NEW MEDIA NEWSROOM: A new course for New Media majors and a select group of print majors (working together in pairs)
12 weeks, Sept-Dec. 2007
6:30-9:30 p.m.
Room 511C
Questions to Sree Sreenivasan: sree@sree.net
Instructors:
Monday: Sree Sreenivasan, Steve Isaacs and Russell Chun
Wednesday: Sree Sreenivasan, Sig Gissler, Duy Linh Tu
Thursday: Adam Glenn, Duy Linh Tu, Jennifer Preston
NOTE: Each class will follow a similar syllabus, but will create its own projects.
Reading list, resources, week-by-week agenda are all below.
See Prof. Gissler's notes from the intro session on Aug. 22, 2007.
Prof. Russell Chun | Prof. Sig Gissler 917-519-1142 (c) e-mail: sg138 | Prof. Adam Glenn e-mail: aadamglenn@hotmail cell: 914-409-8795 IM: aadamg@gmail.com IM2: aadamglenn1961@skype | Prof. Stephen Isaacs 646-827-4559 (H) 917-716-7686 (C) e-mail: sdi1 | Prof. Jennifer Preston 212-556-4472 (w) 917-647-2979 (c) jepresto@nytimes.com jepresto@comcast.com | Prof. Sree Sreenivasan 646-391-3526 (c) sree@sree.net | Prof. Duy Linh Tu e-mail: duy@comresolutionseven. |
OBJECTIVES
In a swiftly changing media world, this course will introduce students to the essentials of multimedia journalism — from the breaking news or feature story to interactive graphics, audio slide shows and video packages. You will learn by doing, using New York City as your laboratory. You will develop and hone multimedia storytelling skills, drawing chiefly on raw material derived from your RW1 neighborhood beats. You will have a hands-on experience, from story conception through digital execution. You will never stint on basic journalism. In that sense, the course will be a modern mixture of the traditional and the digital, reflecting the hybrid state of the news media today.
ORGANIZATION
The class will be a blend of students who are concentrating on new media and those enrolled in other concentrations. Each of you will sharpen multimedia skills in the computer lab but also spend time on the street. While exploring neighborhood beats for RW1, class members will pursue a dual mission: report on RW1 stories and gather content for this course. Under the theme of “In the Nabe,” the class will engage in a multimedia exploration of the people, cultural traits and leading issues in a variety of diverse, ever-evolving neighborhoods — or “nabes” in the vernacular of the street. Over the semester, the class will build three Web sites that capture important aspects of these neighborhood profiles. As the course evolves, more complex storytelling will be pursued.
CLASS DETAILS
- Your classroom is your newsroom. Tardiness is not tolerated. Always be on time.
- Attendance is mandatory for all class sessions. Any absence requires notification and a valid explanation - just like a real job.
- You will generally work in pairs in the newsroom, sharing skills and learning from each other.
- All assignments must be completed and every deadline must be met. Late work will NOT be edited. Only stories can be published, not excuses.
- Your work will be critiqued by your instructors as well as fellow class members. We call it the “CAT scan.” You will sharpen your critical judgment as an editor and develop a keener sense of newsroom life and of serving an audience.
- From time to time, we spot check work for accuracy — names, facts, quotes. Accuracy is at the heart of credibility.
- In class, we share experiences and explore techniques, tactics, ideas, problems. Sometimes we’ll have guest speakers. Your participation is essential and will be evaluated.
- This syllabus is our flexible road map. Read it. Use it to plan your work. We’ll follow the schedule but everything is subject to change because of news developments, shifted assignments and other factors.
- Check your e-mail several times a day. Instructors send frequent messages. We also use e-mail to send reading or viewing assignments, share reporting experiences and swap comments.
- NYTimes.com/metro (paying close attention to multimedia opportunities (those executed and those missed)
- CityRoom.blogs.nytimes.com (new hyperlocal effort by the NYT)
- Blogs and citizen journalism efforts in YOUR neighborhoods (list to be compiled)
GRADING
It’s Pass/Fail. From day one, your work will be measured against the professional standards of major media, with emphasis on accuracy, clarity, creativity, focus and flow. If at first you falter, don’t despair. A prime goal is steady improvement toward consistent, skillful performance. How well you do in the final weeks is more important than how well you start.
INTEGRITY
Honesty is crucial. Anyone faking quotes, manipulating photographs, falsifying a story or plagiarizing will risk summary dismissal from the school.
MIDTERM
Sign up for periodic office appointments. However, we also will schedule a brief one-on-one evaluation at midterm. We will ask you for your thoughts on the course.
FILING STORY MATERIAL
When asked, send your story material to your instructors via e-mail as Word attachments. There will be special instructions for photos, audio, video, graphics, etc.
AP STYLE
COURSE SCHEDULE
We begin in August with an important preparatory program. To some extent, the preparation varies depending on a student’s concentration. However, the overall goal is to increase your knowledge of New York City and sharpen some basic skills. You also will begin to explore your assigned neighborhood, cultivate sources and zero in on community attributes and issues. You will get the feel of being a street reporter.
On Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007, at 5:30 p.m. we will have a short meeting of the class to review the syllabus and stress the need to think about the New Media Newsroom as soon as students begin visiting their neighborhoods. In short, think ahead. We want you to “pre-purpose” your work in this course.
The first regular class will begin the week of Sept. 10 for the Wednesday & Thursday classes, and Sept. 17 for the Monday class.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:
"Long-range planning can be fun, but it's regular little deliveries that keep the money coming in" -- Kent Beck
| PART ONE: The Tra-digital Reporter Week 1: Storytelling on the Web (Sept. 12, 13, 17) Discussion: Goals for the course Current state of tra-digital reporting CAT scan of a current news story Iraq coalition casualty graphic | NYT Baghdad neighborhoods profile Examples of online local stories (list on right + NYT's Living In series) Planning for "In the Nabe" - picking teams, nabes, etc Making online profiles Writing for the Web: Storytelling for the Web | Headlines Assignment (due Week 2): Compile online neighborhood profile
Week 2: Structuring the Nabe (Sept. 19, 20, 24) Sept. 19, 6:30-7:30: Bill Grueskin, managing editor, WSJ.com and WSJ print edition (open to all three sections) - Lecture Hall Discussion: Making for a new media career Lecture: Making interactive maps: Prof. Chun on infographics and mapmaking tools | NYT on how people are using online map making tools Work on details of the "In the Nabes" Assignment (due Week 3): Interactive map of the nabe
Week 3: Voices in the Nabe (Sept. 26, 27, Oct 1) Feedback on profile assignment Presentation and critique of maps Launch maps Lecture: Photojournalism tips (see photo section of August training notes) (links to web examplars) Lecture: Collecting audio (links to web examplars) Assignment (due Week 4): Shoot photos of residents and collect audio answers
Week 4: Blogging (Oct. 3, 4, 8) Launch of neighborhood profile - finish BEFORE you come to class. Discussion: Lessons learned from reporting in the neighborhood, using the the audio equipment Presentation of profiles Discussion: Blogging for journalists (Sree Sreenivasan's blog workshop links) Lecture: Editing audio Assignment (due Week 5): Edit the audio you collected in Week 4
PART TWO: Getting the hang of convergence Week 5: Preparing and designing audio slide shows (Oct. 10, 11, 15) Presentation of profiles, continued Lessons learned from blogging exercise (Prof. Gissler's feedback on blog items) (Prof. Glenn's feedback on blog items ) Lecture: Making audio slideshows. Explanation and practice with Soundslides Prof. Chun's tips: When making slideshows, think: 1. Sequence (the order of your images) 2. Pacing (the duration of time that each image is on screen; be deliberate in your rhythm) 3. Transitions (how one image changes to the next. In Soundslides, you are constrained to a cross-dissolve, where one image fades out and the next one fades in. However, in slideshows generally, think about fade-to-black, quick cuts, or pan and zooms) 4. Layout (how the image or images are arranged on the stage. You don't always have to have a single image fill the entire frame. You can have place multiple images in succession in a grid, for example. Or you can add title cards, which are just images of text, like the silent movies)
Prof. Duy Linh Tu's video tips
NOTE: Tuesday, Nov. 13 - "Changing Media Landscape" Panel Discussion Lecture Hall, 6:30-9 p.m. ATTENDANCE MANDATORY Leading journalists and new media leaders talk about how the industry is changing.
DUE: Content Maps/Story Budgets 1. URL of enterprise story (http://www.newmedianewsroom.com/student/a/yourslug) 2. Name of neighborhood(s) where your story takes place 3. Thumbnail photo that captures your story (150x150) 4. Short, 1-2 sentence teaser text blurb for your story 5. Each team send one of your best images from your project (800x400) Newsroom B & C requirements: Submit materials via email to Prof. Duy Linh Tu exactly as explained below. Material improperly submitted will not be published. You must submit all elements with all required parts and with the elements named correctly. Every file submitted must have the last name of one team member and the appropriate file designation. For example, for Sydney and Kenan’s video piece, they would submit it as beveridge_video1.mov (if they are submitting more than one video). Use the same last name for all of the file names. The subjects of all of your emails should include either SECTION B or SECTION C to avoid confusion, since the same instructor is building the site for both sections.
Email me if you have any questions. Again, improperly submitted content will not be published – we are on a very tight publishing timeline, so we don’t have time to figure which team created which slideshow.
Every student must send to all of your section instructors (and cc to wnbcsree@gmail.com) a single e-mail with the following by December 12: NOTE: Half-day at Google Headquarters in NY (Monday, Dec. 17) A Morning at Google's NY HQ (Ninth Ave & 16th St)Monday, December 17 9:30am - 1:30pm 9:30: arrivals/badges and settling into room 10:00-12:00: four 30-minute segments on different topics - Craig Nevill-Manning (Google engineering philosophy) - Ellen West (Google & its mission) - Products and new media applications (news, maps, gmail, blogger) - (led by various product managers) 12:00-12:30: office tour 12:30-1:30: complimentary lunch in the Google Cafe NOTE: Half-day at NYTimes.com (Wednesday, Dec. 19), beginning 930-945. Go to 15th floor Tours, with 12-15 at a time going to main newsroom Meet with senior executives of the NYTimes newspaper and web site -- Jill Abramson, ME; Jim Roberts, head of digital newsroom; Andrew DeVigal, head of multimedia (tenta); Dan Salzstein, culture department; Ann Derry, video; Brent MacDonald, video producer. | CLASS NOTES Overall
Newsroom A Newsroom B
Newsroom C
Washington Post, videos updated weekly
Interactive graphic items:
Searchable database-map mashup of local crime stats Community examples: Minnesota Public Radio, citizen journalism feature updated monthly Not Just a Number - an Oakland Tribune community journalism project Sites/sections that highlight multimedia:
Background Reading:
Learning About New Media
Audio Embed code to display audio inside a blog posting:
Embed code to display audio using a free Flash player from Odeo:
Server Information For FTP: User: student@newmedianewsroom.com Pwd: [check your e-mail for the password] FTP server: newmedianewsroom.com This information gives you access to the student folder on the site. In Dreamweaver, choose Site>New Site. Choose the Advanced tab at the top. 1. First define the Local Information: In the left-hand column, choose Local Info. Site Name: give your site a descriptive name. Local Root Folder: Click on the folder icon to select your folder that contains all the media you want to upload. 2. Define the Remote Information: In the left-hand column, choose Remote Info. Choose Access=FTP, then fill in the host, login, and password according to the information above. Click Test to see if it works. Then click OK. 4. The window will expand. At the top bar, click on the connection icon in order to connect to the server: 5. You'll see the remote server on the left and your local files on the right. Drag your files from your local site over to the remote site to transfer files. Create your own folder within the appropriate newsroom section. You can right-click (or control-click on a Mac) on a folder to create a new folder for yourself. Your file will reside at http://newmedianewsroom.com/student Online Charting and Graphing Tools: NCES Create A Graph: Aimed at kids, but works well for journos, too. http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx Fusion Charts Google Charts: Similar to the one above, but allows you to animate your bars and such. For those of you more ambitious about this, see a long list of various kinds of charts and graphs tools: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/10/18/charts-and-graphs-modern-solutions/ |