A “Web first” newsroom

The Rockford Register Star calls itself a “Web first” newsroom. What does that mean? Listen to staffers describe how the Web has changed their work and notice the frequent use of two key words: “creative” and “rewarding.”  [Thanks to Howard Owens for pointing to the video.]

Going solo

VJ, one-man band, sojo, mojo. Is there a distinction? Pete Liebengood, president of the VJ training company OnQCo, says the only real difference is that a one-man band uses more gear than the others. In his opinion, a VJ, sojo or mojo only needs a camera and a laptop to do the job. [...]

Reporting for graphics

Developing a good graphic depends primarily on the quality of the information, according to New York Times graphics director Steve Duenes. In an online chat with readers, Duenes said one of his rules is “don’t invent,” by which he means “no guessing.”
We have software that lets us create photo-realistic renderings, but it can be [...]

Video sharing

It’s not a new concept. TV networks have done it for years in Washington, where it’s called “pooling.” But a report this morning on what two Philadelphia stations are doing made me sit up and take notice. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC-owned WCAU and Fox-owned WTXF are sharing video this [...]

The new career track

For years, aspiring TV journalists have been told to expect to start in a small market where they’ll do it all–report, write, shoot and edit.  Then they could move up to bigger and bigger markets, where eventually they would only have to do one of those things.  That may not be true any more.
At the [...]

Solo journalism advice

Bob Cronkleton is a reporter for the Kansas City Star.  He recently answered a question about multimedia reporting which was posted on the Criminal Justice Journalists listserv.   It offers some valuable advice, right from the frontlines.
“When it comes to multimedia skills, I started by focusing on audio first and
branched out from there,” wrote Cronkleton.  In [...]

Looking for multimedia journalists to lead the way

The Richmond Times Dispatch is a paper with a long history - it’s been around in one form or another for more than 100 years.  But this newspaper, like so many other news organizations, is trying to re-invent itself in the digital age.  
Glenn Proctor is the executive editor of the paper.  He says these days, [...]

NBC’s “digital correspondent” makes air

Twice this week, NBC Nightly News has aired reports from Mara Schiavocampo, a 28-year-old solo journalist who’s just back from reporting in India. Hired last October, Schiavocampo’s primary responsibility is to produce content exclusively for the Web. But last night she was live on the set with Brian Williams, introducing her [...]

A young journalist’s to-do list

Learn Arcview. Refresh statistics knowledge. Produce more multimedia. Just three of the ambitious goals on newbie reporter Shannan Bowen’s list. Bowen’s been out of college a little more than a year and works for a small paper in North Carolina, the Wilmington Star-News. On her personal blog, she’s tracking [...]

How histograms help

Most digital still cameras have the ability to display a histogram–a graphic display of brightness levels in a scene. Photographer Michael Reichmann calls it “the greatest invention since the built-in light meter.” If you’re not using your camera’s histogram function, you should.
A histogram basically lets you know whether your image [...]