Practicing Convergence Journalism

Interviews

Rob Curley, digital media chief for Greenspun Media Group and the Las Vegas Sun in 2011, explains how audience news demands are still focused on relevant, “serious” news.

Cara McCoy, who was withlasvegassun.com in 2011, comments on how good writing and acceptance of new tools are important attributes for practicing convergence journalism.

Michael Squires, political editor for the Las Vegas Sun and lasvegassun.com, discusses how reporters produce fast and immediate news reports as well as longer, more contextual news.

Michael Squires, political editor for the Las Vegas Sun and lasvegassun.com, discusses how he thinks about stories and their fit depending on the medium and what the audience might want.

Rich Coleman, who reported on crime and police for the Las Vegas Sun in 2011, outlined how audience reaction to one story led to determining that people would be interested in more stories on the subject.

Assignments

1. Cover a speech or meeting news event available on your news/beat calendar and plot out the elements you might need to capture in your reporting. Can you gather information beforehand to make a simple graphic or chart (bar graph, pie chart, or a fever chart marking change over time)? After the event, put together an online story of 300–400 words that includes at least 1 visual (picture, graphic).
2. Take the same speech or meeting news event available on your news/beat calendar or cover a new one and put together a short audio package. Choose 2–3 pieces of audio/soundbites and script a 1:30 audio report. Remember that the audio has to be clear enough that it requires no extra effort (no turning up the volume or leaning in) to understand it.
3. Cover a feature news event and put together a 1:30 video package. Develop enough background and other information to put the video together with text for an online report that provides background and context for your online audience.
4. Identify three story topics that you think can be developed into a small multimedia reporting project in your beat or area of interest. Write a focus statement for each story and identify three different multimedia forms that could be developed for the project. Think of graphics (maps, charts, graphs), visuals (photos, video, interview clips, slideshows), audio, and text. Identify what you will deliver to your audience in terms of information by your media choices.

Links

Links to examples of audio and multimedia stories

Deficit ceiling talks breaking down
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/23/138635437/obama-calls-urgent-meeting-on-debt-ceiling

The week in pictures: April 29–May 5 [slideshow]
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/05/06/us/politics/0506wip.html?ref=multimedia

US foils terrorist plot to target airplane [podcast]
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152213284/u-s-foils-terrorist-plot-to-target-airplane

Links to stories and websites about using multimedia elements in stories

PBS’s Mediashift
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/

What digital skills do journalists really need?
http://www.poynter.org/chats/career-chats/93912/what-digital-skills-do-journalists-really-need/

The transition to digital journalism
http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/digital-transform/multimedia-storytelling/

Multimedia storytelling
http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/starttofinish/choose/

Multimedia storytelling: A roadmap
http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/visual-voice/23155/multimedia-storytelling-a-roadmap/

The importance of words in multimedia storytelling
http://www.niemanstoryboard.org/2010/04/21/the-importance-of-words-in-multimedia-storytelling/

Magazines need to embrace multimedia storytelling in digital age
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/08/magazines-need-to-embrace-multimedia-storytelling-in-digital-age239.html

5 types of photos that make for strong photo essays, audio slideshows
http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/visual-voice/171050/5-types-of-photos-that-make-for-strong-photo-essays-audio-slideshows/

Reporting live from the scene of breaking news … on an iPhone
http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/05/reporting-live-from-the-scene-of-breaking-news-on-an-iphone/

Hitting the right note when news sites mix music and journalism
http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/03/hitting-the-right-note-when-news-sites-mix-music-and-journalism/

Figuring out when, and how, journalists should use audio slideshows
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/als-morning-meeting/93703/figuring-out-when-and-how-journalists-should-use-audio-slideshows/

Sources

The Best of Photojournalism. (2011). Retrieved July 29, 2011, from nppa.org: http://bop.nppa.org/2011/web_sites/rules/#audio-slideshows.

Fisher, D. (2011, May 30). Shirley, give me rewrite. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://commonsensej.blogspot.com: http://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2011/05/shirley-get-me-rewrite.html.

Gahran, A. (2011, June 2). The Lego approach to storytelling. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from knightdigitalmediacenter.org: http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/leadership_blog/comments/20110602_the_lego_approach_to_storytelling/.

Glick, J. (2011, June 1). The news article is breaking up. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from businessinsider.com: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-06-01/tech/30012061_1_mobile-technology-formats-nuggets.

Hermida, A. (2008, October 27). Learning how to make multimedia story decisions. Retrieved July 26, 2011, from pbs.org/mediashift: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/10/learning-how-to-make-multimedia-story-decisions301.html.

Ingram, M. (2011, May 29). No, Twitter is not a replacement for journalism. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from gigaOM.com: http://gigaom.com/2011/05/29/no-twitter-is-not-a-replacement-for-journalism/.

Jarvis, J. (2011, May 28). The article as luxury or byproduct. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from buzzmachine.com: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2011/05/28/the-article-as-luxury-or-byproduct/.

Marsh, K. (2009). The death of the story. The Future of Journalism (pp. 70–88). London: CoJo Publications.

Marsh, K. (2010, March 19). In praise of the audio slideshow. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from BBC College of Journalism blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/journalism/blog/2010/03/in-praise-of-the-audio-slidesh.shtml.

Stern, R. (n.d.). Making good audio slideshows. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from Convergence Journalism at the University of Missouri: http://174.37.47.227/~converge/wordpress/?p=1842.

Tompkins, A. (2009, January 19). Figuring out when, and how, journalists should use audio slideshows. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from poynter.org: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/als-morning-meeting/93703/figuring-out-when-and-how-journalists-should-use-audio-slideshows/.

Walters, P. (2007, January 9). Photos, audio and the (glorious) struggle to combine them. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from poynter.org: http://www.poynter.org/archived/about-the-job/80101/photos-audio-and-the-glorious-struggle-to-combine-them/.