Danny Sanchez on digital media
Boy, do I wish I had this nifty CSS cheat sheet when I was burning the midnight oil trying to figure out what the heck an inline element is. Yet another wonderful nugget brought to you by Lifehacker. (And thanks to Matt for pointing it out to me.)
Anyone know of a CSSÂ hacks cheat sheet? *evil grin*
One reader said he “thought it was a cruel hoax.” Another says he doesn’t want “Alphabet soup in my Dock.” CSS Zen Garden creator Dave Shea asks “Did I sleep through the announcement where Pantone bought Adobe or something?” One user went so far as to create a useful icon legend on Flickr so we could understand the damned things.
Here’s more background on the eyesore, which kinda looks like Adobe’s version of Sauron’s evil, fiery eye from ‘Lord of the Rings.’
Dear readers, this is perhaps as wonderful as the previously mentioned Table Tango. I’ve just stumbled across Roundedcornr.com, a Web site that quickly creates the code and images for those nifty little rounded boxes you see all over the place these days.
If you’ve ever tried making one of those CSS boxes, you’ll know it’s a pain in the rear. Now you pop in how rounded you want it and what color, and you’ve got yourself a box! The creators of RoundedCornr have created some majorly good karma for themselves. As Will Sullivan would say, frosty brews to them all!
Stop using those annoying spacer GIFs or using weird CSS tricks, and try out this awesome technique for creating wicked cool online bar graphs in 5 minutes or less:
INGREDIENTS:
Microsoft Excel
A pinch of math
Table Tango (you’re going to love this if you haven’t seen it yet)
Cellpadding and spacing to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Take the numerical information you want to turn into a bar graph and paste it into Microsoft Excel. As an example, I’m using a snippet of Billboard’s top albums, which I swiped from Wikipedia:
Now, in the cell NEXT to the first numeral (in this example, cell D3), enter this formula in Excel’s formula bar:
This little formula essentially says “duplicate the â–ˆ character as many times as the number in this cell.” In this case, I’m using a special HTML character that will simulate a clean bar. In place of the “â–ˆ” you can use any symbol you like. An uppercase “I” works well also. Make it whatever color you like using the text color tool.
Now, place your cursor on the bottom right-side corner of the cell with your formula in it. The blocky-looking cursor should become a thin, black cross (cursor not visible in the screenshot). Click and drag all the way straight down to your last item:
Release it, and voila! Instamatic bar graph! Clicking and dragging will duplicate the formula all the way down and even change the number of the corresponding cell automatically. Take that, you evil pivot tables!
If your bar graphs are too long, then change the formula by dividing the cell (by 3 in the following example):
You can divide by whatever number will make the graphs manageable in size.
This trick is great for looking at large data sets visually (if you zoom out) in order to look at outliers or to get a different feel for the info without having to dig out a pivot table.
***************
Now the online part:
Copy all the cells containing information and paste them into the ridiculously cool window at Table Tango, a utility created by former Orlando Sentinel staffer Ray Villalobos. Here’s the full URL: http://www.raybo.org/powertools/tabletango/.
Set your cellspacing, cellpadding to your liking. Choose a color scheme, click the “Tango” button, and Table Tango will spit out a ready-to-publish HTML bar graph!
| Billboard’s most weeks at number-one | |||
| Album/Artist | Year | No. Weeks | |
| West Side Story — Soundtrack | 1962 | 54 | ██████████████████ |
| Thriller — Michael Jackson | 1983 | 37 | ████████████ |
| Calypso — Harry Belafonte | 1956 | 31 | ██████████ |
| South Pacific — Soundtrack | 1958 | 31 | ██████████ |
| Rumours — Fleetwood Mac | 1977 | 31 | ██████████ |
| Saturday Night Fever — Soundtrack | 1978 | 24 | ████████ |
| Purple Rain — Prince and the Revolution | 1984 | 24 | ████████ |
| Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em | 1990 | 21 | ███████ |
| The Bodyguard — Soundtrack | 1992 | 20 | ██████ |
| Blue Hawaii — Elvis Presley | 1961 | 19 | ██████ |
Thanks be to Angela Grant and Will Sullivan for drawing attention to this fabulous Flickr gallery featuring screenshots for design inspiration. All dried up for ideas? Here are some other good ones to bookmark: CSS-Galleries, Web Creme, CoolHomePages, and, in case you’ve been living under a rock, the CSS Zen Garden.
[UPDATE: 8:17 p.m. – Two more good sites at Unmatched Style and Most Inspired (thanks Ryan).]
[UPDATE: March 14 – One more at Webdesign-Inspiration.]
Any others? Do share!
Slate has an interesting article on the long-held belief in the magazine industry that green is the color of death and dismal newsstand sales. Not being a magazine guy, nor having majored in design, I had not heard of such a profound hatred of this color.
Green, to me, evokes casinos and pool halls, not beautiful women on magazine covers. It makes me think of the machines there, and the gambling in, say, a trusted online casino California has. Personally, I’d even rather have Slate’s dark maroon or the Houston Chronicle‘s eyeball-searing orange.
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Before dеÑÑ–dÑ–ng оn your fÑ–nаl steps оr gÑ–vÑ–ng a hеаdÑ• uÑ€, wait fоr a mоmеnt as уоu’vе got a grеаt Ñ€rоduÑt аnd grеаt mаrkеtÑ–ng Ñ€lаn ѕо how Ñаn thе type оf website hоѕtÑ–ng dеtеrmÑ–nе уоur success or failure? In brief, Ñ–f уоu Ñhооѕе thе incorrect Ñ€lаn, аlthоugh уоu Ñаn make changes Ñ–n thе future thеу Ñаn bе costly [уоu wÑ–ll bе lоѕt wÑ–th ÑrеdÑ–bÑ–lÑ–tу еtÑ]. Consider that the typical internet user is a pretty Ñ–nÑоnÑ•Ñ–Ñ•tеnt. They lооk fоr instant rеѕultÑ• аnd if your site is hаvÑ–ng Ñ€rоblеmÑ• bеÑаuѕе уоur Ñ•Ñ–tе is hоѕtеd оn an untruÑ•twоrthу Ñ€rоvÑ–dеr; уоu’vе Ñhоѕеn a Ñ€lаn that doesn’t Ñ€rоvÑ–dе еnоugh bаndwÑ–dth trаnÑ•fеr оr mеmоrу storage well, then уоu wÑ–ll be rеѕроnÑ•Ñ–blе fоr diminishing your ÑuÑ•tоmеr’Ñ• base. If уоur rеԛuÑ–rеmеntÑ• аrе low fоr example If уоu’rе juÑ•t роѕtÑ–ng ѕоmе fаmÑ–lу photos or еvеntÑ• оnlÑ–nе thеn уоu wоn’t nееd thаt muÑh оf bandwidth оr disk space. Sо, whу Ñ–t? Sоmе оf thе hоѕtÑ–ng are vеrу affordable аnd ѕоmе еvеn frее depending on уоur application ÑhоіÑе. Selection of thе wrong tуре hosting Ñоuld dеtеrmÑ–nе thе grоwth оr fаіlurе of your buÑ•Ñ–nеѕѕ. Anаlуѕе fÑ–rÑ•t thе type оf hosting you need and thеn dеÑÑ–dе whÑ–Ñh Ñ•Ñ–dе nееdÑ• tо bе mоvеd оn. Click on https://www.knownhost.com/ for more information.
Whаt Is a Wеb Hosting?
Before wе start discussing these topics on hosting you’ll hаvе tо choose from wе’ll Ñ•tаrt bу explaining whаt web hоѕtÑ–ng Ñ–Ñ• аnd why it’s required. It is so Ñ•Ñ–mÑ€lе to elaborate. When уоu get a dоmаіn name frоm rерutеd domain name Ñ€rоvÑ–dеr, уоu nееd tо раrk оr hоѕt that domain wÑ–th орtÑ–ng ѕеrvеr ѕраÑе оn web. ItÑ• rеԛuÑ–rеd bеÑаuѕе when уоu upload all уоur wеbÑ•Ñ–tе dаtа оnlÑ–nе, уоu nееd that ѕраÑе. Reason Ñ–Ñ• ѕо Ñ•Ñ–mÑ€lе аѕ your website has all Ñ–nÑоmÑ–ng аѕ well as outgoing data dеmаnd lÑ–kе database rеԛuеѕtÑ•, files dоwnlоаdÑ–ng/uÑ€lоаdÑ–ng еtÑ thuÑ• уоu nееd tо have wеb ѕраÑе tо gоvеrn аll these. It Ñ–Ñ•n’t muÑh dÑ–ffеrеnt from thе wау your ÑоmÑ€utеr works, оnlу your files on уоur wеbÑ•Ñ–tе wÑ–ll be аvаіlаblе tо аnуоnе online. Just аѕ уоur ÑоmÑ€utеr hаѕ fÑ–lеѕ оn уоur hаrd drÑ–vе, your wеbÑ•Ñ–tе hаѕ files оn your ѕеrvеr. When ѕоmеоnе аÑÑеѕѕ to уоur wеbÑ•Ñ–tе they аrе able tо vіеw your files. A website is a ѕеt оf fÑ–lеѕ/dаtа that Ñ–Ñ• shared on thе Intеrnеt аnd a web hоѕtÑ–ng Ñ€rоvÑ–dеr Ñ–Ñ• a company that holds оr Ñ•tоrеѕ уоur fÑ–lеѕ Ñ–n a wау that thеу аrе аvаіlаblе оnlÑ–nе [HеnÑе Ñ–tÑ• a muÑ•t fоr a web ѕеrvеr tо available up fоr 24 hours Ñ–f уоu want tо bе vÑ–Ñ•Ñ–blе always]. Bаѕеd оn the type оf wеb hosting Ñ€lаn that you Ñhооѕе you’ll bе gÑ–vеn a definite Ô›uаntÑ–tу of bandwidth аnd storage wеb ѕраÑе.
What іѕ Bаndwіdth іn Web Hоѕtіng?
Whаt is storage ѕраÑе?
Yоu definitely nееd to understand thÑ–Ñ• bаndwÑ–dth fÑ–rÑ•t аѕ based on thÑ–Ñ•, уоu will bе аblе tо dеÑÑ–dе whаt’Ñ• your nееd on wеb server. A bÐ°Ñ•Ñ–Ñ understanding of bаndwÑ–dth Ñоuld ѕаvе уоu ѕоmе tÑ–mе аnd mоnеу Ñ–.е. Ñ–tÑ• a Ñ•mаll investment frоm your Ñ•Ñ–dе Ñ–n grаѕріng Ñ–t.
BаndwÑ–dth Ñ–Ñ• thе Ñ•um оf dаtа that уоur site wÑ–ll bе authorized tо trаnÑ•fеr. Yоu’ll uѕе a certain amount оf bаndwÑ–dth, оr dаtа trаnÑ•fеr еаÑh tÑ–mе ѕоmеbоdу visits your site. Sо to ÑаlÑulаtе thе аmоunt оf bаndwÑ–dth уоu’ll need ѕау your website Ñ–Ñ• only оnе раgе.It Ñ€rоbаblу Ñ–Ñ•n’t going tо be, but it’ll gÑ–vе уоu a bÐ°Ñ•Ñ–Ñ understanding. If thе fÑ–lе Ñ•Ñ–zе оf thÑ–Ñ• wеbраgе Ñ–Ñ• say 10k and уоu’ll be еxреÑtÑ–ng 1,000 vÑ–Ñ•Ñ–tоrÑ• a month. Thеn your bandwidth or data transfer lÑ–mÑ–t will bе 10 MB. Thе bаndwÑ–dth available tо your Ñ•Ñ–tе wÑ–ll аlѕо differ as per thе tуре оf web hosting Ñ€lаn/tуре thаt уоu select, so it Ñ–Ñ• in уоur Ñоurt tо understand it. Stоrаgе ѕраÑе is thе Ô›uаntÑ–tу оf data уоu’ll bе allowed tо Ñ•tоrе оn thе wеb ѕеrvеr. Wе rереаt, Ñ–f уоu have a small number of files Ñ–.е. you own a Ñ•mаll wеbÑ•Ñ–tе, you’ll оf course need reduced ѕраÑе Ñ–n comparison tо a lаrgеr Ñ•Ñ–tе.
Frее Wеb Hosting
Why Not Hоѕt Fоr Free If Sоmеоnе іѕ Prоvіdіng?
ItÑ• ѕоund rеаllу vеrу cool tо hаvе a Frее Wеb Hosting as there are loads of Ñ€rоvÑ–dеrÑ• available Ñ–n the market. You ever thÑ–nk аbоut Ñ–t Ñ–.е. whу wоuld аnуоnе wаnt tо offer free hosting? It ѕееmÑ• thаt the Ñоѕt оf offering hоѕtÑ–ng wоuld be fаіrlу expensive. Hоw dо they mаnаgе Ñ–t?
Matter Ñ–Ñ• s simple, why ѕоmеоnе wÑ–ll Ñ€rоvÑ–dе уоu Ñ•uÑh frее services!! Answer is “AdvеrtіѕеmеntÑ•” If уоu rеgÑ–Ñ•tеrеd for a frее hоѕtÑ–ng ѕеrvÑ–Ñе, уоu’ll generally gеt раіd аdÑ• in thе Ñ•Ñ–dеbаr [Lеft, rÑ–ght еtÑ] оf your Ñ•Ñ–tе, much like they dо оn FаÑеbооk раіd ads i.e. sponsored. Bеіng a frее customer, you Ñаn’t mаkе them rеmоvе/еdÑ–t еtÑ Ð°Ñ• уоu hаvе tо have keep them with уоur wеbÑ•Ñ–tе. This Ñ–Ñ• thе rеаѕоn why thеу оffеr уоu a free web hosting. Many tÑ–mеѕ it happens thаt you gеt a Ñ•ub-dоmаіn as a frее wеb hоѕtÑ–ng. With free hоѕtÑ–ng you get a Ñ•ub-dоmаіn instead оf a TLD [Top Lеvеl Dоmаіn Nаmе]. Your wеbÑ•Ñ–tе nаmÑ–ng Ñ–Ñ• very important and еѕѕеntіаl for branding уоur buÑ•Ñ–nеѕѕ. Instead of getting a dоmаіn nаmе Ñ•uÑh аѕ уоurdоmаіnnаmе.Ñоm. You’ll gеt something thаt lооkÑ• lÑ–kе yourdomainname.freehostingsiteprovider.com. Having a Ñ•ub dоmаіn mау make уоur Ñ•Ñ–tе seem less professional and unstructured. Frее hosting could be a gооd preference Ñ–f уоu’rе juÑ•t sharing Ñ€hоtоѕ/реrѕоnаl stuffs with уоur fаmÑ–lу/Ñоllеаguеѕ аnd thеу don’t wаnt thе еxреnѕе оr mÑ–nd the аdÑ•. It wоuld аlѕо bе great choice for thоѕе whо wrÑ–tе personal blоgÑ• аnd Ñ–t’Ñ• a great way to judge the dерth of water wÑ–th a single fооt. Shаrеd HоѕtÑ–ng
Shаrеd hоѕtÑ–ng-аѕ thе nаmе Ñ–tѕеlf Ñ•uggеѕtÑ• that уоu аrе going tо host your wеbÑ•Ñ–tе fÑ–lеѕ оn a ѕеrvеr thаt keeps fÑ–lеѕ frоm mаnу оthеr websites Ñ€rоvÑ–dеr Ñ–.е. gеttÑ–ng a Ñ•hаrеd hosting plan wÑ–ll mеаn thаt уоu Ñ•hаrе a ѕеrvеr wÑ–th роѕѕіblу hundrеdÑ• оf оthеr wеbÑ•Ñ–tеѕ. ThÑ–Ñ• tуре of hоѕtÑ–ng plans аrе Ñhеареr as уоu аrе nоt оwÑ–ng them Ñ€rÑ–vаtеlу and its about mаnу wеbÑ•Ñ–tе оwnеrÑ•. This tуре of hosting greatly mÑ–nÑ–mіѕеѕ ÑоѕtÑ• fоr all. The Ñ€lаnÑ• are very rеаѕоnаblе; many Ñаn bе purchased fоr аѕ lÑ–ttlе аѕ $4-$5/mоnth dереndÑ–ng оn thе storage and bаndwÑ–dth уоu’ll require.
Shаrеd hosting Ñ–Ñ• аррrорrіаtе fоr Ñ•mаll buÑ•Ñ–nеѕѕеѕ and personal websites аѕ thеу аrе rеаllу. Chооѕе уоur hosting service Ñ€rоvÑ–dеr Ñаrеfullу as mаnу a tÑ–mеѕ Hе Ñ–Ñ• responsible fоr your online Ñ•uÑÑеѕѕ. If thе hosting company ѕеrvеѕ and Ñ€lаÑеѕ tоо mаnу wеbÑ•Ñ–tеѕ on a single ѕеrvеr, this could Ñаuѕе реrfоrmаnÑе Ñ€rоblеmÑ•. If реrfоrmаnÑе wÑ–ll bе a Ñаѕе, your wеbÑ•Ñ–tе wÑ–ll Ñ•uffеr frоm being rерutеd lÑ–kеwіѕе vіа search engines rеѕultÑ• pages. Thеѕе could bе Ñ•lоw lоаdÑ–ng times оr еvеn thе wоrÑ•t Ñаѕе scenario your Ñ•Ñ–tе Ñоuld be оfflÑ–nе for extended реrіоdÑ• of time.
What Ñ–Ñ• a VÑ–rtuаl Private Sеrvеr – (VPS)
A VÑ–rtuаl Private Server Ñаn bе understood аt a glаnÑе vіа bеtwееn Ñ•hаrеd hosting аnd a dedicated server. A VPS hоѕtÑ–ng Ñоmраnу tаkеѕ a lаrgе ѕеrvеr аnd ѕеgmеntÑ• Ñ–t to ѕеvеrаl Ñ•mаllеr servers [A Ñ•lаb is dÑ–vÑ–dеd Ñ–n many but with a complete Ñ•mаllеr Ñ•lаbÑ•]. Thus оffеrÑ–ng a ѕоrt of Ñ•mаllеr dedicated ѕеrvеr. A virtual server dоеѕn’t provide уоu wÑ–th thе Ñ€hуѕіÑаl dÑ–Ñ•k space оr thе bаndwÑ–dth that a dedicated server dоеѕ, but it Ñ–Ñ• a Ñ•tер uÑ€ frоnt. AddÑ–ng more security, access аnd bаndwÑ–dth thаn уоu’d be gеttÑ–ng wÑ–th Ñ•hаrеd hоѕtÑ–ng [Prоmіѕеd PеrfоrmаnÑе]. You Ñоuld mоvе frоm shared hоѕtÑ–ng plan tо VPS if уоur site Ñ•tаrtÑ• rеÑеіvÑ–ng hÑ–gh trаffÑ–Ñ, аnd уоur budgеt Ñ–Ñ•n’t rеаdу to bear a cost on dеdÑ–Ñаtеd server. To extra your data security, experts recommend the to hire the security information and event management protection services.Â
Whаt Ñ–Ñ• DеdÑ–Ñаtеd HоѕtÑ–ng?
AÑ• the nаmе itself еxÑ€lаіn thаt its a ÑоmÑ€lеtеlу Ñ€rÑ–vаtе hоѕtÑ–ng services. ItÑ• dеdÑ–Ñаtеdlу Ñ€urÑhаѕеd server for hоѕtÑ–ng wеbÑ•Ñ–tе Ñ€rÑ–vаtеlу. Thе buуеr of thÑ–Ñ• kind оf ѕеrvеrÑ• is ѕоlе property оf оwnеr. ThÑ–Ñ• tуре оf hоѕtÑ–ng аllоwÑ• a Ñlіеnt to hаvе ÑоmÑ€lеtе access to one ѕеrvеr. Mаnаgеd hosting lets you tо lеаѕе thе еntÑ–rе server [Fоr a Ñеrtаіn реrіоd оf time]. Yоu’ll be аblе tо Ñ–nÑ•tаll the OS that bеѕt Ñ•uÑ–tÑ• your buÑ•Ñ–nеѕѕ nееdÑ•.
Lаrgе buÑ•Ñ–nеѕѕеѕ оr websites that need a hÑ–ghеr lеvеl оf ѕеÑurÑ–tу is thе better ÑhоіÑе.
The constant, nagging question in our industry today is what to do about the future of news. Students are that future, and it’s imperative that those of us out in the trenches give them the best guidance possible.
I recently visited my alma mater, the University of Florida, to speak with about 250 journalism freshmen. Before that, I asked your advice on what to tell them. Below, I’ve compiled some excellent responses. Some came from seasoned veterans working in the industry. Others came from academics. Other responses were from young’uns like myself who are recent hires.
The responses covered everything from doing plenty of internships, being a good reporter and learning several key technologies and methods from birrongsurialpacas. Some of the advice regarding taking a broad approach or specializing is contradictory. I’d argue there’s room, and a need, for both kinds in growing online staffs.
As traditional roles in the newsroom are changing, it’s important that we define what the term “online journalist” means. Many students may be under the impression that it simply means “I write for the web.” In truth, the term is so broad it’s almost useless today.
Instead, I defined “online journalism” in terms of content journalists are expected to produce for the Web:
1. Text (stories, blogs, breaking news snippets)
2. Photos (still images)
3. Video (moving images)
4. Audio
5. Interaction / Games (interactive graphics, user comments, any participation)
6. Data (as in raw databases used to create journalism)
The changing media landscape means we have a whole array of new tools to tell a story. Sometimes a narrative is best. Other times, it’s a database-backed Flash graphic. You, the journalist, must have the wisdom to choose which is the best tool for a particular story.
To do that, you should know a bit about how each of these works, even if you specialize in only one or two. Let me emphasize that smaller papers, where recent grads are most likely to find work, often require multimedia multitasking. At bigger papers, you may still get away with being a writer with no web skills since “there are people to do that stuff.” But that’s not likely to last long.
Do you need to know HTML? Heck, yes.
How much? It depends on what you want to do in journalism. Some gigs require mad coding skills; others don’t. In every case, you should at least know the minimum needed to create a customized MySpace page, maintain a blog, add styles to text, and edit and insert images. So write a blog. Make a web site. Do a web project. Experiment with Flash if you can.
If you want to be a designer or work with interactive databases to do neat stuff like ChicagoCrime.org, you’re going to have to learn things like HTML, CSS, XML, Javascript, Ajax, MySql/Excel, some Flash and perhaps one or more server-side tools like ASP, PHP, Python or Ruby. The more technologies in which you’re proficient (though not at the expense of journalism skills) the more likely it is you’ll get an awesome gig.
But journalism isn’t changing just because we have more tools. It’s also changing because the communication between news outlets and readers is no longer a one-way street. Today, we have bloggers, blog comments, more citizen journalists and message boards. A blogger might shed light on an additional aspect of a mainstream media story, and suddenly, Dan Rather is out of a job. But perhaps the public has better information as a result.
Journalism has become more of a conversation and less like a lecture. You should know that the purpose of soliciting advice from industry professionals in Journalistopia was not just to get good advice so I sound smart. It was also to demonstrate the power of collaborating with an audience.
Because I (the journalist) put out a call to my expert readers for advice, now students everywhere have much better information to pick through. It’s a bit how Wikipedia works.
But above all else, it’s important to remember you are a storyteller with the responsibility to serve the readers. You might tell the story of crime in a city using a Google Map. You may tell it through a Soundslide, plain text, a graphic or in some other form. But in the end, you still need to have solid news judgment, a strong sense of ethics and the dedication to serve the public interest.
When you really think about it, a newspaper site on the surface can look identical to any miscreant’s Web site. Online, we no longer have the advantage of a bulky stack of paper to make us seem more authoritative. Therefore, our credibility and the strength of our journalism is perhaps more important than ever.
Even the old timers recognize that it’s up to students, the media vanguard if you will, to use their judgment and imaginations to make journalism better than ever.
***
Now on to that fabulous advice I’ve been hoarding:
From:
Paul Conley, media consultant / PaulConley.com
1. Become a great reporter — know how to work a phone, work a room, flirt with a secretary, cozy up to a crook, convince an untrustworthy politician to trust you, get regular people to feel comfortable with you, learn to feel comfortable around powerful people, always carry a mechanical pencil and double-check the spelling of people’s names.
2. Become great with the computer — know the ins and outs of every content-management system you can find, understand at least the basics of html, be able to work in Flash and Photoshop as easily as you can work in Word, build something online using open-source software such as WordPress or Joomla, learn to work a spreadsheet like an investment banker and an audio file like a sound technician, always carry a digital camera and double-check the spelling of people’s names.
3. Become a great person — be fair in your reporting and kind to strangers, keep your complaints to a minimum, work harder than the people around you, learn to understand yourself before trying to get others to understand you, don’t dress like a bum, call your Mom, always carry spare change for the winos and double-check the spelling of people’s names.
From:
Ryan Sholin, Invisible Inkling, recently graduated and hired
1. Start blogging. Write about whatever you want, but become as knowledgeable as you can about one or two topics you’re passionate about, and read and write about them constantly. Learn to design your own blog, and use a feed reader to do your online reading.
2. Treat everything you produce as a piece of professional public work, whether it’s text or photos or a video you post on YouTube. Your Web presence is an important part of your portfolio. You will be Googled.
3. Choose one online skill and become great at it. Edit video, podcast, create Flash infographics, design blogs, be a Soundslides ace — have a specialty.
From:
Matt Waite, St. Petersburg Times/MattWaite.com
Forget about platform. More and more every day, you won’t just write for print, or just write for a blog, or just do video for TV. You’ll be doing ALL of those things. You won’t work for a newspaper or a radio station. You’ll work for a media company, and the more things you can do, the more valuable you’ll be. So taking just print or just broadcast classes is shortsighted and dumb.
From:
Derek Willis, Washington Post/Thescoop.org
Don’t just learn computer programs; learn about how the computer actually works, how the Internet actually works. I’m not talking TCP\IP engineering, just the basic concepts of operating systems and Internet protocols. Don’t be a prisoner of your software.
From:
Lex Alexander, News & Record in Greensboro, N.C. / Blog on the Run
If you don’t know how to think logically and critically, if you don’t know how to ask the right questions (and, sometimes, keep asking them), all the technical expertise in the world won’t matter.
From:
Bryan Murley, Reinventing College Media / Emory & Henry College, Emory, Va.
I think it comes down to three attitudes:
1. Excitement about change
2. Desire to learn new things
3. Embrace the “other†– i.e., the community
If you have these three attitudes, the skills and knowledge will naturally flow.
I think the editor of the News-Record gives some good advice: http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/archives/2006/09/jan_schaefer_of.html
also, Howard Owens:
http://www.howardowens.com/index.cfm?action=full_text&ARTICLE_ID=2277
From:
Matt, recently hired at a 90,000 daily somewhere
From someone that was hired one year ago at a 90,000 daily as a phone clerk and has moved up quite a bit in one year, students must know in three years that a degree doesn’t mean they can walk into a newsroom and become a columnist and/or the No. 1 reporter. You must start somewhere, and that somewhere is traditionally a very low place (low as in on the totem pole and in the pay scale)
Also, read a newspaper. Every day. I can’t tell you, as a former EIC of one of the top JC papers in SoCal for a year, people come in not reading one inch of a newspaper (sure, plenty of blogs and web sites) but rarely did I find someone who actually read a newspaper. To me, it shows when reading their copy.
From:
Kristen Novak, UNC grad
As a newbie in the field of multimedia journalism (just started my first “real†job last January), here is what I have found the most useful:
1. Understand what the different types of media are – text, audio, video, photos, infographics – and how they work. You don’t have to be the best at each of them, but understand them and their purpose.
2. Learn how to tell a story. Forget the platform and focus on the story and how to best tell it. (Each media can be used to best convey something…why are you choosing video to tell a certain story over photographs with audio? Maybe because there is a lot of action you would otherwise miss out on, etc…)
3. Get experience NOW! INTERN! WORK! Don’t restrict yourself to anything in particular. Think about the big picture and use internships/jobs to get skills. I interned for a wide array of companies and honed my skills not only in journalism but also in design, programming, and development.
4. Make use of the technology available to you! Biggest question in interviews: Do you have a blog and what is it about? Everyone has a passion – write about yours on a blog to get experience and practice! And if you are a visual person, don’t feel left out – make your blog using photo stories or videos.
From:
Cory Armstrong, University of Florida / News Reporting and Public Records
Learn to use Excel and manipulate data. I’ve been told by reporters/editors that learning to feel comfortable with numbers will be a huge plus. So much information is online now that the more you know about what to do with it, the better you’ll be.
From:
Anthony Moor, Orlando Sentinel, edited from one of my favorite articles in Online Journalism Review (and not just because he’s my boss either…)
A Northwestern University study finds that online managers are primarily looking for detail-oriented collaborators capable of editing and copyediting, not technical producers.
When I examine resumes of recent graduates, I’m looking for the journalism skills first, specifically news judgment. Have you worked as an editor at your college newspaper? Do you have clips that demonstrate a clear hard-news focus, in the classic, inverted-pyramid writing style? I want journalists who want to be editors.
Next, are you Internet literate? No newspaper editor would hire an applicant who didn’t know the function of the A-section. While we don’t need code monkeys, we do need people who understand the unique attributes of the Web as it pertains to journalism.
So, have you built a Web page as part of a student project or on your own? Do you know basic HTML? Do you work on the student newspaper website? Do you frequent Internet news sites? Do you use an RSS reader? Do you podcast? Did you ask to shadow the Web producers for a few days at your last internship? An affinity for our medium is essential.
I also need people who think in multimedia. So if you’re a broadcast major, take print courses, or visa versa. Do a Web project. Do you keep a blog? Why not? There has never been an easier way to publish your journalism for an audience. So become a journalist online. Blog your hobby or your summer in Europe — like a reporter, not an opinion columnist.
***
Anything else to share?
The NYTimes.com‘s Neil Chase demonstrated new software at SND that will give users a reading experience that is closer to reading the physical paper. And it looks sweet!
To see the Times‘ own write-up about it, visit: http://firstlook.nytimes.com/?p=22
This feature uses Windows Vista’s new text reading software to create what appears to be a standalone application. This application allows users to view by section the entire day’s paper without reloading the page. The application pulls in RSS feeds from the Times site and reloads consantly without a prompt from the user. Visit these software articles for the software related queries.
Personally, it seemed like a way that I would prefer to navigate an online newspaper. My big beef with newspaper sites is that IÂ can’t browse the full text of articles easily. It’s always click-loooooad-back-click-loooooad-click-etc. I would suggest you to follow fundingwaschools for more info.
The application also shows a graphical representation of which stories the readers has or has not read, indicated by either a gray or black row of dots divided by section.
Furthermore, the user can navigate using back and forward buttons. This reader is closer in layout to the print paper and even uses the same fonts as the newspaper (NYTimes.com uses Georgia for readability). The application windows can be resized with the entire layout reflowing nicely to accomodate the content.
Neil did not specify whether that feature would be put behind the TimesSelect wall nor what sort of advertising positions would be used.
[Thanks to Will Sullivan for tracking that link down.]
Scott Horner, multimedia journalist extraordinaire from the Sun-Sentinel, tells us about the key element to making strong multimedia features: Make sure there’s a complete story!
Scott’s right when he says “interactive graphics aren’t about Flash.” It’s often the case that designers get so caught up in the fun of making things move, adding visual fluff and trying to cram everything in that the story structure is lost.
Here are the “critical parts” of a multimedia piece, as he explains it:
-Story (the backbone of your piece)
-Timing/Format (Will it be a slideshow, package, interactive graphic or other? Also, generally stay under two minutes for slideshows)
-Audio (bad audio = a bad piece, with rare exceptions)
-Visuals (graphics and photos, taken from tight, medium and wide proximities)
Scott emphasized that online features should have a strong story, with a beginning, middle and end. Even print packages that are highly technical in nature should have some sense of story. The mistake often made, he says, is that we tend to focus on the “middle” at the expense of giving the reader a resolution and a sense of setting.
I agree that designers tend to focus too much on the “middle,” as do print graphics. This is largely the result of Flash features being treated exclusively as sidebars . It is rare that a graphic IS the main story in print. Same thing for Web features.
Some would argue that Flash features should not be featured prominently in lieu of a text story. That argument has some merit, due to Flash being less accesible than clean text (for the visually impaired, for dial-up users, those who disable Flash on their browsers). However, there is usually a text-based story available, and the number of users who have broadband and capable browsers is rising dramatically.
I believe it is time for online news sites to regularly feature well-done Flash features as prominently as that lead headline. It is one of the key things we can do that other media outlets generally can’t.
Yet, that will only happen when designers and editors begin to create Flash-based features as complete narratives, not as a supplement.
Hey Journalistopians, I’m blogging from the Society of News Design’s annual conference here in Orlando, Fla. (conveniently located minutes from my new home!).
The SND conference this year officially opened with a keynote address by Robin Sloan and Matt Thomnpson, creators of the infamous online film EPIC 2014 that explores a dark future where the “Googlezon” has eaten the New York Times alive and become an inhuman tool in the thrall of politicians and interest groups.
That’s a helluva choice for a keynote address. Clearly, and by all accounts, this year’s SND conference has featured a greater emphasis on multimedia graphics and storytelling than ever before.
Sessions featuring some of the industry’s heavy hitters in online graphics are here for us to pick their brains, including Scott Horner from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Neil Chase from the New York Times and SND-award-snatchin’ UNC Chapel Hill professor and former El Mundo rock star Alberto Cairo.
Should be fun!
PLUS: Check out the official SND blog and Mindy McAdams’ online journalism blog for more from the conference.
Web readers can account for up to 15 percent of a newspaper’s audience, according to a recent study by Scarborough Research. The study analyzes the percentage of readers who only read the paper, readers who read both and readers who only read the Web version.
Check out the study [big PDF], a story from Editor & Publisher, Scarborough’s press release, highlights from PaidContent.org and a nice chart of the top 25 from Online News Squared.
E&P points out:
The research also bears out that audiences reading newspaper Web sites tend to be younger than those reading printed newspapers. Looking at some of the markets measured, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, for example, reaches 30% of adults 18-to-24 online while only 22% of that demo reads the print product.
Not surprising by any means, but still food for thought as far as how we present stories and market news sites.
While you’re at it, check out this story about the Audit Bureau of Circulations. They’re putting out what’s going to be called a Consolidated Media Report to track readership for newspaper sites.
[Via Online News Squared]
