Download august 30, 2010

Basics of Online Journalism
AUGUST 30, 2010
Advantages of Online Journalism
Advantages
Significance
 Audience Control
 Stories need to be even
 Nonlinearity
more engaging
 Stories need to be
organized in chunks
 You need to triple-check
facts
 You need to know print,
web, audio, video, &
photography!
 Storage, Retrieval, &
Unlimited Space
 Immediacy
 Multimedia Capacity
 Interactivity & UGC
Approaches to Online Journalism
 Freestanding Journalism (e.g., Slate.com)
 Already-associated Journalism (e.g., CNN.com)
 Convergence Sites (e.g., TBO.com)
 News Aggregators (e.g., Digg.com, Google News)
 Hyperlocal Sites (e.g., NewWest.net)
 Backpack Journalists or Mojos (i.e., YOU!)
 Legacy Media (e.g., LaramieBoomerang.com)
 Shovelware + multimedia, links, UGC, or Web extras
Evaluating the Quality of Online Journalism
 Who is the author?
 What is the content?
 Is the information accurate?
 When was it updated?
 What does it look like?
Online Journalism Terminology
Understanding the Web
 ARPANET and “packets”
 Internet vs. Web (see “The Web is Dead”)
 Web browsers use the URL (address) to find the
requested information.
 The URL looks like http://www.klandreville.com
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What does http stand for?
 The website contains the html files that
visually/graphically present the page to you.
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What does html stand for?
 Pull vs. push technology between clients and servers
 RSS stands for what?
Understanding Digital Media
 Why go digital? Analog vs. digital
 Types of digital media from smallest to largest file
size. File size affects bandwidth usage.
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Text = ASCII
Graphics = GIF, BMP, TIFF, EPS, JPEG, PNG
PDFs preserve original formatting that may include both text
and graphics
Sound = WAV and AIFF are larger than MP3
Video = MPEG, QuickTime, Flash Video, and AVI
Rich Content = Java, Flash, AJAX, XML
Understanding the Hardware & Software
 Connection Terms
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Bandwidth
FTP
Modems and cable
modems
ISP
Wi-fi
 Storage Terms
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Hard drive
CD-ROM
DVD
USB
 Performance Terms
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Processor
Video card
Resolution
 Software Terms
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Authoring software
Blogging software
Feed readers (Web, standalone, browser-based)
Content mgmt systems
Editing software
Online Journalism 2.0
 Web 2.0
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Platforms allow users to
easily post and share content
User-generated content
Community and connecting
 Mobile 2.0
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Cell phones, iPods, and
variations of each now
connect to the Internet
 Implications for journalism?
 “The news is a conversation,
not a lecture.”
 Bloggers, CNN’s iReport
 YouTube, MySpace,
Facebook, Flickr, Twitter
 Digg, Newsvine, Reddit, and
Slashdot
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Be even more aware of the
participant (i.e., the
audience)
Use RSS feeds to keep tabs
on stories all over the Web
Need content available for
these users in “podcasts” and
“vodcasts”
Basics of Blogging
Blogging and Online Journalism
 Most major newspapers have journalist-authored
blogs
 Blogging can contribute to journalistic discourse by…
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Providing commentary for users
Filtering and editing information for users
Fact checking for users
Providing grassroots, eyewitness, or firsthand accounts to
users
Providing additional reporting on a current story
Allowing a dialogue of story suggestions, critique, and review
by others
Good Blogs
 Good blogs
 Update frequently
 Write in conversation-style that shows your personality
 Provide specific headlines
 Provide links elsewhere to helpful information
 Allow readers to comment and comment back to readers
 Are facilitated by you
 Are ongoing conversations among members of a community
 Can be your professional notebook, journal, or brainstorming session
 Embed photos, video, audio, Flash presentations, and other
multimedia features
Examples
 Commentary Blog
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http://masteringmultimedia.wordpress.com/
 Major Newspaper Blog
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http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/
 Professional/Career-Building Blog
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http://harrylocke4.wordpress.com/
http://daniellehartman.wordpress.com/
 Entertainment Blog
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http://blogs.chron.com/memo
Blog Terminology
 Post
 Permalink
 Trackback
 Blogroll
 Linkblog
 Vlog
 Moblog
For Next Time…
 Next time we’ll develop our blogs
 Before you come to class, go to an online tutorial on
WordPress, please see:
http://www.jtoolkit.com/blogging/wp_tips.html