Making the switch

Ok, ok, I've given in. I'm making the switch to WordPress. Bookmark me over at:

http://newmediamobtown.wordpress.com

I'll keep this site around, though, so I can still post Daily Show clips I can use in class.

J-students: Haven't gotten an iPhone yet?Check out what you could be doing with it

Down in South Florida at WFOR CBS, producer Gio Benetiz shot an entire broadcast story on his new video-capable iPhone. I haven't upgraded yet, so I'm not ready for that challenge. But here are a few apps that I'm loving right now. From the top, left:

Google (free) This app makes it easy to search from your iPhone. You can either type or speak your query. Also, it's easy to access Reader, Gmail, Docs and other Google services using this app.

Vlingo (free) I just started using this app, but it seems to take Google's voice recognition to the next level. In addition to search queries, say an address and Vlingo will map it, speak a name and Vlingo will call it. You can even verbally update your Facebook and Twitter status updates.

Facebook (free) A mobile interface for Facebook that performs most of the basic Facebook functions: upload photos, view and change status updates, etc.

TweetDeck (free) I am loving TweetDeck. I use it on my work PC, my home Mac and on the iPhone. It syncs my account in all three places so that I can access all of my saved searches and groups. Definitely makes tracking Twitter much easier.

NYT Mobile (free) This isn't an app, it's a bookmark of the Times' mobile website. I haven't had a lot of luck with the NY Times mobile app. I've had repeated crashes, and updating seems to take forever. I find the mobile website updates quickly and features much more content than I found on the app.

ESPN ScoreCenter (free) I love this app, and I'm not even that much of a sports fan. (I follow the Ravens and the O's, but that's about it.) You set your favorite sports and favorite teams, and all the information you want is right at your fingertips. Not only do I see today's Orioles score and tomorrow's gametime, but I can quickly access game reviews, previews and stats. This is probably one of the best-working news apps I've found. If only they had a page for the Tour de France.

Zagat to go '09 ($9.99) This is the most I've ever spent on an app--the majority cost about a buck. But my boyfriend and I are very picky about restaurants, and we weren't finding Baltimore restaurants we liked. Like the book, the app rates restaurants on a 30-point scale and provides reviews that highlight the food, cuisine and cost. It uses the iPhone's GPS to find restaurants nearby for the 45 or so regions that Zagat covers. I feel like I've bought 45 guides all for $10.

Photogene ($2.99) Baltimore Sun reporter Gus Sentementes recommended this app, and all I can say is, wow. You can crop, tone, resize, sharpen and do tons of other photo-editing tasks right from your phone. It's amazing.

Instapaper (There's a free version and a $4.99 upgrade) This app installs a "read later" button to your browser. When you come across an article on the web you don't have time to read, just click it. The article is bookmarked to your iPhone and is easy to access.

Remote (free) We had fun playing with this on Juy 4. Do you play music for parties from iTunes? If so, your guests can download this app and vote for which song in your library will get played next.

WordPress (free) Still playing with this one, but it should make it easier to write blogposts and upload photos from the iPhone.

VR+ Lite (free) Still playing with this one. The new iPhone software update allows you to record audio and voice memos and then email them. VR Lite does that too, but will also upload to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Blogger.

AudioBoo (free) Another one I'm still playing with. AudioBoo allows you to record up to three minutes of audio as an mp3. It lets you add titles, text, geolocation tags and a photo. You can then save it to your AudioBoo account and share/link it from there. Should be a great way to save server space on your Towson Tiger account.

12seconds (free) This one is also on my experimentation list. This allows you to create a short slideshow with your iPhone. Take three photos and record 12 seconds of audio, and this app will upload it to your account and update Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and your blog.

Scrabble ($4.99) and the NY Times Crossword ($5.99) Because word games make you smarter. Ok, I don't know that for sure. But it seems to me they enlarge your vocabulary and basic knowledge base. The Scrabble app includes an iPhone/Facebook interface, and my boyfriend and I use it a lot. We always have a running Scrabble game. He plays on Facebook, I play on my iPhone and we make about a move a day. The NY Times Crossword allows you to play the actual crossword published in today's newspaper, or any of about 4,000 past puzzles you choose. (So far, I'm working through all the Mondays in 2009--the easiest puzzle of the week. My solve time has gone down from about 36 minutes to about 20 minutes. It's not Wordplay quality, but hey, it's progress!)

One I didn't have space to add to the picture
The Associated Press (free) Great little app that feeds you the most recent AP wire stories and even pushes news notifications to your iPhone. When Michael Jackson died and the AP moved it over the wires, my iPhone received notification in just a matter of minutes.

Speaking of the AP
Over on Twitter, @apstylebook states:

@DrSpaulding We are working on a mobile version of the Stylebook. Stay tuned for more details later this summer.

How great would that be?

Want a job as a blogger someday?

Then take a peek at Mashable's job application. Don't even apply if you haven't worked for a Technorati Top 100 blog, or if you don't have 500 followers on Twitter.

Also, forget sending clips and resumes. Mashable wants you to describe yourself in 100 words and send three links to your online writing.

And of course, they want to see your Facebook page.

The news hole

• There's a few new online resources for student journalists. The YouTube Reporter's Center channel bills itself as a resource to help citizens learn how to report the news. The channel features videos like how to conduct interviews and spot stories. And Reuter's has published its Handbook of Journalism. The handbook includes guides to style, operations and journalistic values.

• Here's something I plan to blog about soon: how to use your iPhone for reporting.
  

• Should a social media editor be a social media user? That's the question Mashable asks today. It appears the NY Times' new social media editor, Jennifer Preston, hasn't tweeted in over a month. From the looks of her page just now (noon on July 9) she's taken the hint.

Update: One of my favorite blogs has weighed in on Preston's use of Twitter. Using social media is a key to understanding it

B journalist discusses blogs, the future of news

Here's a summer rerun for you, folks.

Towson grad and B writer Matt Vensel spoke to my Writing for New Media class last February. A few weeks before class, I asked students to write questions for him to answer as a guest blogger on this website. I'm republishing the questions, and his answers, here today as an example for my Journalism & New Media I students.

Their assignment: to find a local journalist on Twitter to interview about the future of journalism and how students should prepare. I'm looking forward to highlighting some of their work here next week.

Now, on to the show:


Are we getting journalism degrees in vain? How useful are the skills you learned in j-school, or can anyone become a blogger/journalist today?

No, you are not doing this is vain. A lot of people say that this is a dying industry, but I disagree. It’s survival of the fittest right now. There are jobs out there for skilled people who are enthusiastic about journalism and willing to adapt to changes in the industry.

Jobs are scarce in the industry right now (the recession has a lot to do with that), but newspapers are looking for people who are versatile and tech-savvy. They want people who can write traditional news stories, blog, do podcasts, do video for the web, etc. Classes like this one teach you to do all of that.

The best thing you can do right now is to make a point to do as much as possible. Write for the Towerlight. Make your own blog (and take it seriously). Get internships. Try to freelance. Get experience with digital audio and video. And be prepared to cover things you’re not all that interested in. Being versatile is so important. I can’t stress that enough.

How much news do you get from blogs, both personally and professionally?

I'd say that I get about 98 percent of my news on the Internet, through both traditional web sites and blogs. I'm not a big TV guy, and the information you get in newspapers is always slightly dated. Nothing beats the web.

When I'm surfing the web, I check traditional web sites like ESPN.com and BaltimoreSun.com to find out what's going on. Then I'll check out blogs to see what people are saying about the news. Some bloggers are insiders and can give information on the topic you won't get elsewhere. Other bloggers are essentially columnists, and they'll give you their take on the story. And I like to see what regular people (aka our readers) think about it. That's where blogs come in handy.

As for personal vs. professional news consumption, those lines have become pretty blurred at this point. Even though I'm technically on the clock for only 40 hours a week, my radar for the news must be on 24/7. Thankfully, I enjoy what I do, so I haven't had a nervous breakdown or anything. Yet.

Where do bloggers come up with their ideas and how do they personalize their blogs?

The most successful blogs are the ones that find a way to be completely different from similar blogs, if that makes sense. Thousands of people will blog about the same news item, so the key is putting a spin on your blog to make it stand out from the rest. That's where creativity, imagination and your individual voice come in. It's up to you to personalize your blog and make it interesting. And to find your voice, you just have to keep writing until everything starts to click.

Take the Michael Phelps' bong-gate for example. When pictures of Phelps smoking up found their way onto the web, the news spread like wildfire through traditional news and blogs. But there are so many different ways to tackle the subject, and that all depends on who you are and what interests you. Maybe you blog about what this means for his swimming career and his endorsements. Maybe you blog about how you can (or can't) relate to what he did. Maybe you blog about how the story is overblown. Maybe you blog about his awkward facial hair. Maybe you blog about how people are blogging about it. It's up to you. But don't just say, "Hey, here's the news" because it's already out there. People come to your blog for your take.

This doesn't really relate to anything, but one of my favorite blogs of all time was the Tim Tebow jort watch, which chronicled the college football star's love for jean shorts. It's something that was completely ridiculous, but it's funny and unique. When you get a great idea like that, just go for it. What have you got to lose?

How do blogs fit in with the B media strategy?

Our web site is meant to be a companion for our newspaper. Most of the content from the paper doesn't make it onto the web site, and we strive to have web-only features to get people to check out our web site. We have a couple of bloggers who don't write for the physical paper, but who comment on local news periodically throughout the week on our site. Our paper has been up and running for almost a year now, but we're still exploring ways to get the most out of the site. It's definitely a work in progress.

One cool thing that we do is that we link up with local bloggers on our site to try to encourage traffic flow between our site and theirs. It's one of the many ways we try to get the voices of our readers into our product.

Do you see your paper going entirely digital someday? Are blogs the new "mainstream media"?

I don't envision b going entirely digital, but who knows with the way the industry is heading. I'd never say never, but I think it's highly unlikely we'll be web only. A lot of people, including myself, like to get ink on their hands and feel and hold a newspaper, and I don't think that will ever change. Our circulation has been steadily growing in our short existence, so somebody is picking our paper up. They may be using b to line their birdcage or wrap gifts or something, but at least they're picking it up.

I'm not sure I'd classify blogs as the new mainstream media. It's a tricky topic. Anyone with access to a computer can be a blogger, so that's about as mainstream as it gets. It's great that so much information and so many opinions are readily available on the web, but sometimes it's difficult to distinguish what is true and what is fabrication. I guess you just have to make sure you're getting your information from a source you know is credible.

Tips for better interviews

Walt Bogdanich knows a thing or two about investigative interviews. He's a Pulitzer-prize winning assistant editor on the New York Times Investigative Desk. Before that, he was an investigative producer for Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes, a man known for his tough interview style.

Bogdanich discussed the interview process last week at IRE. Here are a few tips I thought would be useful for my beginning news writing students:

Getting the interview

• Never take no for an answer. Never give up getting an interview. When someone tells you, "no," it's not really no--it's a challenge.
• Do whatever it takes to get the interview. But never tell a lie.
• What is the source's self-interest in talking to you? Think carefully about your source's motivation.
• Do interviews in person whenever possible. It's easier to hang up the phone or delete an email than to shut a door in someone's face.
• Don't be afraid to drop by the source's office or home. Leave your business card and a personal note. Not everyone responds to phone messages or emails.
• When trying to land "the big get," keep in mind the tricks television anchors deploy: the send flowers, a note or a letter, etc. Sometimes the personal touch works.
• Are you stuck talking to the secretary or another gatekeeper? Ask questions. Lots of them. Make the gatekeeper feel your presence, let them know you're not going away.
  
• Act like you belong. In a hospital, flowers are your passport to any room.
• Don't wait until the last minute to contact key sources, even if you're not completely sure of the shape of the story. Open the lines of communication and start developing source relationships. When you're on deadline, you'll be glad you already have a working relationship and a cell phone number.
  

Conducting the interview

• Every interview has two goals: 1) good information, and 2) good quotes. Good information shapes the story, good quotes polish it.
  
• Good interviewers have a high social IQ. They can relate to people, understand them and seem to be able to talk to anyone. Good interviewers also realize that interviews are about listening, not talking.
• When a source isn't talking, break the tension with small talk, humor or a personal connection.
• Your job is to ask the questions, not to answer them. Describe your story, but don't go too far. Tell your sources what they need to know, what's fair, but don't go beyond that.
  
• Open-ended questions are important for getting people to talk. Examples: How does this work? Can you explain this to me? How do you know that? What questions haven't I asked?
• Don't be afraid to look dumb. Sometimes you are dumb. It looks worse to try to hide it, so 'fess up: "I don't know anything about this. Can you help me out and explain it?"
• When you've got someone talking on the phone, don't let them off until you have what you need? Don't settle for arranging an interview tomorrow or next week. Start asking questions now.
• Tips for getting good quotes: 1) Don't talk. Let your source do the talking. 2) After a lengthy explanatory interview, ask a sum-up question: What's the most important thing I shoudl take away about this story? 3) Don't go off the record. Off the record quotes can't be printed.
• Use silence. It's a vacuum people rush to fill. For examples, check out a few interviews conducted by Ed Bradley or the Daily Show correspondents.

Finally, a personal note for my students from Bogdanich:

And he wasn't even my student

It's really cool to log into Google news on my iPhone and see a bylined New York Times story by Towson alumni Brian Stelter. Way to go.

What investigative stories can students cover?

Here's some great suggestions from the reporters and editors attending the IRE conference in Baltimore this weekend. The last two also cover how to get into investigative reporting.

Mike Burke, Democracy Now, suggests tracking how your university invests money.


John Barr, ESPN, says to make sure your university is running clean athletic programs.


Edward Ericson, City Paper, suggests looking for stories in the mundane details of daily college life, like paying rent.


Goldie Blumenstyk, Chronicle of Higher Education, suggests examining what programs are being cut as college budgets shrink.


Daniel Lathrop, Investigate West, also suggests looking at how colleges are cutting budgets.


Adam Estes, Huffington Post, tells students how to get into investigative reporting.

V-blogging IRE

I'm video blogging the IRE conference here in Baltimore this week, and I've got tons of short videos to upload. You can probably guess that I'm enjoying the new Flip videocamera, and I'm especially looking forward to John Anglim's sessions on shooting and shooting for the web tomorrow.

But anyway, earlier this week over on Facebook I asked students to suggest questions for me to ask the reporters and editors attending the conference. Student Melissa Hale posted this one:

What does it take for an investigative reporter to gain a source's trust in a foreign country. I may be interested in some type of investigative reporting, always been interested in human trafficking, and I realize this is a somewhat risky issue to delve into. Any advice?

Melissa, just for you, an answer from Marina Walker Guevara, a reporter at the Center for Public Integrity.

One story the Sun got scooped on

It was a big one: the death of philanthropist Johns Hopkins on December 24, 1873, in his home on Saratoga Street, just two doors down from the mansion of Sun founder Arunah S. Abell.

Harold A. Williams, in his history of the Sun, writes:

On Christmas Eve, the Sun had a skeleton staff and the door of the newsroom was locked to keep out holiday well wishers, particularly celebrants. Hopkins's physician sent a servant with a note to the Sun announcing the death, but he was turned away by Henry Shuck, the watchman, who had been ordered to keep out all visitors. The servant walked across the street to the American, where he was assured he had come to the right newspaper. The next morning, Sun editors read the news in their strongest competitor.

The night watchman was an old friend of Abell's. He wasn't dismissed or even penalized, in fact, when Abell died 15 years later, he left the watchman $300 in his will.