Standing Out

Communications job field is growing and there is a demand for Journalist and public relations majors to make themselves stand out from everyone else.  Ask yourself, if you went into an interview today what contributions will you be able to give to that company the next journalist who interviews cant? How is your work better than theirs? Do you have anything that will make you stand out?

Break out of your comfort zone and ask questions and respond to question in an unexpected way. When someone asks you how your day is going, instead of saying “ok, just another day,” give them something to really set yourself apart from everyone else. Saying things like “great, I just covered a huge business meeting downtown and I am on my way to start typing my story.”

As a communications major, while writing my stories or working on projects, I always try to think up topics and ideas that most classmates won’t. If get the feeling someone might cover the same topic I always try to think of what words, phrases and ideas can I take from it to make it stand out.

Personal Branding Helps journalist, Media Professions Stand Out by: Sree Sreenivasian, is an article covering the need for journalist to stand out and promote their brand.  It suggests when writing to make sure your work will always help reflect your personal brand. With more media outlets today than 20 years ago there is a higher competition to get noticed.

“Personal brand” is a name for new ages.  Sreenivasian explains that when teaching the idea about personal branding the older journalist in the crowd tends to get restless with the idea. But the younger journalist knows that their personal brand will have an effect on their future.

Here are the key points Sreenivasian touches

1-      Your brand could be one or more things

2-      Branding will happen if you don’t see it out

3-      Journalist should be crafting and curating their brand on a regular basis

4-      Social Media

Check this article out! I found it very interesting and I think you will too!

http://www.dnainfo.com/20100308/manhattan/personal-branding-helps-journalists-media-professionals-stand-out

Contribute Web Page Final!

Check out this web page that i edited for my final in my Digital Media Class!

C:\Users\581226\Downloads\Contribute Web Page.mht

Final Blog Post- 5 Best Tips For Journalists Use Of Multimedia

  Thanks to Bill Gates the invention of the internet has been a key element for journalists and the journalism industry.  Journalists are now able to report and share their stories in real time and build a name for their selves. 5 media outlets that I think are very useful for journalists are; Facebook and Twitter, Blogs, Photoblogs, Audio, and Video. You don’t have to have to be journalism major to use the multi-media outlets that are available on the internet.  Anyone can create stories and post them on the web for the consumers’ consumption. 

1-    Facebook and Twitter- Having a Facebook and Twitter account is ideal for updating people quickly and efficiently on news, events and trending topics. For those who have a busy schedule this is a way for them to stay caught up on the latest stories.  Facebook and Twitter updates are short, sweet and to the point, just what the viewers’ need. Twitter allows the journalist to give real time updates, normally beating news stations on the latest breaking news. Many news stations have created Facebook and Twitter accounts to keep their views updated as well. For news stations this is ideal because we all know the news only comes on at dedicated times in the morning, afternoon and evening, so this is a way to release news all day long.

·         Here is an article that I found to be helpful, http://mashable.com/2011/07/18/facebook-marketing-journalists/ . In this article it gives journalist helpful hints on how to craft post, and when to post things.  I learned from this article that Facebook has launched “Journalist Pages” to help their brands!

2-  Blogging- Blog stands for “web log”, and is created for share something, which is perfect for a journalist. Think about how journalists reach out to the public, before the internet and blogs, only the best of the best were selected to publish their work onto paper. Now, the aspiring journalist is able to create their own blog to share their information. Blog forums are not limited to anything; someone can create a blog for whatever they wish.  Blogging is like a personal, but public, journal.  

·       In order for a journalist to have a successful blog, they need to bring their skills to the table when creating the blog. Also, they need to make their objective clear and concise. One important element is they must create their blog to stand out from the others. Read this article and it will help you create a top notch blog!

http://ijnet.org/stories/five-tips-blogging-journalism-job-hunters

3-     Photoblogs- These are great for Photo Journalists! They allow journalists to broadcast themselves and their pieces of work (photo’s/photo art). Using Photoblogs allows a journalist to connect and network with other individuals with the same interests and passions. Remember however, a photo is worth a thousand words, and photo journalists can produce a photo that can tell a story without even words. Photoblogs are a great way to get new clients and build a brand online! A great thing about this type of blog is they don’t cost anything to create a photoblog so journalists are the ones profiting in the end!

·         In this Article, 3 Reasons Why You Should Keep A Photoblog,   http://www.mediabistro.com/10000words/3-reasons-why-you-should-keep-a-photojournalism-blog_b1274 ,Chris Dunn tells journalists how they can use photoblogs to help other photo journalists and how they can use their blog to post the photos that might have not made it into a news story. He gives another great idea, which is journalists can use their photoblogs as a rough draft for their portfolios!

4-  Audio- Audio Journalism can be used for; news casts, live streams, and online meetings, just to name a few. Journalists are able to record and edit a story using audio and upload them to website such as Pod Bean, to share their information. Many journalists use audio for podcasts as well. A podcast is an online program where reports are recorded and posted. It allows journalists to report live events. One great thing about audio is, if a journalist has a blog, it is very easy to upload and share an audio on their blog. This is ideal for people because they can listen to an audio report on their IPods and MP3 players. I would almost bet that many American’s sit and listen to this type of report while they are workingJ.

·       When journalists and reporters use audio reporting’s they need to think of what details and aspects are going to be the most important to their listeners. Many reporters carry an audio recorder when covering stories and the news stations post them on a podcast placed on their website. This article gives the history and benefits for audio reporting’s! Check it out, you will learn a lot! http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/431789.html

5-  Video- What is video used for? Everything! Video is ideal for broadcast journalists. Recorded video allows journalists to edit their stories and tell their stories how they wish to. Think about news stations, they only have a short amount of time to tell the public about an event. Most of the time they pre-shoot a news story, go back to their story board and edit the video to tell the public what they need to know about the event. Today, You-Tube has been the go to website for finding videos. You-Tube is a great way for journalists to share their videos! Remember, when posting a video to You-Tube, make sure it has a detailed title in order for it to be searchable.

·       This article gives you 10 tips for improving video journalism stories. Remember to show and not tell! http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0904/10-tips-for-dramatically-improving-your-videojournalism-stories.html

Creating Photo Animations

Looking at the picture animation above, try to figure out what the article is about that is associated with this photo.

-Thinking time-

The title of this Article is How can I earn more from cash sitting in brokerage account?

(Here is the article if you interested in reading it- http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/krantz/story/2011-11-17/cash-sitting-in-brokerage-account/51276920/1 ).

Try another one.

-Thinking time-

The title of this article is- 10 Ways To Lose Your Nest Egg

(Here is the article if you are interested in reading it- http://money.msn.com/retirement-investment/10-ways-to-lose-your-nest-egg ).

When reading a newspaper or surfing on the web, the first thing most people do is look at the photos. .  A single photo and tell the whole story and can make a person interested in reading the rest of the article, without reading the title or lede paragraph first.

There are a number of programs that someone can use to make a photo animation. Two if the programs that my Digital media class used were InDesign and Photoshop. In both programs you can Edit Photos and illustrate photo animations.

I personally favor Photoshop to create my photo animations because it gives you many more options than InDesign and allows you to be more creative.  On the other hand when I am editing photos I prefer InDesign, it allows you to edit your photos more in depth than Photoshop.

Here is the Photo animation that I designed in class.

If I were to recreate this photo animation, I would take out the title of the story

(Here is the article if you are interested in reading it- http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/11/brits-go-nuts-over-possible-duchess-kate-pregnancy--/1 ).

Find a story that you feel can be told me a Photo animation and Photoshop or InDesign away!

Writing a News Report

In an earlier blog post I shared Tips to Writing a Catchy Lede Paragraph, now, I want to build onto that post and give you tips on how to write the rest of your news story.

We already know that the lede is the most important part of the news story. It catches the reader’s eye and makes them interested in reading the rest of the story. The body of the report needs to  support and add onto the details that you have already provided. 

There are 5 important steps to fallow when writing your report:

1)      Plan- Think about the information you have, looking for the most important thing in the story. Rank the events from the most information to the least.

2)      Research- try to find out if any events like the one you’re reporting has happened before or not, if it has what was the impact it produced.

3)      Write- Begin writing your story without making corrections as you go along. Just type.

4)      Read Aloud- Reading aloud will allow you to find the mistakes in your report.  You will also be able to recognize if events needs to be placed in a different order.

5)      Rewrite- With the mistakes that you have found while reading aloud sit down and adjust your story.

6)      Polish- take out any extra words, such as the words that- and correct all typos. It is always helpful to have someone else read your report, or read it aloud to them!

Here is a story that I wrote for my Reporting I class. We were assigned to attend a public meeting and write a news report about it. I attended business session at Kansas City, City Hall over the MLB All-Star game that is scheduled to happen in July 2012. a City Hall meeting in Kansas City.

I have included the report that I turned in, as well as the report that my teacher graded and handed back to me!

Report I turned in - https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bzvi_drzIxBkODdhZWQ2NmQtNWE1MS00OWY2LWFhNzEtZDZjYTcxNTFhMzA4

Graded Report - https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bzvi_drzIxBkZWZiM2U2NmMtNzliOS00YTQyLWFlZTktMmM3NDYwZTYxYjAy

Photoshop

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bzvi_drzIxBkZGI0MGM4ZDctOTVkNi00MDAwLThkMTgtZjJhMDZmZmI4MGQ3