COMM 361-001: Online Journalism

“Unless you are a so-called early adopter, you probably find it impossible to keep tabs on all the latest and greatest tools and services available online.”

Briggs advises first and foremost:

• Organize your e-mail
• Find the right personal productivity tools

Data driven journalism:

• Every story is a field of data
• Telling stories with data

Briggs’ eighth chapter explains:

• Capturing quick video highlights, not documentary projects
• Managing digital video on your computer
• Using common software to edit video
• Choosing online video hosting services
• Driving audience to your video

“The best way to build a solid video story is to think about it the same way you would think about writing.”

• Use different approaches for different projects
• Try storyboarding
• Mix your shots
• Build five-shot sequences: Close-up on the hands/Close-up on the face/Wide shot/Over-the-shoulder shot/Creative shot

Being a film major at GMU, this is definitely the most chapter that I found the most interesting. It didn’t really teach me anything, per se, but it’s still beneficiary.

I really liked that Briggs pointed out to “aim for solid, not spectacular clips” – I can definitely see how this would apply in good pieces.

“The socialization of news is clearly the right direction for journalism,” begins Briggs in his tenth chapter of JournalismNext.

This chapter explores the idea of news being a conversation, rather than “a lecture,” and how conversing through social networking can add to one’s story.

“Three areas of evolution suggest a brighter future for comments on news stories:

• The technology is getting better
• Newsrooms are accepting more responsibility
• The commenters are expecting more from each other.”

When commenting on the necessity to make news a conversation (rather than a lecture), Briggs acknowledges that “while the primary motivation for offering social tools on news sites [is] to stay technologically relevant, the reward goes beyond giving the audience a chance to play, too.”

Briggs even throws in some statistics about social bookmarking and advertising, given by a Bivings Group report which can be found here.

Some other major benefits Briggs mentions for news being a conversation include:

• Providing transparency on the reporting process
• Enable an immediate feedback loop
• Spread awareness of news coverage through word-of-mouth marketing

Overall, although one always runs the risk of “potential headaches [from] offensive anonymous posts,” by including user/reader interactivity, “the benefit earned through a constructive and collaborative relationship between journalists and their audience is well worth the effort.”

Briggs also discusses how to build and manage an online community through making news participatory and collaborating with one’s community. Then, he explains how to keep conversations accurate and ethical by setting guidelines for participants, monitoring offensive posts, knowing one’s legal responsibilities and correcting errors.

“Social media, used correctly, connects journalists and reporters to people and information.”

This may be the first chapter in which I couldn’t agree more with every point raised.