It's a wrap

Spring quarter always seems to fly by, and this year it was no different. Except that usually it’s a nice feeling to know that summer is just around the corner, but I can’t help but think how much I’m going to miss working on staff with The Clipper and spending each day with the best people you could hope to meet.

Coming into the J111 class I already had some experience with journalism, and now have officially been with the school paper for a year. This gave me experience in interviewing people, verifying facts, and having my work shown to a mass audience.

However, it’s much different to write news than it is to create a slideshow, audio piece or video. First of all, there’s the technical part. I gained a better grasp on how to use programs like Audacity and iMovie, and now all I need is more practice.

Secondly was the comfortability factor. It’s one thing to speak with someone holding a pen and notepad, and another to hold a camera in front of them. Not only did I have to learn to be comfortable taking video, but I also had to learn how to make others feel comfortable in being recorded. I experienced this first hand, especially while creating a Folklife video for The Clipper’s website.

We spent a great deal of time talking about sound, and using natural sounds to help tell the story. This wasn’t something I generally thought about when approaching a story for the paper, but I quickly noticed how a simple sound could create a whole entire scene and in slideshows even create a sense of motion.

Another thing we emphasized was keeping old-school integrity with new-school technology. It’s easy to take a photo or use a sound bite that may not have been from the specific event you covered, but could easily represent it. That however, is not news and is misleading.

One thing that I found constricting was the time limit on videos, because beyond three minutes a web user’s attention will more than likely drift off, making it important to plan ahead using a storyboard. It also made it even more important to use all the elements of natural sounds and visuals to quickly convey an idea and tell at least the main aspects of the story.

Like I said before, I learned more skills in iMovie and Audacity, knowing these programs are great for journalism, but in general they are good skills to have. In my case, on top of journalism, I’ll probably use them for entertainment purposes. I know a few musicians that may want a music video.

Multimedia Story Evaluation

This week we were asked to read through some of the 2011 Online News Association winners. First of all, I thought the site on its own was a great resource. The site linked to the winning stories, providing excellent examples of multimedia journalism. In addition, it provided information and links to innovative sites to spark new approaches in journalism and the art of storytelling.

The association distributed 27 awards last year. The LosAngeles Times won the innovative investigative journalism for a large publication award for its story that exposed the excessive salaries and financial misdeeds of public officials in the small town of Bell.

Their coverage led to criminal charges against eight current and former city officials, millions of dollars in tax refunds to residents, and sparked legislative reform that would mandate California officials to disclose their compensation online.

While the information was obviously important, so was the way in which the information was presented.

The scandal began as early as 1988. 

With the use of a click through timeline, the Los Angeles Times, successfully organized the information into smaller sections, which made it less intimating and encouraged user interactivity. In addition there was a clear sense of how the story progressed. 

Using graphics they were able to convey concepts clearer, especially when dealing with numbers and figures. The story is ongoing and the publication has continued to follow its progression. 

The way in which the story was told, helped to bring attention to the issue, and was capable of keeping the attention of today's online audience.