first step to spotting multimedia potential in a story is determining whether there is enough depth to arrant a layered approach that contains several discreet pieces. Not every story or piece of information deserves multimedia treatment. Some areas though you should look out for multimedia potential are photo galleries, photo slideshow, audio, video and information graphics.
Information layering is a concept used by many different types of news organizations as a method for providing multiple points of entry into a story package. Print media present story packages that include written pieces, photography, and information graphics. Information layering can also occur online. Short digestible chunks of information combined with hyperlinks often provide audiences with interactive experiences.
There are many questions that can help you asses a stories multimedia potential. Can the story be broken down into several topical chunks? Does the story describe a process? Is the story laden with figures or statistical information? Is there an emotional narrative to be told? Are there dramatic visual moments that can be captured in photographs? Does the story contain strong historical references? Is there potential for animation?
Web designers often develop site maps before diving into site production, this is called making storyboards. It is a great way for members of a collaborative team to indentify resources, facilitate brainstorming and get on the same page. Developing a storyboard can be broken up into a three step process. Divide the story into its main categories, consider which story forms are best for each main chunk, and create sketches that illustrate how the story will be packaged.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The Multimedia Journalist: Chapter 2
Collaboration between print, broadcast and online organizations is extremely important in the communication industry. Convergence has been a concept tugging at traditional media outlets for the past decade. Convergence occurs in five stages. Cross-promotion, cloning, coopetition, content sharing and full convergence.
Knowing your craft and being able to collaborate with others is key in being a successful journalist, but being able to also create content in different platforms is also very important now. You must be able to speak a common language that will allow you to come with a story with all forms of storytelling in mind. Good communication is needed to create a team that will be able to report a story successfully. Good communication means you can asses someone else's personality and adapt communication styles accordingly.
Some rules for effective collaboration are listed in this chapter. Rule number one is disagreeing is not a bad thing. Rule number two is to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to express opinions. Rule number three is to understand that everyone is not going to be happy all of the time. It is also important to clearly define the story, appoint a project manager, engage in an initial planning meeting, define responsibilities and establish deadlines.
Developing a workflow differs according to the story you are reporting. You need to decide how often you will meet, when you will provide feedback, how you will store and manage digital files and more at the beginning. This will naturally lead to a workflow plan.
Collaboration between print, broadcast and online organizations is extremely important in the communication industry. Convergence has been a concept tugging at traditional media outlets for the past decade. Convergence occurs in five stages. Cross-promotion, cloning, coopetition, content sharing and full convergence.
Knowing your craft and being able to collaborate with others is key in being a successful journalist, but being able to also create content in different platforms is also very important now. You must be able to speak a common language that will allow you to come with a story with all forms of storytelling in mind. Good communication is needed to create a team that will be able to report a story successfully. Good communication means you can asses someone else's personality and adapt communication styles accordingly.
Some rules for effective collaboration are listed in this chapter. Rule number one is disagreeing is not a bad thing. Rule number two is to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to express opinions. Rule number three is to understand that everyone is not going to be happy all of the time. It is also important to clearly define the story, appoint a project manager, engage in an initial planning meeting, define responsibilities and establish deadlines.
Developing a workflow differs according to the story you are reporting. You need to decide how often you will meet, when you will provide feedback, how you will store and manage digital files and more at the beginning. This will naturally lead to a workflow plan.
The Multimedia Journalist: Chapter one
The term multimedia refers to job titles, presentation outcomes and journalistic practices. It can be defined and used in a variety of ways depending on the context. Audience trends show that news consumption is a popular activity and the web is the most used median of consuming. Multimedia is best used on the web.
Social media has played an increasingly big role in the way news is distributed and consumed. The role of social media has influenced the way journalist approach stories. Citizen journalists have also changed the world of news. Citizen journalists publish on the web as well and use traditional reporting as a starting point to their reporting. This creates a feedback loop for journalists, one that could not have existed before the internet. News organizations also just the internet to create a 'buzz' about their stories. They do this by tipping people off through social media forums.
All of this effects what skills we need as journalist to be hired. Some key qualifications that a Florida newspaper listed were the ability to create, map and analyze date; conceptualizes and executes static and interactive graphic features; lead role in finding new ways to represent and communicate data; and stays up to date with trends in visual communication. There were more as well such as understanding final cut and being able to use all of the other online creators. It is really intimidating when reading all of this, especially when as a freshmen OU Journalism student you thought that all a journalist needed to know was how to write, interview and report.
The term multimedia refers to job titles, presentation outcomes and journalistic practices. It can be defined and used in a variety of ways depending on the context. Audience trends show that news consumption is a popular activity and the web is the most used median of consuming. Multimedia is best used on the web.
Social media has played an increasingly big role in the way news is distributed and consumed. The role of social media has influenced the way journalist approach stories. Citizen journalists have also changed the world of news. Citizen journalists publish on the web as well and use traditional reporting as a starting point to their reporting. This creates a feedback loop for journalists, one that could not have existed before the internet. News organizations also just the internet to create a 'buzz' about their stories. They do this by tipping people off through social media forums.
All of this effects what skills we need as journalist to be hired. Some key qualifications that a Florida newspaper listed were the ability to create, map and analyze date; conceptualizes and executes static and interactive graphic features; lead role in finding new ways to represent and communicate data; and stays up to date with trends in visual communication. There were more as well such as understanding final cut and being able to use all of the other online creators. It is really intimidating when reading all of this, especially when as a freshmen OU Journalism student you thought that all a journalist needed to know was how to write, interview and report.
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