Remaining Projects for Class

Class, here's what you have left to turn in to me in coming weeks:

* Your answers to questions posed from the USAToday tour. (counts as an in-class grade). Due by the start of class May 6. May be handed to me or e-mailed.

* Your multimedia story project; your folder is due in the x drive by the start of class May 6. See specific instructions on the front page of your Web syllabus: Undergrads: http://www.jclass.umd.edu/652352/jour352spring09a.htm
Grad Students: http://www.jclass.umd.edu/652352/jour652spring09a.htm

* Your final, an analysis paper, is due by Friday, May 15, 3:30 p.m. It must be turned in by e-mail (to get the time stamp) AND under my fourth floor office door. Again, see specific instructions on the front of your Web syllabus:
Undergrads: http://www.jclass.umd.edu/652352/jour352spring09a.htm
Grad students: http://www.jclass.umd.edu/652352/jour652spring09a.htm.

Because my daughter's school is closed down this week for swine flu, I will likely not be on campus on Monday or Tuesday. I will make every effort to get to campus a few hours before class on Wednesday, to answer final questions.

I will also be available by e-mail this week. The preferred e-mail for reaching me Monday and Tuesday is my gmail account: harvey.familyUP@gmail.com.
See your Wednesday, Chris

USA Today and Your Futures

Class, I hope you enjoyed the tour and talk at USA Today, and were energized by the possibilities facing you in this brave new-media world.

The economy will turn around, and I am convinced that if you are a hard worker and have superior reporting and writing (and some multimedia) skills, you will get a job.

It just may not be the more traditional news job you had envisioned.

Remember as you begin your search that not just traditional news organizations are doing news.

Many nonprofits are paying reporters and researchers to report on specific hotspots or topics. (Stateline.org, for instance.)

Some nonjournalistic businesses are paying reporters to write about their specific niches.

And many enterprising young journalists are connecting with or launching Web startups--helping to shape the way news will be covered and displayed in the future. (One of our recent graduates recently became editor of a Web startup in Los Angeles, for instance.)

So if you're smart and have good skills, you will get a job. But you may have to be dogged to land it.

We'll talk more in class on Wednesday.

In the meantime, check out some of the job listings on JournalismJobs.com, MediaBistro and Poynter.

Best, Chris

iPhone Apps for News

I had a great time at USA Today, and what really resonated with me was the message that adaptability and a willingness to learn new technologies, and share that knowledge with others is key to making it in today's media world.  One way we learned that USA Today is trying to adjust to new technology and ways of sharing information is through its iPhone App.

In his presentation Bill showed us the application.  I do not have an iPhone, but a lot of my friends do, and out of everyone from our class who went USA Today, three people raised their hands to say they had an iPhone, so I figured I'd try to learn more about Apps.

I quickly discovered through browsing iTunes' App store, that there are applications for everything, including all types of news.  There is an application for Breaking News (Called Breaking News), there is an application for news about the lottery (called Jackpot! News), and there is even an app called "Easy News" that links users to "nine of the most popular news cites," including ABC News, Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, USA Today, Yahoo!, and MSNBC.  There is also an application called "Easy Gossip" which links users to 7 gossip cites like E! and Perez Hilton.com Mobile! 

I found USA Today's app in the iTunes store, and discovered that it was free!  It gives you access to the publication's sections, pictures, and weather.  

What do you think of iTunes applications?  Are they a way for news organizations to adapt to the changes in the industry?  Do you think that this is a reasonable way to reach out to users?

In their Poynter Online article, "iPhone 3.0 Software Offers New Applications for News" Amy Gahran and Barb Iverson explain that "... the number of people getting news via cellphone doubled from 10.8 million in January, 2008 to 22.4 million in January, 2009."  They also explain further development of technology in the iPhone 3.0 Software that will be released this summer.  

I think that iPhones will continue to be more and more popular, and that news organizations really should take advantage of the opportunities that they offer.  As Iverson and Gahran write, "... even free iPhone apps can help build online businesses (including for news publishers, advertisers, or news-related services) by growing audience, increasing user engagement, or enabling additional features or services."

It took a while for iPods to become popular, and now they are mainstream.  Everyone I know has one, from the 11-year-old I babysit to my mom.  I really think that news organizations have a great resource in the iPhone, even if the benefit hasn't become completely apparent yet. 

What do you think? Is an iPhone App a useful and effective technology for news organizations?

Ashton Kutcher thinks Twitter is the best thing since trucker hats

I was watching CNN the other day and came across a story I want to share with the class. To sum it up, Ashton Kutcher of Punk'd and Demi Moore-marrying fame, challenged CNN to a race. His goal? To beat the network to 1 million Twitter followers.

It's quite an interesting story and I think it can spur a lot of thought and discussion about the future of "real" journalism, which can be found on networks like CNN, versus sites like Twitter, which may be the go-to news sources of future generations.

What does it say about what's happening in the journalism industry that Larry King, who represents CNN and, in a way, classic methods of journalism, is posting a YouTube response to Ashton Kutcher's Twitter challenge? What do you think about user-generated sites like Twitter becoming ever more popular for the gathering of information? Just a thought...

By the way, Kutcher won the race. What does THAT say about the state of journalism? I think it speaks to the theory that the U.S. is growing into more of a TMZ society than one that is concerned with politics, international events and stories with real news value.

Original story about Kutcher's challenge (with YouTube video embedded at bottom)- http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/13/ashton-kutcher-promises-to-punk-ted-turner-if-he-beats-cnn-to-a-million-twitter-followers/

Follow-up story about King's response (with YouTube video embedded at bottom):
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/14/twitter-fight-larry-king-to-kutcher-cnn-will-bury-you/

King and Kutcher's conversation on Larry King Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNzag6456fI

Good Web Headline/ Bad Web Headline

Levy Suspect Returns to D.C.- Good

This headline was found on washingtonpost.com. It's short, includes important search words, and follows the subject-verb guidelines. It's also in active voice and lets readers know the most important part of the story they are about to read.

More being foreclosed into homelessness- Not so good

This headline was found on The Boston Globe Online. The main reason I don't like it is because it's written in passive voice, which in turn makes it longer than it probably needs to be. It also doesn't include good search words. 'Foreclosed' and 'homelessness' are very broad terms and if entered into a search engine would bring up a huge amount of unrelated stories to the area it's supposed to be about. It's also not specific enough to convey the main point of the story.

Reminder About Your Blog Posts

Class, a reminder that you must participate in discussions --verbally and on this blog -- to do well on your class participation grade. Besides commenting on others' posts and doing assignments I specifically give you, you must also start at least one discussion thread on the blog, on a new-media topic.

See the good example from Andrew Smith on Jan. 30, below.

Good and bad headlines

Good: Craigslist CEO feels 'terribly' about Craigslist killer

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/04/craigslist_ceo.html

I like this headlines because a lot of people use Craigslist to find all sorts of things, it makes me want to know whether I should be afraid to use Craigslist if it's about an actual safety threat or if it's just using a stronger word to emphasize a story. Also, since Craigslist is so popular, it's a good search term.

Bad: One billion expected to celebrate Earth Day
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/22/earth.day2009/

It's vague. Lots of people celebrate lots of federal holidays. I care about Earth Day, I don't know what numbers normally are or how they're getting them. I'd rather see the title say something about how people are celebrating the holiday in a way that's unique or interesting. Lots of kindergartners plant trees in the playground, is that what I'm going to read about here? It's also about something that will happen; the article would be more interesting after the fact when there are pictures. However, the article does have some great photos despite this. Therefore, they should take advantage of them and use one of them to draw the headline from.

Good and Bad Headlines

In Adopting Harsh Tactics, No Inquiry Into Their Past Use
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us/politics/22detain.html?_r=1&hp

This headline in the New York Times is in my opinion not a very good one. The headline is rather vague and from just reading that there is indication of the real subject of the story. Harsh tactics are some of the story, but there is not enough information to explain what it is in reference to. The actual article is about how several years ago legislation was passed allowing military training techniques to be used as interrogation methods. I feel like the headline gives you no real idea of what you're about to get into in the article.

Pentagon Commander Visits Afghanistan
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/22/world/AP-AS-Afghanistan.html?ref=world

I thought this headline was a good headline because you had a good subject-verb agreement and you know exactly what happened. Just from reading the headline you can assume that the article is going to explain what happened during the Pentagon commander's visit to Afghanistan. It sets you up, if briefly, for the story.

Class at USAToday Next Week

Professional Web newsroom tour and talk at usatoday.com in Fairfax, Va., Wednesday, April 29: We'll talk with journalists there about storytelling, story presentation and reader interaction. You will be given assigned questions to answer about the visit; your typed responses will count as an in-class grade, and will be due at the start of our last class. If you'd like, we could pre-arrange for carpools.

We'll meet promptly at 1:45 in the lobby of the building; please be on time.

We'll end the session at 3:15 p.m., to allow driving time before your next class.

Newswoom contact: Joshua Hatch, a producer at the site. Address: 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Va., 22108. (It's really close to Tyson Galleria.)

Driving directions from google maps: Take I-495 W for about 18 miles; take exit 46A for Chain Bridge Road, 123/Tysons Corner/Vienna; take a quick right onto Tysons Blvd.; turn right at Westbranch Dr.; turn right onto Jones Branch Dr. Guard shack is on the right before the main building; check in with the guard, who will direct you to free parking.

I'll be leaving the Journalism Building at 12:45. Anyone who'd like a ride should meet me in Room 3117 at 12:40.

Best, Chris

Good and Bad Web headlines- Nada alwadi

Obama skates while Right fumes

I like this headline for several reasons… Its short, different, and attractive. I can guarantee many people will read this story, or at least the first few paragraphs just because of the headline. It makes you want to know what the story is about.

The Untold Susan Boyle Story

This headline is also very short and to the point. However, it’s very basic and kind of “uncreative”. The only attraction of this headline is of course the name “ Susan Boyle” as she became a media attraction lately. I think the writer could have done a better job of using some interesting elements of her “untold story” in his headline, this way the headline wont be very basic.

Good and Bad Headlines-Dayna Ryan

Bad headline: Cambridge to consider ban on firing pellet, BB, and dart guns
I would not have chosen the following headline from The Star Democrat newspaper on the Eastern Shore. It is too long and confusing with the commas, and I had to read it at least twice to understand the point of the story. Also, I don’t think it’s necessary to include the names of all the guns in the headline because it appears cluttered. A better headline would allude to what the story is going to be about and include that extra detail within the body of the story instead.

Good headline: Canucks cap sweep of blues with late OT winner
I liked this headline from ESPN.com about the NHL playoffs because it was creative, but still written in a way that makes it easy for readers to understand the point of the story. The use of shorter words in the headline is more likely to catch attention and prompt readers to continue reading in this case. Especially with a sports website, short and simple headlines are important because people are reading to find out who won games, the scores, etc.

Good and Bad Headlines - Ellie Falaris

Blagojevich Is a Flop in Audition in Court http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us/22illinois.html?ref=us
This headline is a little clunky for a couple reasons. Structurally, the use of "in" twice makes headline somewhat awkward. Also, the idea of the audition makes it seem like Blagojevich was doing an audition in court. In fact, he tried to convince a federal judge to let him be a contestant on a reality television show being filmed in Costa Rica.

This is not Spinal Tap
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090415/ENTERTAINMENT/90415052/-1/archive
This feature is about the reunion of the characters from the rock mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap." I think the headline is both clever and to the point. Plus, it contains both "Spinal Tap" and "This is Spinal Tap," which are relevant search terms.

Headlines

"The Hip and Hungry Hit 14th Street" was the headline from a Washington Post article by Jane Black that I really liked. I got to the Washington Post homepage, and it immediately caught my eye. It got my attention because it is short, concise, and applies to me. When I saw this headline, it was mid afternoon on a Wednesday. I was hungry, tired, and really ready for the weekend. The words "hip" and "hungry" seemed to call to me. I clicked on the link to the article and saw it was a review of several new restaurants on 14th street. It is a light article with a more serious undertone, as it addresses how the area developed and what attracts the public. The headline conveyed the light tone, but did not sugar coat the more serious part of the piece, 14th street. Check out the article!

Today (April 22) there is a headline on the Los Angeles Times homepage that reads, "Obama to Push Energy on Earth Day."  This link leads to a more specific headline, "Obama Heads to Iowa for Earth Day."  I felt that the first headline, from the homepage was a little misleading.  Although it is possible to deduce the meaning of the headline from the readout: "The president travels to Iowa to pitch environmentally friendly jobs and his energy plan," the headline itself is not very clear.  If I were to read it completely separate from any other text or images, I would know that the article is about Earth Day, and Obama's energy plan.  However, the wording, "Obama to Push Energy," could imply the president is facing a particularly difficult challenge, and will have to work harder on Earth Day to get something done.  The problem I see with this headline, is that out of context its meaning could be misinterpreted.  Maybe changing it to "Obama to Push Energy Plan on Earth Day," would make it clearer and offer more a more complete search terms, such as energy plan. 

Good and bad Web headlines

Please find a good and not-so-adept headline on one or more news Web sites, and explain why you think so (in a few sentences) on our blog. Please be sure to give the full URL and headline for each. Please don't write anything you don't want the world to see. Write your entries as comments to this blog thread. Thanks! Due at the start of class next week.

Text deadline extended from April 8 to 15th

Class, because I forgot to remind you last week about the deadline on the text component on your multimedia project, I have extended it from April 8 to April 15. See your 352 and 652 syllabuses for further details.

Best, Chris

Nada alwadi,,, Politico.com

Nada Alwadi

In Politico website,there is a feature called “ Politico 44) , its basically a “Living diary of the Obama presidency” minute by minute !!
You have all updates events, photos , videos and much more about what is happening in the White house, there is also a sort of diary in the left side of the page, which shows you what president Obama is doing all the day, and you can change the date and go to check any events of any other day you wish,,, Check it out on : http://www.politico.com/politico44/

ABCnews.com on the Inauguration

I was impressed with the many ways ABCnews.com covered the Inauguration of Obama. What I particularly enjoyed the most was the fact that reporters also focused on covering the reactions of the people. In this video, reporters even went as far as to ask a diverse group of people to give advice to the new president. You can watch the video here:

Words of Advice for the President

BBC International

The BBC has an entire other page devoted to all things having anything at all to do with Obama, both on the UK and International versions of the Web site.

They feature several versions of Obama's inauguation, including a play-by-play live text commentary beginning at 0900 and going all the way up until 1709. After the inaugural commentary finishes, the page links back to the one before it which covers every aspect of Obama's first 100 days in office. There are links to several videos and photos of the event as well. The live commentary has links to photos and videos of the parade, inaugural oath and the President's first speech in office. After viewing videos and photos, the site recommends similar multimedia that may interest the reader.

The BBC Web site provides its readers with an in-depth coverage of both the actual inauguration and every major move Obama has made since his first day in office.

International Version:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/americas/2008/obama_presidency/default.stm

UK Version:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/americas/2008/obama_presidency/default.stm

The Onion's Inauguration Coverage

While we can't trust the Onion for much real news, their Web page layout for articles is something to really take note of. Their article covering the Inauguration is quite funny, but take note of the right side of the article. There are related sections, videos, and radio news bits regarding the subject.

In addition to the article covering the inauguration, there is an infographic about the security measures taken, "public opinion" on the re-vamped page at whitehouse.gov and the best part, a chronicle of "The First 100 Days."

Of course there are also new always popping up in the Politics section of the Web site, but the Onion, not just for an outlet based on satire, but in general, is doing a very extensive and "user friendly" coverage of our "current events."

Washington Post - The Preparers

This is a really cool multimedia piece from the Washington Post that paints the picture of setting up for the inauguration in January. It actually received an honorable mention in the White House News Photographers Association contest recently.

It takes a collage of photos an mini video animations to create an interactive panorama that allows one to pan the front of the Capitol building and surrounding area. Among the mini videos are a military band playing at the base of the building, while construction workers build the stands for the ceremony. Larger videos are interspersed throughout the panorama with features about different aspects of preparing, from the VIP chauffeurs to constructing the parade floats.

This piece is very unique because it finds a creative way to package video and pictures, while making it interactive and user-friendly.

CNN.com, "U.S. Presidential Inauguration" Mini-Database

CNN.com organizes long running stories or consistent topics of interest into "All About" mini-databases. For this year's inauguration, they compiled their coverage into an All About: "U.S. Presidential Inauguration," collection. It has 67 stories about President Obama's inauguration with links to videos and or photos on most of the stories. What is also particularly helpful about this page is that you can actually search within the collection of articles. Check it out at: http://topics.cnn.com/topics/u_s_presidential_inauguration.

NPR Inauguration Coverage

I like the way that NPR lists the Inauguration coverage. An entire section of the website has been devoted to all things that were involved with the Inauguration, including the address, the balls and the large number of people on the mall. The best thing though is that because it is a radio based site, when you click on the story there is audio. So you get to listen to the stories and hear important things from that day which is more interesting than reading the same story that every other news site has.

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/inaug09/index.html

New York Times- 2008 Election Coverage

For the 2008 Election, The New York Times created an Election Guide full of all the basic facts and information about the election. Visitors to the site can view the results, learn about the candidates and the issues, view the electoral map and discover more. This breaks down all the facts and makes it easier for readers to understand the 2008 Election.

Link: http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/election/?scp=4&sq=2008%20Presidential%20Election&st=cse

MSNBC Inauguration coverage

MSNBC has an extensive Web site dedicated to the inauguration. You can watch videos and follow along with the transcripts. My favorite part is the ability to click within the transcript to make the video play from that point. In addition to MSNBC TV, you can watch "Today," "Nightly News," and "Meet the Press." Plus, there is a map of the parade with blurbs about celebrations, individual stories and more. Several different polls also sit toward the bottom of the page.

WashingtonPost.com Inauguration Coverage

The WashingtonPost.com did some interesting things with its photos. Its panorama of the National Mall allows the viewer to drag the screen to see more of the National Mall and experience how many people were there to witness the inauguration. The WashingtonPost.com also threaded its photos from the day into a mosiac. This feature allows the viewer to zoom into individual photos from the day and zoom out to see a scene from President Obama's swearing-in ceremony.

BET.com

Although hopeful, Ann Nixon Cooper, a 107-year-old African American never thought she would live to witness Barack Obama being sworn in as the first Black commander in chief. BET.com provides readers with a short article describing her feelings about this exciting day in her life.

Electing a black president is a step in the right direction for the African American community. I think it's really exciting to interview someone who has lived through the Civil Rights Movement and witnessed first-hand the struggle it has taken for the African American community to advance to this point in time. Although it's short, it is a nice feature story to have on the BET Web site.

http://www.bet.com/News/Decision08/beheard_news_107WomanWitnessesInauguration.htm

Slate.com Inauguration Coverage

January 21st certainly was an historical day, but a person can only hear or read that word so many times before it's enough already. Enter Slate.com.

I love Slate because it tackles hard news topics but adds interesting twists to its coverage. Its inauguration coverage was no different. If you want to check out the site's full list of inauguration articles, there's a link at the bottom of this post.

With stories like "First Movers: How exactly will Obama get all his stuff into the White House?" and "Does the Kevlar Number Come in a French Cuff? Obama was wearing 'bullet-resistant clothing.' What's that?", the site gives readers answers to questions that simply aren't provided by other news sites.

http://www.slate.com/id/2208447/

NY Times- What's on your mind

The New York Times had this cool idea of letting their users type in one word to describe how they felt on the day of the election. They then illusrated the data with a "word train" where the most common words had larger fonts and were at the top of the page. You can categorize the words be McCain and Obama supporters or you can see them all. It was a simple way of displaying data but very interesting.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/11/04/us/politics/20081104_ELECTION_WORDTRAIN.html

Resume package due on Wednesday

Reminder: Resume packages are due at the beginning of class Wednesday: Turn in to my folder on the x drive your last name folder, which will include your photos folder, your edited resume page, and a clips page or a photo montage page. Each page should link to the other (using just the file names in the link tags; full URLs will not work because the pages are not live yet. Please DO NOT PUT DRIVE LETTERS, such as h or x, in any of your links).

Both pages should include a banner at the top; they should also include copyright info and a back to top link.

You must work independently. You may not take layouts from other students.

The second page could link to published writing or broadcast samples --news clips, press releases, audio or video clips. Or the second page could be a montage of photos you've taken of friends, family or travel. The two pages, when linked together, must include at least one external link, a banner graphic created by you, and at least one photo. All links and navigation on your pages must work; all text must make sense and be written in AP style. Each factual mistake will result in a full letter-grade deduction, as will each broken link and broken image. Projects turned in late will lose a full letter grade for each day that they're late. This should be something you'd be proud to show a prospective employer.

Unreadable pages (because of bad color choices for fonts or backgrounds) will result in an automatic F. Text on both pages should follow AP style for print throughout.