At Work

The Big Picture Blog at Boston.com is still one of my favorite photo blogs. Alan Taylor is a developer at Boston.com and posts entries Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week.

The Polygamists

National Geographic now posts photo galleries on their website from each print edition. The Polygamists is one of many well edited galleries on the National Geographic site.

Advice From A Grandma Beauty Queen

This New York Times video is a great piece of personal journalism. The filmmakers happen to be the beauty queen’s grandsons. The photography is mediocre but the storytelling is excellent.

Royalty Free Music That IS FREE

I ran across this list of free music sites on Vimeo recently. I have used several of these sites including incomptech.com, audiofarm.org and freesound.org.

Why The Designer Holds The Key To The Future of Journalism

Journalism 2.0 is run by Mark Briggs. He recently posted this guest column from Adam Westbrook, a multimedia journalist based in London. Westbrook talks about web design and how it can help sell online news. He also mentions Flyp Media which is a highly designed online news magazine.

Visual Complexity

Continuing on the design theme…visual complexity is a site devoted to graphic design. There are excellent examples of both low-fi and high-fi web graphics.

Effect Generator

Journalists want to learn Flash. Flash is complicated and it requires you to learn action scripting.  Effect Generator is a free Flash-like website where you can create video effects, slideshows and animations. Effect Generator also has great video tutorials to guide you through your first project.

Eric Bressi On Being Elvis

AARP’s website, AARP Bulletin Today, has recently begun featuring documentary videos. Eric Bressi On Being Elvis was created during last year’s Eddie Adams Workshop. This mini-doc mixes still images and sound.

New York Times Haiti photo/graphic

Satellite images help tell the story of destruction in Haiti. The New York Times staff found images from before and after the 7.0 earthquake that illustrate the extent of the damage. This is flat out one of the coolest photo/graphic pieces from the Port-au- Prince coverage.

Charlie Brooker - How to Report The News

For a little fun here is a YouTube video that pokes fun at broadcast news.

Beautiful black and white surf images from Chris Bickford and the New York Times Travel section.

Americanpoverty.org

Excellent photo essays from photojournalists around the country.

From the website, “In Our Own Backyard is an organization of photojournalists committed to the cause of social justice in the United States. Our inaugural project, AmericanPoverty.org is a multimedia examination of the daily struggles of impoverished Americans: a comprehensive and innovative campaign that will affect the way the general public and policymakers think about poverty in America.”

Big Picture Blog: Glacier National Park

Beautiful photo gallery from one of our most beautiful National Parks.

How Do You Correct Errors in Video Stories (from Ken Kobre’s blog)

Kobre’s discussion is a good one so jump in.

An Alaskan Village in Crisis

I don’t like voice overs but the story and visuals in this piece from The New York Times is extremely compelling.

Beginners Guide to Digital Cameras and Video

This blog post from dpreview.com may come in handy during the holiday season. Because you are a multimedia journalist your relatives and friends think you are an expert on all digital cameras. Take a minute and read this post, then pass it on.

Save Our Sounds

This is a cool idea. The BBC is using reader submitted audio to create this “sound map”.

Ten Tips for Working With Music in Multimedia, from the Media Storm Blog

Media Storm is generously sharing the secrets of their success.

Times of Crisis, Reuters

I don’t think of the financial crisis as a particularly visual story but Reuters and the Media Storm team have produced a very rich visual multimedia story. It is worth the 11 minutes, 42 seconds.

Let me know what you are watching by leaving a comment or emailing me at vhoeppner@freedomforum.org.

Audio slide show: Frozen Land, Forgotten People

In 1966, Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner Robert L. Bennett outlawed development on 1.6 million acres of desert in northeastern Arizona that was claimed by both the Navajo nation and the Hopi tribe.
Photography and audio by Barbara Davidson Produced by Albert Lee, Los Angeles Times

Ian Fisher: American Soldier

Denver Post photojournalist Craig F. Walker tracks Ian Fisher from High School to basic training and finally through a year deployment in Iraq. Spend time with this piece, it offers excellent storytelling, good visuals and great design.

Scene In

The Washington Post describes this feature in the Style section by saying, “The Washington Post’s Alexandra Garcia hits the streets to find out what’s hip around Washington D.C.”

One of the amazing things about this piece is that all the footage and images are shot on the Canon 5D Mark II. The lighting, visuals and audio are vibrant. Go back and watch the episode on Dupont Circle, it shows the strength of the 5D Mark II video capabilities.

The Picture Show Blog

The Picture Show is David Gilkey’s NPR blog. Gilkey is video producer at NPR.The Picture Show has many photo galleries from Gilkey’s travels, video and audio slideshows.

Living Galapagos

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication announces the release of http://LivingGalapagos.org, a collection of student-produced multimedia stories about life in the Galapagos Islands.

Texas Tribune

From the Tribune website….What is The Texas Tribune?

A non-profit, nonpartisan public media organization. Our mission is to promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide concern, and we do this in two principal ways.

I spent 45 minutes sifting through the Trib’s site (they refer to themselves as “The Trib” ).  I found the website to be clean, visual, full of good political journalism and well designed for the online reader.

4/Docs

Finally, a cool website all about short documentary films. 4docs.org.uk has some helpful information in their blogs and wiki sections about producing short docs. The site, of course, has a watch section that is full of short documentaries.

When I needed to learn to edit video in Final Cut Pro I turned to lynda.com. Lynda isn’t new but they continue to upgrade the hundreds of tutorials they offer for $25 per month for an individual user.

Amy Webb of Knowledgewebb was one of the highlights of the Associated Press Managing Editors and Photo Mangers conference. Webb, a former journalist, has 150 tutorials and learning opportunities available on Knowledgewebb with a yearly cost of about $129. If you attended APME you can receive a discounted rate by using the coupon code APME09.

NewsU.org is a Poynter website offering free tutorials on everything from video storytelling to management strategy. All you need to do is become a registered user and start learning.

Knight New Media offers dozens of free tutorials on audio and video storytelling, setting up a blog, CSS and a variety of multimedia gear.

Gotoandlearn provides free video tutorials on Flash and related products by Lee Brimelow. If you want to learn about Adobe Flash this is a great resource.

The University of Westminster offers Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Flash and various other multimedia software tutorials. They have a YouTube channel with dozens of how-to videos.

Everyone should be using an RSS reader and following blogs relating to tech and journalism. I use Google Reader and follow more than 30 blogs. Google Reader makes it easy for me to sort my blogs by topic and to skim through the hundreds of daily posts. Here are some of the blogs that I follow:

Video WTF? is a forum on all things video. Post a question and let the community help yu solve your problems. This is a give and take site, play nice and contribute when you can.

Mindy McAdams, Teaching Online Journalism is not just for teachers. Mindy writes on timely multimedia and online journalism issues. She also offers many how-to lessons on her site. The conversation is lively and she is quick to respond to your questions.

Channel your inner geek by reading Mashable and TechCrunch Both blogs offer reviews of gear, new software and news that effects the online journalism industry.

Another great resource for learning Final Cut Pro techniques is Larry Jordan’s Monthly Newsletter. Larry is in the training business and on the production side of the video business but he offers excellent tips and techniques for high level video editing. Sign up for the email newsletter, its free!

We all need to be more efficient. The next few sites will help you be your best.

Dropbox is a free large file transfer station. You can upgrade to a paid account and create your own intranet that is accessible online. Dropbox allows you to store and move files.

Google Docs is a free and efficient way to share budgets, project planning, databases and more with anyone you invite to collaborate. I used Google Docs to share the multimedia planning budget with editors and multimedia journalists when I was multimedia director at The Indianapolis Star. I still use Docs today to create, share and track multimedia assignments during training sessions at the Diversity Institute.

MindMeister is a mind mapping website that allows you to think visually as you do project planning and brainstorming. MindMeister also allows you to share the mind map and collaborate in real time.

Gist is a site that allows you to track people. It is a great way to keep track of sources already in your email contacts list. You get real time updates on your contacts Facebook, Twitter, blog posts or media mentions. This is a great resource for reporters.

Finally, if your photographers and multimedia journalists are using smart phones like the iPhone, HTC, Blackberry Storm, etc. you can use Qik to broadcast live video to your website via a video enabled phone. Need video of a press conference or breaking news event? Instead of carrying bulky equipment into the field for raw video use a smart phone and Qik.

PART ONE (4:58)

PART TWO (5:31)

Links to free websites and applications for producing multimedia

Audacity is a free, open-source audio editing software. Organize your audio files in one folder and save often.

Max is a free audio converter. Use Max to convert WMA files, WAV files and others to mp3s for easy audio editing. Editing audio in Audacity requires an mp3 file.

Soundslides is a free download and is fully functional. When using the demo version a “Made With Demo of Soundslides” appears before the start of your finished show. To unlock the demo, buy Soundslides for $39 to $69. The Soundslides Plus version for $69 is well worth the extra $30. It includes lower thirds and a motion tool that allows you to zoom in or out of images.

Animoto is a website that mixes your photos and music into a video that can be posted on your website or downloaded to a DVD in Hi-def format. You can create a free 30 second video or pay just $3 for full-length movie.

Vuvox is another free multimedia site that allows you to add photos, sound, video, graphics and text to a timeline.

Livestream, formerly known as Mogolus, is a website that allows you to broadcast live streaming video via the internet. You need a video camera with an ethernet port, a laptop and an internet connection. There are plenty of other live streaming video sights including Justin.tv and UStream.

Google Maps allows you to find a place, map it and add layers of information like photos, video and text. You can copy the code from Google Maps and post it on your website.

There are plenty of good tutorials on using Google Maps, I like Google’s and also a video version on YouTube.

Facebook and Twitter are fast becoming more than just social tools. News websites use them to give online readers up to the minute stories and breaking news.

Facebook is also teaming up with UStream, a live-streaming video site to allow users to stream video live on their Facebook pages.

URL too long to fit in your Tweet? No problem. Several websites offer URL shortening. Tinyurl and bit.ly are two popular sites. Twitter is now using bit.ly as its default URL shortening device.

Twitterfall is a tool that helps you read and sort posts in Twitter. It allows you to choose a topic or writer, then gives you only those posts in your Twitterfall.

To see the equipment we use at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute download the multimedia equipment article. Multimedia Equipment Article 2009

If you have questions or want to continue our multimedia discussion please leave a comment.

Who cares? If you are an online journalist (aren’t we all?) then this is a way for you to efficiently track how your state’s representatives in Washington vote.

You can do more than just track votes. With an XML feed you can create a database, track votes by issue and keep an eye on voting trends.

What is an XML feed? Here is what it looks like:

Without going into too much geek-speak, XML or eXtensible Markup Language is a computer language that allows information to be shared and broadcast.

XML data is a powerful tool.

You don’t have to be able to create a database from an XML feed or even understand the code. You just need to know what information is available and have an idea how it might be used.

e-PaperTrail.com is a data-rich site that allows you to learn about Congress and compare votes.

Another data-rich site, Know Thy Congressman or http://know-thy-congressman.com/, allows you to type in the name of any representative and dig deep into his or her votes, most used words, earmarks requested and received, and much more.

You can find the U.S. House XML feed at http://xml.house.gov/ .
The U.S. Senate feed for the 111th Congress can be found at http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_111_1.xml .

I am not suggesting that journalists go out and learn to write code or action scripting. What I am suggesting is that you embrace data.

My friend Kenny Irby, visual journalism group leader with The Poynter Institute, says that ideas in the newsroom are currency, and he is right. Just having an idea that enriches your reporting will pay off.

What happens in Vegas only stays in Vegas if it is not caught on video. Sarah Welliver, an American Indian Journalism Institute alum and Chips Quinn Scholar, attended the 2008 APME and APPM conferences in Las Vegas as a member of the student multimedia project administered by the Diversity Institute. During that project, she produced the video below about Brendan Paul, an Elvis impersonator and wedding chapel owner.
I like the impact moment that opens this video, setting the tone for the rest of the story. Starting a video story with a tight shot can be a very effective way to grab viewers. The tight shot opening also adds an element of suspense to the story, which keeps the audience watching.
Danese Kenon, a multimedia journalist at the Indianapolis Star, often uses the tight hook shot to begin her videos. It is all about impact, keeping your audience tuned in to a video that is enlightening, entertaining and visually interesting.Click here to see Kenon’s most powerful video.

April 14-16, 2009, Crazy Horse Memorial, Black Hills, South Dakota

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Registration at Crazy Horse Memorial. Participants must arrive by 4 p.m.

1 to 4 p.m. Registration. Students and their advisers, conference mentors, staff and presenters register for conference. Each student participant must complete a written registration form and online profile for the Kuder Career Planning System. Participants receive room assignments at four Custer motels: the Bavarian, Econo Lodge, Holiday Inn Express and Super 8. Distribution of giveaways (name tags, tote bags, program brochures, T-shirts, books, notebooks, pens, Crazy Horse materials etc.). Literature and display tables stocked. Orientation Center Lobby

Mentor and staff orientation begins at 4:30 p.m.

4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Orientation meeting for conference mentors and staff. Light refreshments: coffee, soft drinks. Welcome and introductions by Jack Marsh and Larry Atkinson. Orientation and basic training by Mary Arnold. Discussion about expectations. Explanation of story and project assignments for writing-group and multimedia-group mentors by Mary Arnold and Val Hoeppner. Explanation of Kuder by Chuck Baldwin. Follow-up discussion about teaching materials distributed to mentors in advance. Explanation of logistics by Jack Marsh. Laughing Water Restaurant

Opening program and evening activities for all conference participants begin at 6 p.m.

6 to 6:30 p.m. Welcome by Larry Atkinson, opening prayer, staff introductions and logistics. Introductions of staff and mentors by Larry Atkinson. Overview of curriculum and program by Mary Arnold and Val Hoeppner. An orientation to the rules, guidelines, expectations and logistics of the next two days by Jack Marsh. Orientation Center Theater

6:45 to 7:30 p.m. Buffet dinner (no program during dinner). Laughing Water Restaurant

7:45 to 8:15 p.m. Keynote address by Gerard Baker. Introduction by Doris Giago.
Orientation Center Theater

8:15 to 9 p.m. “Journalists in action: Getting it right” led by Mary Arnold. Orientation Center Theater

9 to 9:40 p.m. Conversation with Al Neuharth followed by Q&A with audience. Video introduction. Orientation Center Theater

9:45 p.m. Participants released. Return to their motels in Custer.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

6:30 a.m. Automatic wake-up calls to all motel rooms.

7:30 a.m. Shuttle buses pick up at motels, transport students and other participants from Custer to Crazy Horse. Staff members (Janine Harris and Jackie Zimmerman) will be at motels to direct students onto buses.

7:30 to 8:15 a.m. Buffet breakfast. Distribution of handout listing all student names and their assignments to different mentor groups. Announcements from restaurant podium. Mary Arnold explains mentor groups and how they are organized. Laughing Water Restaurant

8:30 to 10:15 a.m. Students go directly to their assigned mentor groups at locations on the upper and lower levels of the Orientation Center. Get acquainted; receive basic “nuts and bolts” instruction and assignments.
8:30 to 10 a.m. Teacher/adviser breakout session. “Roundtable Discussion for High School Journalism Teachers” moderated by Doris Giago.  Library on lower level of Orientation Center

10:15 to 11 a.m. Success stories among Native role models. Aspiring journalists and working professionals share why they pursued journalism and their experiences so far. Moderated by Val Hoeppner, with Shannon Shaw, Nancy Kelsey, Charles Pulliam and Devin Wagner. Orientation Center Theater

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Students return to their mentor groups and pursue assignments. Mentors prepare students to ask questions during Ziolkowski family press conference.
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Teacher/adviser breakout session conducted by Native American Journalists Association. “Introduction to New Media: Running a Convergence Media Newsroom” moderated by Ray Chàvez. Library on lower level of Orientation Center

12:30 to 1:15 p.m. Buffet luncheon. No program. Logistics announcements. Laughing Water Restaurant

1:15 to 1:35 p.m. Showing of Crazy Horse 20-minute orientation film “Dynamite & Dreams.” Introduction by Jack Marsh. After the film, announcement of mountain blast and arrangements for trip up the mountain. Distribute and collect signed release forms. Orientation Center Theater

1:45 p.m. Mountain blast. Ruth Ziolkowski and Jack Marsh announce countdown. Viewed from outside veranda between Laughing Water Restaurant and the Orientation Center.

1:50 to 2:30 p.m. Trip up the mountain and group photo on top. Following blast, board vehicles outside the Orientation Center entrance. (Weather permitting. If necessary, it will be rescheduled for after lunch on Thursday.)

2:30 to 3:15 p.m. Press conference with Ruth Ziolkowski and daughters. Moderated by Jack Marsh, joined by professionals. Students ask questions from audience. Orientation Center Theater

3:30 to 6 p.m. Students return to mentor groups and resume work on assignments.

3:30 to 5 p.m. Teacher/adviser breakout session conducted by NAJA: “Generating Story Ideas” moderated by Ray Chàvez. Library in Orientation Center

6 to 7 p.m. Buffet dinner (dessert later). No program. Laughing Water Restaurant

6 to 6:15 p.m. Mentor meeting conducted by Larry Atkinson and Jack Marsh. Orientation Center Theater

7 to 8 p.m. Students return to mentor groups and resume work on assignments. Groups can break early for dessert, DJ and dance, or can continue past 8.

7 to 8:30 p.m. Teacher/adviser breakout session conducted by NAJA: “New media tools and technology” moderated by Chris Krug.  Library in Orientation Center

7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Social time. Dessert buffet, DJ and dance. Native American Cultural Center

9 to 10:45 p.m. Shuttle-bus service for all participants runs continuously between Crazy Horse and motels in Custer. Last bus leaves Crazy Horse at 10:45 p.m.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

6:30 a.m. Automatic wakeup calls to all motel rooms.

7:20 a.m. Depart motels for Crazy Horse. Transportation “on your own.” No shuttle-bus service. Check out of rooms before leaving.

7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Buffet breakfast. Laughing Water Restaurant

8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Students report to their mentor groups. Finish assignments and submit work for use on conference website, www.freedomforumdiversity.org, and in conference publication, Native Journal. Students and mentors discuss career paths and journalism opportunities. Those students who have not already done so, complete an online survey (Kuder Career Planning System) assessing their career interests and personal talents.

8:30 to 9:15 a.m. Teacher/adviser breakout session conducted by NAJA: “Opportunities and Partnerships” moderated by Jeffrey Palmer. Library in Orientation Center

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Optional film showings. For conference participants who have completed their work.  Showing of Newseum short-subject films about journalism, journalists and the role of a free press. Orientation Center Theater

9:15 to 10 a.m. Teacher/adviser breakout: “Conference Critique Session” moderated by Larry Atkinson and Jack Marsh. Library in Orientation Center

10:30 to 11 a.m. Multimedia and online journalism: New opportunities and options for today’s journalists. Showing of multimedia projects completed by students. Presentation led by Val Hoeppner. Orientation Center Theater

11 to 11:15 a.m. Presentation of Crazy Horse Memorial Journalism Scholarships by Jadwiga Ziolkowski, Jack Marsh and Jim Emery, representing the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Scholarships honor the memories and legacies of Robb DeWall, Lem Price and Peggy Sagen. Orientation Center Theater

11:15 to 11:35 a.m. “Where We Go from Here” by John Bodette. Introduction by Breanna Roy. Orientation Center Theater

11:35 to 11:55 a.m. Special presentation by Doris Giago, Larry Atkinson and Jack Marsh, joined by others. Honor song by Bryan Thunder Hawk, Naca Charging Crow and Scott Means. Conference participants are asked to remain in room until dismissed. Orientation Center Theater

12 to 1 p.m. Buffet luncheon and closing program. Larry Atkinson, Doris Giago and Mary Arnold. Presentation of certificates to students and their teachers. One representative for each school. Closing prayer. Laughing Water Restaurant

1 p.m. Adjournment.