Zach Wise’s Newest Multimedia Shines

Zach Wise is currently a multimedia producer for the New York Times. Before going to the Times, he was the senior multimedia producer for the Las Vegas Sun. Before he left the Sun he finished this great multimedia piece on Nevada’s water woes. Great navigation, interactive elements throughout and great reporting are all part [...]

Multimedia Reporting and Convergence Workshop

Fellowship applications are now being accepted for a Multimedia Reporting and Convergence Workshop for January 11-16, 2009 and March 22-27, 2009, at The Knight Digital Media Center at the University of California, Berkeley.
It is a week-long training sessions for mid-career journalists wishing to advance their multimedia skills. The workshops combine instruction in multimedia storytelling and [...]

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Could Change the Equation

I’ve been reading all the flurry of activity over the new Canon EOS 5D MII that will be available near the end of November. Vincent Laforet, a New York based commercial and editorial photographer, was given a prototype to use for 72 hours. His report and the stills he has been able to show are [...]

Platypus Workshop

My recent postings on the Platypus workshop have been taken down due to proprietary issues. Suffice it to say that if you ever get the chance to go to the Playtpus workshop you should take it. It was one of the best experiences I have had at a workshop in a long time and one [...]

Value of MediaStorm’s New Multimedia Training

I asked Lucy Nicholson, a senior staff photographer with Reuters based in Los Angeles, about the value of MediaStorm’s new workshops. Lucy attended in May. I’ve read a few posts that have questioned the cost, $3,500 for tuition only, and whether or not the course was worth the price of admission. Here’s her answer:
I think [...]

“At War” Trailer 3

David Leeson and Scott Kesterson have posted their third trailer for “At War“, a heartrending and powerful look at the cost of war on everyone involved. The film is due for a January 2008 release. I’m in Dallas to interview David as part of my research on the changes facing photojournalism today and how we [...]

Beet.TV: New York Times Integrated Newsroom

From Beet.TV, a nice little video piece on the new New York Times integrated newsroom:
The New York Times has a New, Integrated Newsroom
The New York Times has moved into a Renzo Piano-designed building on Eighth Avenue. Begun in April, the move is now complete. Beyond the new design and functionality of the place, which [...]

Out and About and Moving On

It has been a very busy few weeks. I have been working on my research, teaching classes (I’m even teaching an extra class this semester), working on getting out the educational journal I work on, and filming interviews for my documentary. Which usually means that writing suffers.
I just got back from Dallas after interviewing David [...]

New Northwestern University Study On Digital Strategy

A new study out of Northwestern University’s Media Management Center, “Running while the Earth Shakes: Creating an Innovation Strategy to Win in the Digital Age, A Study on Innovation in the News Media,” by Annette Moser-Wellman, explores the creative strategies media organizations can follow to adapt to change. Here’s a link to the PDF file.
Executive [...]

Ed Kashi on Changes in Photojournalism

Great article this month in Digital Photo Pro Magazine by Harlon Mitchell on photojournalist Ed Kashi and his take on the changes in multimedia today.
Photojournalism Now
For freelance photojournalists, these are chaotic times. But in chaos there’s opportunity if you have the daring to go for it.
By Harlon Mitchell
The age of traditional freelance photojournalism is no [...]

Pauline Lubens: Women in Photojournalism Report 2

Well, the first couple of weeks of teaching classes this fall have been interesting. I’m teaching a new course this semester, the role of images in mediating reality, for honors students. The course introduces them to visual literacy and teaches them that visuals influence their perception of reality and their behavior. Needless to say I’m [...]

Still Time to Register for Cutting Edge IX (8 September)

A reminder from Shawn Montano:
The Cutting Edge IX: The Order of the Edit
Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee
September 8th 2007
Less than a 2 weeks before the Cutting Edge IX: Order of the Edit, the annual NPPA workshop with an emphasis in editing, lands in Nashville Tennessee. Belmont University ’s New Century Journalism Program has graciously offered the [...]

Digital Saving Journalism Jobs

Excellent piece by Mark Glaser at MediaShift on the migration of jobs from traditional print journalism to digital.
Traditional Journalism Job Cuts Countered by Digital Additions
by Mark Glaser
If you follow the world of traditional journalism, you can’t help but notice the seemingly constant stream of layoffs and buyouts at news organizations. But media observers don’t often [...]

Top Ten Rookie Mistakes

Some very good tips from professional videographer Bill Pryor. Some you’ve heard, but it’s always good to have a refresher!
Top Ten Mistakes of Rookie Filmmakers
by Bill Pryor
Nobody can can cover everything you need to know in a short article, but I can point out the ten most common mistakes I see over and over.
Bad sound. [...]

NPPA Women in Photojournalism Report 1

I just arrived home from this weekend’s National Press Photographers Association Women in Photojournalism conference in Austin, Texas. Needless to say it was a fantastic experience and the theme from this summer’s NPPA Summit was carried through to this conference – multimedia is the future but excellent storytelling is still key.
I was very impressed and [...]

NAA Digital Edge Awards Accepting Entries

The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) is now accepting entries for the Digital Edge Awards (The Edgies). The Edgies honor innovation in newspaper digital media. They are looking for entries in many different categories from editorial media to digital media innovation.

Women in Photojournalism This Weekend in Austin

Last reminder, the National Press Photographers Association Women in Photojournalism conference and workshops in Austin, Texas, is today through Sunday (August 17-19) at the Hyatt Regency Austin. Tonight (August 17) is the ice-breaker, the conference starts in earnest tomorrow morning (August 18). You can still register at the door. This conference is not just [...]

Bivings Top 10 Newspaper Websites

The Bivings Group, a Washington, DC-based Internet communications firm released a list of the Top 10 Newspaper Websites on their blog, The Bivings Report. They judged sites on their web features as well as design, aesthetics and usability.
(1) New York Times: We love the general feeling of the NYT site, which is pleasing to [...]

Not so Rosy News for 2006 Graduating Journalism Students

Some bad news thrown in with some good news from the recent release of the Cox Center 2006 Annual Survey Findings of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates. I do like the fact that more journalists are working on the web. I don’t like the fact that they are not being compensated properly for it [...]

Multimedia Tutorials: Video, Audio, Photo, & Web Design

“Five Steps To Multimedia Reporting” is a great site for multimedia training from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and the USC Annenberg School for Communication. The site is geared to reporters who need to learn how to create multimedia stories. The tutorials cover video (cameras, accessories, shooting tips, stand-ups and voice-overs, iMovie, Final [...]

J-Schools Must Teach Multimedia

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s (AEJMC) annual conference has wrapped up and one theme coming out of some of the research presentations is that journalism schools need to do a better job teaching multimedia to new journalists. I can count our school as one that is forward thinking enough [...]

Newspapers Must Change to Survive

From a recent article by Tim Rutten on LA Times.com, “Newspapers are changing to suit reader’s tastes,” he laments the lack of quality news programming on cable and network news, but holds out hope that newspapers can make the transition back to their roots rather than fall prey to the type of programming we see [...]

Using Camera & Lens Movements Effectively

This excellent article by Cyndy Green on her blog VideoJournalism discusses when to use and more often, when you shouldn’t use, camera and lens movement.
Zooming, panning, and tilting…
These are sometimes the most effective tools in the VJ’s shooting toolbox and should be the least used too. But all too often beginners can’t hold still and [...]

Reminder: NPPA Women in Photojournalism Conference August 17-19

Just a reminder, the National Press Photographers Association Women in Photojournalism conference and workshops in Austin, Texas, is from August 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency Austin.  Today (August 10) is the last day you can register online. This conference is not just for “women only,” anyone can attend. There will be several multimedia sessions on [...]

The Multimedia Journalist: August 22 Short Course

From the folks at Mediabistro, a 3-hour course on multimedia journalism. I’m not sure of the quality, but for $65 it’s worth a look. If anyone does attend I would like to hear back from you about the quality and depth of the course.
The Multimedia Journalist
Tell your story with podcasting, video, Flash, and photos
WHEN: Wednesday, [...]

The Future of Photojournalism in a Digital World Panel

Sorry for the last minute, but I just saw this. Just in case you’re in the New York area and want to attend:
The Future of Photojournalism in a Digital World is a panel discussion on what’s next for photographers, photo editors, and designers
WHEN: Tuesday, August 7, 7-9 pm
Drinks with panelists at a nearby bar to [...]

Dirck Halstead Predicts the Future!

There’s a great article in the August issue of The Digital Journalist by editor and publisher Dirck Halstead, “Can You Shoot Stills and Video?” Dirck talks about the challenges photojournalists are having adapting to these new skill sets, but that the trade-off we are making, in many cases, is richer journalism and storytelling.
I like the [...]

Reminder: Cutting Edge IX September 8, 2007

From an earlier post:
The dates for Cutting Edge IX have been released. And while this is geared toward television news, it could be a great opportunity for multimedia producers to learn advanced editing techniques. News announcement from the NPPA:
DURHAM, NC (July 14, 2007) – Shawn Montano, director of the Cutting Edge IX: Order of the [...]

NPPA Women in Photojournalism Conference August 17-19

Coming up real fast is the National Press Photographers Association Women in Photojournalism conference and workshops in Austin, Texas, from August 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency Austin. This conference is not just for “women only,” anyone can attend. There will be several multimedia sessions on audio slide shows and video. Our brethren from the television [...]

OJR Creates Guide to Website Usability Testing

The Online Journalism Review just published a five step guide for website usability testing that can gauge readers’ reactions to multimedia projects and website design. A very solid guide to making sure that what you produce actually reaches and communicates with your audience.
OJR’s ‘five guide’ to do-it-yourself website usability testing
Use these steps, and these forms, [...]