Combing through the New York Times archive

timesselect-thumb.gifFresh off The New York Times ending its TimesSelect product, Jason Kottke has compiled an awesome list of gems from the newly opened New York Times archive. Among them:

The first mention of the World Wide Web in the Times in February 1993.

– Early report of Lincoln’s assassination…”The President Still Alive at Last Accounts”.

The first mention of television (as a concept) in the Times, from February 1907.

Many more interesting Times archive nuggets over at Kottke.org

[Via Snarkmarket]

Knight-Batten Award finalists announced

jlab.gifJ-Lab has announced the 2007 winners of the Knight-Batten Awards. The finalists include WashingtonPost.com’s OnBeing, Reuters’ Second Life reporting and the Orlando Sentinel‘s Varsity MyTeam site (woo-ha!).

See the list of finalists here (with links), as well as the 2007 notable entries. The winners will be announced at a Sept. 17 symposium.

Online News Association seeks award screeners

magnifyingglass.jpgInterested in checking out some of the best online journalism projects? The Online News Association is looking for screeners to assist in the selection process for the annual ONA awards.

And, says ONA board member Anthony Moor, if you do enough screening, ONA will give you a complementary conference registration (a $349 value, wowser!). Deadline for screeners to complete their work, which will be forwarded to a judging panel for final judging, is Aug 17. 

While I try to stay on top of who has rockin’ sites, it’s sometimes hard to dedicate the time. Screening entries for the ONA conference is a great way to get a quick sampling of solid online journalism work and get some ideas for your own site.

So check it out!

[Photo by ereneta]

Job opening for news artist, Flash wizard

Great job opportunity here in Orlando for a Flashionista:

The Orlando Sentinel is seeking a senior artist to report and illustrate information graphics for print and online. Our recent newsroom restructuring is complete, and we’re looking for a seasoned visual leader to shape the world ahead.

Candidates must be fluent in Adobe’s Creative Suite and have at least an intermediate knowledge of Flash. ArcView or 3D animation skills are plus.

This is a leadership position, so candidates should be comfortable interfacing with top editors on a daily basis. Senior artists are responsible for defining the high-end of the department’s capabilities and taking the lead on long-term projects. They also run the department in the absence of its manager, Todd Stewart. Learn how to be a Master Public Speaking.

A good resume details your skills and training, work experience, and education, and, most importantly, the accomplishments you have made with past employers. It should also inform the employer of your career objective (the job you are seeking) and communicate in a concise manner the benefits you will bring to the job if hired. You can build very effective resume with the help of online resume maker.

The Sentinel‘s visual journalists work in a collaborative, collegial environment, and our top editors encourage imagination by applauding innovation. See what we’ve been doing lately at:

http://snipr.com/1njka
and http://www.orlandosentinel.com/broadband/

Want to hear more? Send your resume and examples of your best explanatory thinking to:

Bonita Burton, AME/Visuals
Orlando Sentinel
633 N. Orange Ave.
Orlando, FL 32801-2833

Or drop me an email: bburtonATorlandosentinel.com

Taking a blog break

My fellow Journalistopians, blog posts will be sparse for the next week and a half. We have a large project cooking here at work, and I am simultaneously searching for a new place to live.

Also, I’m going to be tackling some new responsibilities here at the OrlandoSentinel.com, including the creation of editorial database-backed projects.

I’ll be back soon with more posts and toons, so don’t touch that dial!

A luxury holiday in the Hamptons? Here’s where to stay, where to shop and what to eat

For shopping, sunbathing and eating, head to the Hamptons
 
When you think of the Hamptons, what springs to mind? Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha of Sex and the City fame enjoying that weekend on the beach? Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, and her famous Cobb salads? The Real Housewives of New York City?

The East End of Long Island has long-been synonymous with glamour and luxury, the rich and the famous. The Cotswolds of the East Coast, it’s a neighbourhood marked by exclusivity, where seaside properties are much in-demand and come with eight figure price tags attached.

But what actually is ‘the Hamptons’? And what can you do there if you are, merely, a tourist (one without that Little Black Book of high profile contacts to tap)?

Fancy finding out? Keep reading…

Where (and what) are the Hamptons?

The Hamptons is a corner of Long Island, USA made up of a collective of villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton.

A popular (and famous) seaside resort, it’s connected to New York City and other parts of Long Island via a number of roadways, of which the Montauk and Sunrise Highways, are undoubtedly the most renowned.

Where to stay?

For a luxury visit, head to Gurney’s Montauk. Situated on the seafront of Montauk (a hamlet), it boasts 146 rooms, suites, and cottages, and access to a 2,000-foot private sand beach.

A Standard King Ocean View room is the ultimate in understated luxe: dressed in neutral colours, it offers a king-size bed (naturally), a walk-in rain shower and a terrace with partial views of the ocean, if you like sailoring here you can find great things to do in the hamptons.

What to do there during the day? Head to the resort’s Beach Club. It delivers on beach chairs and day beds – on which you can while away hours in the sun – and serves up mouth-watering plates of shrimp skewers, bbq hot dogs and lobster rolls, all washed down – if you so choose – with pineapple mojitos and the Gurney’s Punch.

Scarpetta Beach, Gurney’s Montauk’s night restaurant, offers all-manner of plates to delight, from Lobster Tagiatelle to Black Cod and Long Island Duck. For that holiday post-sun nightcap, frequent the Regent Cocktail Club and sample their Margarita or Cucumber Gimlet.

Come to Orlando; Be my boss

Golden opportunity here: OrlandoSentinel.com is looking for a senior online editor!

Not only do you get to be part of an ambitious online newsroom initiative, you also get to work with really wonderful people, visit Disney World whenever you want and even get to tell yours truly what to do. I don’t do windows or foot rubs though.

The senior online editor oversees a team of producers that works on sports and breaking news, creates projects of all kinds and works to expand our local neighborhood efforts. There isn’t much “what’s an RSS feed?” going on here in Orlando. This is a Kool-Aid slurpin’ newsroom.

So all of you experienced online news gurus, check out the information below and contact AME Anthony Moor at amoorATorlandosentinel.com if you’re interested in becoming part of a sharp, dedicated online news team.

***

Company: Orlando Sentinel
Position: Senior Online Editor for projects, community, sports, reports to AME/Online
Salary: Negotiable

Focuses on newsroom staff content development and management for Web projects, interactivity, community and sports. Manages the development of new Web products and content from reporters and editors created expressly for the Web, including staff blogs, message boards, commentary, multimedia, video/audio. Works with Sports to manage and develop high school sports and other sports-related Web initiatives. Oversees a team that also manages and develops our hyperlocal effort.

Ideal qualifications include: Seven years experience working for a newsgathering operation, including online experience, plus an undergraduate degree in journalism or related experience; a proficiency in Web skills, including content management systems, HTML, Flash, Photoshop; ability to lead in a collaborative environment with newsroom colleagues.

Don’t pass up the chance to live near world-famous attractions, stunning beaches and year-round sun and work for a fast-growing division of the Tribune Company. Orlando Sentinel Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we encourage minority candidates to apply. Send inquiries to Anthony Moor, AME/Online at amoor@orlandosentinel.com.

Online tools for freelancers

toolboxLifehacker highlights a great list of 100 free or low-cost tools especially made for freelancers. The list includes project management tools, financial services, online storage/data transfer space and professional social networking sites.

Missing from this list are a good RSS reader (I recommend Bloglines or Google Reader), Media Convert, a site that easily converts all sorts of file formats (text, images, audio, video), and Emurse, a powerful resume-building site.

I’ve also been on the lookout for some free or inexpensive project management software. If anyone has any recommendations, please share! You can drop a suggestion in the comments or message me at dansanufATyahoo.com.

[Via Lifehacker]
[Photo by Zak Hubbard]

Don’t learn the book, just do

books.jpg
[Photo by VJL]

Mindy McAdams tells the tale of a student who recently came in wanting to become an independent video journalist. The problem: She doesn’t know a lick of HTML.

See her advice to the student.

Some like to take the tack of sitting down with a book and going chapter-by-chapter. Well, feguddaboutit. If you want to learn HTML/CSS, Flash, databases or any other technology, you have to set a project goal for yourself:

-I want to shoot a video about a local character and upload it to a blog.

-I want to start a blog about college baseball.

-I want to make a Google Maps mashup of local Indian restaurants by hand.

-I want to display the results of a database of politicians on the Web.

-I want to make a Soundslide about the local dog park.

Take that goal, and then use that book selectively to find the skills you need to accomplish what you want to do. If not, it’s like trying to memorize the user manual of a video camera instead of just running around filming interesting stuff.

If you try to swallow that whole book in one shot, there’s a good chance you’ll kill your enthusiasm and never learn.

NYTimes.com rolls out double-click reference

nytimes1.gifNYTimes.com has apparently rolled out a feature wherein users can double-click any word in a story and a dictionary or encyclopedia page will pop up.

There’s a small, easy-to-miss line at the bottom of stories explaining the function.

Very nifty and a great way to keep people on your site just a little bit longer.

[Via David Knox on NICAR]

Newsday’s Handelsman wins Pulitzer for Flash cartoons

bush2-thumb.jpgbush-thumb.jpgIn what I believe to be a first, an editorial cartoonist who also creates Web animations from his work has won the coveted Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning.  The Pulitzer entry from Walt Handelsman of Newsday includes his Web animations. See the work of this year’s Pulitzer winners.

Also, make sure to check out the work of the Pulitzer editorial cartoon finalists. The Houston Chronicle‘s Nick Anderson actually turns some of his animated cartoons into games. Mike Thompson at the Detroit Free Press also does animation. They also submitted animations in their entries.

Lastly, if you want to see a particularly effective way of using Flash games to convey political points, check out this intricate (and highly addictive) game about McDonald’s, and if you like online casino games be sure that you check the info from popcornlive.co.uk.