Video journalism is an evolving field that has yet to cultivate an obvious identity for itself. Many companies have different needs and objectives and staff videographer positions will inevitably vary in their responsibilities. But there are a few skills that I strongly believe all budding video journalists should take note of as they begin their careers in multimedia production.
Adam Westbrook, UK blogger, entrepreneur and media whiz, just released his annual media predictions in a quirky and inspirational video. Last year he made all 10 predictions himself, and this year I was honored to be a part of the fun and make one of the predictions. Check out the video and see if you agree with us – I’d love to hear what your number one prediction is for the year!
I recently received an email from someone alerting me of Wall Street Journal’s multimedia package on the 2010 Myanmar election, which is to be held November 7th. In order to protect their sources, no bylines are given regarding the coverage of Myanmar. For such a controversial topic, I was impressed by the wealth of content these producers were able to deliver. With nearly 20 minutes of video, six graphics, five photo galleries and a slew of other content, this package is packed full of multimedia.
Steen Steensen, senior journalism lecturer at Oslo University College in Oslo, Norway, just wrapped up an excellent series over at his blog “new journalism/new media” about the impact of multimedia and technology. You may have also seen it cross published over at Online Journalism Blog. Either way, if you haven’t taken the time to read Steen’s analysis, I highly suggest you do so now. The content was pulled from his thoroughly researched dissertation “Back to the feature. Online journalism as innovation, transformation and practice” (which includes 24 pages of references!).
Regina McCombs recently emailed me about an upcoming seminar from August 25-27 at The Poynter Institute that II readers may be interested in attending. Titled “Programming for Journalists / Journalism for Programmers,” attendees will gain a concrete understanding of how programmers and journalists can work effectively together to visualize data-rich content, such as the upcoming 2010 Census.
Two documentary storytellers were determined to tell a story about the huge Guarani Aquifer in South America. They did not sift through app forms and spend their time writing grants in hopes they might get one to strike … Instead, they built a website that has great dignified but a bit ‘in your face’ pitch – very direct … and here, it works! They also produced videos explaining what they aimed to do, and dedicated their efforts to raising funds through Kickstarter, a relatively new crowdsource funding tool. Their efforts paid off, as they are now on their way to South America to follow through on their vision and commitment with more than $15,000 from over 100 funders. So how were they so successful? Is this use of crowdfunding a real funding potential for future independent projects?
I have to admit that I do not own an iPhone or iPod Touch (shocker!) so when we learned about the app TCoder that simplifies the painstaking process of covering speeches and press conferences, I asked II Spanish editor Andrea Ballocchi to test it out on her iPhone. Overall, she noted that “it is a practical application that is simple to use and has a clean interface and easy navigation.” The app is currently available in French, Spanish and English and they have plans to roll out a version for the iPad, so it sounds like we can unofficially say goodbye to the old pad and pen!
We are happy to announce our newest contributor, Tim McLaughlin, who will blog semimonthly about multimedia journalism. After writing two excellent guest blog posts for us, one about the iPad’s multimedia revolution and the other about educational multimedia resources, we knew Tim would be an excellent addition to the team. Tim will publish posts on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month on content pertaining specifically to the online journalism community. We have already brainstormed a great list of topics for upcoming posts, but always feel free to contact us with ideas that you would like to see covered!
English journalism blogger Adam Westbrook kindly gave me a sneak peak of his latest e-book that was released today and I was extremely impressed by both the creativity and depth he delivers about alternative business models for those within the journalism sector. Titled “Next Generation Journalist,” Adam details 10 viable revenue streams along with complementary interviews, case studies, and resources for further reading. If you are tired of the doom and gloom talk and ready to take action, I would highly recommend reading Adam’s book for an inspirational jump start.
