What's the best video equipment for a student paper's first purchase?

(Preface: It's not about the technology. It's about the story and how you tell it. Technology is just a tool.)

Kevin Koehler, contributing editor at the Wake Forest Old Gold & Black, asked a question via Twitter Tuesday evening:

kev097 Need to recommend HD camcorder for newspaper today. Probably going with hard drive. Suggestions on models, accessories, research?

Kyle Hansen (TheSpartanDaily.com editor at San Jose State), Kevin and I discussed ideas via Twitter and I volunteered to post the equipment The Miami Hurricane plans to purchase before next fall:

• Canon HV20 a mini-DV, HD video camera (2) [should we get the HV30 instead?]
• Canon BP2L14 battery (2)
• Rode shotgun microphone (2)
• Sennheiser Evolution G2 EW100 wireless mic combo kit (1) [looks like this this has been discontinued from B&H]
  
• Includes EW100 G2 Combo System, EW100 G2 Lavalier System, ENG Handheld Microphone, Storage Case and Cables
  
• Hosa MIT-156 XLR to mini connector (1)
• EH 150 supra-aural closed back stereo headphones (2)
• Sunpak 7001DX tripod (2)
• Three-way pan/tilt head with quick release
• Tiffen 43mm UV filter (2)
  

This year we have primarily used Flip video cameras after starting off with point-and-shoots (Matt Bunch and I). These have worked OK, but the big problem was audio. The best quality videos came when we checked out equipment from the School of Communication.

And I've used my HV20, which I bought during spring break, for the paper. For example, a video of the PD press conference after a student died on campus:


(This is the pretty one the assistant multimedia editor, Matt Wallach, edited. Here is the quick-and-dirty version I posted right after the press conference, sans b-roll. I miked the chief with a lav.)

I love my HV20. It's not perfect, but it does everything I need.

More about video: Newspaper Video - Yahoo! Groups

Weigh in: What video equipment does your organization use? What do you think about The Hurricane's planned list?

Editor term comes to an end

It's over. One year. Fifty issues. Many, many great memories.

Monday's issue was my last as editor in chief of The Miami Hurricane. We made great strides forward this year in print and online, and I can't wait until our new Web site debuts in August (yes, I still need to do an update post on this).

I'd like to thank all of this year's editors for their hard work and wish those who are graduating the best of luck.

For the continuing and new editors, keep on rockin' the news -- you guys are going to do great things. Here's the new staff list:

Editor in Chief
Matthew Bunch (moving up from sports editor and blogmaster)

News Editor
Chelsea Kate Isaacs (promoted from assistant news)

Assistant News Editors
Erika Capek (promoted from staff news writer)
Edward Fishman (promoted from contributing news writer)

Opinion Editor
Joshua Newman (new)

EDGE Editor
Dan Buyanovsky (continuing in position)

Sports Editor
Pravin Patel (promoted from assistant sports editor)

Assistant Sports Editor
Christina Di Nicola (promoted from senior sports writer)

Photography Editor
Chelsea Matiash (promoted from assistant photo editor)

Assistant Photo Editor
Steve Root (promoted from staff photographer)

Webmaster
Brian Schlansky (continuing)

Multimedia Editor
Ryan Ondriezek (continuing)

Assistant Multimedia Editor
TBD

Copy Desk Chief
Nate Harris (promoted from copy editor)

I'm still undecided on what my role with the paper will be next year, but I plan to do something with online and multimedia. For one, Brian Schlansky and I will be working on the new site during the summer and beyond.

Now, back to working on a final project and (trying) to study for my two finals.

Wasserman: Can journalism live without ads?

Yes, I am few days behind in reading my journalism feeds in Google Reader, but here's an interesting take from Ed Wasserman on the changing nature of journalism and advertising:

Can journalism live without ads? - Miami Herald

One interesting idea he mentions:

"Maybe the solution isn't to escape the market, but to empower it. Modern computing offers unparalleled capacities to track and calculate. Imagine a vast menu of news and commentary offered to you ad-free for pennies per item, the charges micro-billed, added up and presented like a utility bill at month's end. The money that journalism providers got would depend on their audience."

It's a reasonable idea and seems more palatable than other such concepts, but the general notion of charging for content online still raises questions in my mind.

Weigh in: What do you think about Wasserman's ideas and what the future could hold for journalism's financial support?

"News coverage of civil rights in Miami" panel (Comm Week)

I am taping this event and will be liveblogging. Here's some background information.

From the Comm Week Web site:

News Coverage of Civil Rights in Miami

Panelists representing print and broadcast media will review the media’s coverage of civil rights issues – from efforts to desegregate schools and public facilities to beach “wade-ins,” protests and riots that plagued the community on into the ‘80s. How aggressive was the local media in covering the civil rights movement? What was it like for the first black reporters at Miami’s newspapers and television stations?

Panelists are:

C.T. Taylor, first black TV news reporter in Miami

Bea Hines, former reporter, The Miami Herald

Juanita Green, former reporter, The Miami Herald

Andrea Robinson, reporter, The Miami Herald

Garth Reeves, publisher emeritus, Miami Times

Bradford Brown, former president, Miami-Dade NAACP

Moderator, Beverly Counts Williams, former TV news reporter

LIVEBLOG

2:58 P.M.

Garth Reeves' father founded the Miami Times, but he didn't want to go into the newspaper business.

"One day you'll find out how valuable this newspaper really is," his father told him.

After he took over the Times, the younger Reeves began to face tough issues regarding coverage, but the paper had to be restrained in what it published.

"You were practicing journalism with your hands tied behind your back," he said. "Now we have more kickass journalism. ... I'm happy now because you're as a free as bird."

3:00 P.M.

C.T. Taylor grew up observing what was going in the community, reading the Miami Times and seeing its impact.

"I always wanted to be in journalism. I always wanted to be a radio announcer."

He sat with his father and listened to games on the radio. Despite the obstacles, his father said you he could do anything he wanted to do.

"The doors to the media were shut and bolted" at white stations, he said. "But I kept my hope and desire."

So, he went to a black radio station and they hired him to be a cleaner. While he wasn't on the air, he kept at it and it paid off. One night, an announcer was drunk and didn't show up for work. Just like that, he was the radio.

Eventually he became known as C.T. "The undisputed soul of the new breed."

But he wasn't satisfied--he wanted to be a TV reporter.

His chance, though not in front of the camera, came when a TV station wanted to hire him as a cameraman.

"I managed to get my black hand in the shot. Then I got a black ear in a shot, then I got the back of my head into the shot."

Channel 4 saw this and wanted to put him on the air.

-------

"It does not matter what your gender or what your race is," he said. "The main thing is to be factual and truthful."

You're recording history, Taylor said, so you have to get it right.

3:11 P.M.

Bea Hines said that, while they may have hired Taylor to cover the riots, people accused her of starting the riots with her coverage while at The Miami Herald.

Her first day at The Herald was an interesting experience.

Hines went into the lunch room and everyone stopped eating. She went up to a Hispanic food worker who was impressed; he couldn't believe she worked there.

3:20 P.M.

She was assigned to cover the riots in the early 80s because she knew the community. As she walked around, she ran into a man in a pool hall whose business was suffering as a result of the riots.

"My name is Iceberg Slim and I got hookers on the street," he told her--and there was her first story--and it ran on the front page.

But her overall role was more difficult: "I had to change the way people saw us and the way people depicted Liberty City."

3:26 P.M.

"They did what they had to do," Brad Brown said of the journalists on the panel and their contemporaries. "They changed things."

The NAACP in South Florida used to dissect stories in The Herald and gave TV stations lists of black doctors to have a variety of experts.

"It's not just the truth, but the broader truth" that's important.

NOTE: I stopped liveblogging to take some photos towards the end and unfortunately missed some great comments by The Herald's Andrea Robinson. I will be sure to go back and add them to this post or include them in a video package.

Photographer alumna discusses multimedia

A not-so-old newspaper friend stopped by campus recently.

Allison Bezold-Diaz, who graduated from the University of Miami in spring 2007, spoke to my online journalism class last Thursday. She gave great tutorials on capturing/editing audio, photography/digital SLR basics and editing photos in Photoshop.

I sat down with Allison, a former Miami Hurricane photo editor, to ask her about the importance of multimedia and what advice she would give student journalists.

Here's what she had to say:

Comm Week: New media workshop, panel

I posted Monday about two journalism events for Comm Week 2008 (read it here); more details have since been released on two other events, a new media workshop and panel.

I will be participating in the workshop and liveblogging the panel. I will post the streaming feed for the panel and then the video once it's posted. Stay tuned.

Details from the School of Communication Web site:

New Media Reporting: VIDEO WORKSHOP

February 15, 2008
10:00 am

Location: Communication International Building 2055

Panelists:
Ricardo Lopez, Miami Herald visual journalist

Brent McDonald, New York Times visual journalist

Will Payne, Current TV

The workshop is an introduction to video journalism. Lopez, McDonald and Payne will discuss the best gear for the job, basic elements new media reporters should look for while shooting, as well as editing techniques – what to include in a Web audio-visual news story and what to avoid.

PANEL: New Media Reporting – trends and challenges

February 15, 2008
11:30 am

Location: Communication International Building 2055

Moderator: Chris Delboni, UM / SoC

Panelists:
Suzanne Levinson -- Miami Herald, director of site operations

Phil Lewis -- Naples Daily News, editor & vice president of editorial

Ricardo Lopez -- Miami Herald, visual journalist

Brent McDonald -- New York Times, visual journalist

Will Payne -- Current TV, College Outreach

Side note: Check out this video I produced after Suzanne Levinson spoke to my online journalism class.

Pulitzer Prize-winning panel for Comm Week

Planning is in full swing for Communication Week 2008, which will take place Feb. 16-23. One of the events is a panel of Pulitzer Prize winners that almost boggles the mind.

The following people are planned to participate (from Bob Radziewicz, who has been on four Pulitzer-winning teams himself):

Madeleine Blais: won for feature writing at The Miami Herald in 1980;

Mirta Ojito: won as part of The New York Times' race in America series in 2000;

Michael Sallah: investigations editor at The Herald who won for investigative reporting at the Toledo Blade in 2004 and who directed Debbie Cenziper on last year’s local news winner on the "House of Lies" series;

Joe Oglesby: editorial page editor from The Herald who wrote most of the editorials about the detention of Haitian boat people that won in 1982;

Jim Morin: Herald cartoonist who won in 1996 for editorial cartoons.

The organizers are also trying to bring a photography winner and hope to have political and governmental reporter Michael Putney, from Miami's ABC affiliate WPLG, act as emcee. (see update below on emcee)

Job and internship panel
I have organized a panel on jobs and internships, which will take place Feb. 19 at 12:30 p.m. in Studio A.

The event will feature Rick Hirsch (managing editor for multimedia at The Miami Herald), Michelle Morgante (assistant Forida bureau chief at the AP) and Kathy Pellegrino (recruitment editor at the Sun-Sentinel).

Each participant, who does internship recruiting for his/her respective organization, will meet one-on-one with students after the discussion.

UPDATE, Feb. 8: The emcee for the Pulitzer panel will be Miami Herald executive editor Anders Gyllenhaal.

UPDATE, Feb. 12: AP photographer Al Diaz has been confirmed as the sixth panel member.

An open story meeting? Let's do it!

Yoni Greenbaum recently wrote about how TMZ.com conducts their story meetings: OPEN.

I don't think this is radical at all, I think this is logical. Why haven't we been doing this all along?

His Your newsroom could learn something from TMZ… No, really post explains,

"For those of you who watch the very popular television version of the “entertainment news, celebrity gossip and Hollywood rumors” website TMZ.com, you will know that their meetings are done in the open with seemingly broad participation. Editor and founder Harvey Levin stands at the front of the room and users a clear board to note stories that the show will be using. There is a free exchange as the individual staffers (or are they editors?) offer their story ideas."

Greenbaum says near the end,

"Build the budget from those in attendance, editors can speak for staffers not in attendance, staffers can offer their own ideas based on what they’re working on or what they know is going on. Encourage that free exchange. I think you’ll find that the meeting will boost morale, encourage collaboration and even increase productivity."

He also includes the following video about The New York Times' new integrated newsroom.



I completely agree with the idea. As I commented on Greenbaum's post, it hits at the "two heads are better than one" cliche. As news editor last year I encouraged reporters to contribute story ideas in our meetings and come by the office on deadline days (Sundays and Wednesdays). As editor in chief this year I still encourage staffers to visit.

I would not say our twice-weekly staff meetings have been closed in past (any staff member is allowed to sit in or be in the office and some designers who are around sometimes do), but we have never before sent out a mass e-mail inviting staffers. But now, I will invite all of The Miami Hurricane's staffers to the next meeting and see how it works.

Our small newsroom may not be able to hold everyone, but we'll see what happens.

Weigh in: Will you try this for your next story meeting?

Even more links for student journalists

One of the new adds to my Google Reader is Pat Thornton's The Journalism Iconoclast blog. Here are some great posts.

My advice for j-students who want to make a difference (and get a job)

Build a digital résumé and make yourself stand out

Summer reading list

Give your bloggers the tools to succeed

From me (shameless, I know):
Top Ten List of Tips for Journalism Students - The Linchpen

Random business-related link
MediaShift . Digging Deeper::In Digital Age, Journalism Students Need Business, Entrepreneurial Skills | PBS

Montclair newspaper funding restored

An AP story (via Editor & Publisher) from this morning reported: Funding restored to N.J. college paper.

Here's an except:

Montclair State University's student government decided Wednesday to temporarily restore funding to the school's weekly student newspaper, after its decision to freeze the paper's funding a week ago was criticized as an attempt to stifle freedom of the press.

After more than five hours of deliberation, the Student Government Association legislature voted 12-0, with seven abstentions, to restore funding for printing and office supplies to The Montclarion for 30 days, during which time student government and newspaper leaders are expected to try to resolve their differences.

Here's a news story from The Montclarion: Montclarion Budget Unfrozen for One Month and here's my original post on the news: Monclair State newspaper funding cut by SGA.

Journalists aren't just reporters

This is in response to Ducks go quack, quack, cows go moo — SOJo: Student of Online Journalism by Megan Taylor

I agree with Megan, Pat and Chris.

If someone says: "An online journalist or designer (also called a visual journalist) is somehow less of a journalist because..." that is ignorant and demonstrates a lack of understanding about what journalism is. It's amazing that people--journalists in particular--are still stuck in a very narrow mindset.

Journalism is basically storytelling, and there are many ways to tell a story: in a newspaper, in a magazine, on a Web site, in a book, through video (TV and Web), through audio (radio and Web), etc. and through forms that have not even been invented yet.

It's difficult to understand a story (written, aural or visual) if it's not organized well, the same way it's hard to read a page if it's not designed well, watch a video if it's poorly edited or listen to a podcast if the segments aren't in order.

Different types of journalists tell stories in different kinds of ways. It's that simple.

Weigh in: What do you think?

Monclair State newspaper funding cut by SGA

The Student Government Association at Montclair State University in New Jersey has cut the paper's funding. As a result, they are no longer able to publish:

Montclarion Presses Stopped by Student Government

Here is the paper's editorial.

The New York Times picked up the story yesterday:

Student Dispute Threatens Montclair State’s Paper

Here are the first three paragraphs of the Times' article, which give a good overview:

In a rancorous dispute that has pitted student journalists against student government, the editors of Montclair State University’s weekly newspaper were forced to stop publishing last week after the student body president froze the paper’s financing.

The editors of the paper, The Montclarion, claim that the president, Ron Chicken, improperly used his authority, cutting off the newspaper’s funds to silence criticism of the student government.

The student body president, however, told the Montclarion’s editors that they had violated the by-laws of the student government association by hiring their own lawyer.

The Society of Professional Journalists (full disclosure: I'm a member) posted on its site a letter to the Montclarion editor, excerpts of which were just to members sent via e-mail:

Letter of support to Montclarion editors and staff

Weigh in: What are your thoughts on the situation? Has this happened/could this happen at your university?

Top Ten List of Tips for Journalism Students

After sharing links to interesting articles and posting my thoughts on online journalism for a little while, I wanted to compile a "top 10" list of suggestions for journalism students. I actually thought of this idea the day before Howard Owens posted his objectives for today’s non-wired journalist, which reaffirmed my desire to do this.

This list couldn't possibly include everything, but I know I would have certainly appreciated knowing several of the items as an incoming freshman. There is, of course, some overlap, but I tried to break it all down as best as possible.

Before I start, I'd like to emphasize something Rob Curley said in his remarks at ACP/CMA (thanks to Bryan Murley for the audio): "Mindset is important. Have the right mindset. ... All that being said...it doesn't hurt to have some skills."

Disclaimer: I'm a student. I've never done hiring for a professional newspaper, Web site, TV or radio station. I don't claim to be a long-bearded, learned scholar. I don't have a Ph.D., a Master's or even my Bachelor's degree yet.

There's no guarantee you'll get a job or internship if you do the following. This is merely intended to be a compilation of what I've read and heard from others who have the qualifications to give such advice. So think of it as just me relaying research to you, one student to another.

Enjoy! (Be sure to comment at the bottom)

1. Get Web savvy: But aren't all young people already? Yes, in a sense. If you're 18 to 20-something year-old student, you probably already use Facebook or MySpace, chat using an instant messenger, read news online, check a blog or two, use or edit a wiki somewhere, etc. Now take it a step further. Subscribe for e-mail news alerts and RSS feeds – make friends with Google Reader. Take advantage of what the Internet has to offer; it's not just a series of tubes. Do you know what Digg, del.icio.us, Fickr and Twitter are? You don't have to use them all, but you need to know what's out there and be able to utilize new tools (many of which are free) at your fingertips to better do your job. I have mine linked on the right side of this blog.
2. Read online journalism blogs: What are your peers doing? Ryan Sholin, Megan Taylor and Dave Lee are great destinations for students. What are professionals and professors discussing? Mindy McAdams, Mark Briggs, Paul Conley, Howard Owens, Jeff Jarvis, Rob Curley, Alfred Hermida, Bryan Murley, Paul Bradshaw, and others will give you an inside look. A good tip for expanding your blog horizons is to check out who is on the blogroll of your favorite bloggers.
3. Start a blog: The next logical step. This could be on any topic you're interested in, but be sure it's something you'd be able to write about at least once a day. A blog is a great way to keep writing. Use images and hyperlinks. Be careful about the tone and content of the blog because it's going to be part of your digital legacy, something future employer will see. You want to avoid being too opinionated about a subject you may one day cover, because it could create problems later. Also, avoid writing a rancorous partisan blog – that probably won't help you either. Be professional, but have fun. Another note: use the blog to link to all your work online, a sort-of "quick clips" page you can e-mail to a recruiter or editor.
4. Learn how to tell stories in more than one way: Journalism is essentially storytelling, so why not tell a story the best way(s) possible? Audio, video, photos, polls, interactive features and games can help. You don't have to be Steven Spielberg behind the camera or have a voice like Don LaFontaine. You don't have to be able to hack NORAD or reinvent Monopoly (no, I won't link) for the Web. To be among the most viable candidates, based on what I've been told and read, you need to be able to capture, edit and upload content you captured with a camera, voice recorder and/or video camera. It's really not that hard. Programming knowledge (HTML, CSS, etc.) is a plus, but not essential (yet?). Nevertheless, you should be able to work with programmers and online editors to tell a multimedia story. The best way to learn any skill is to do it yourself. If you're waiting for someone to take your hand and lead you down the path of multimedia, it probably isn't going to happen. Use online tutorials or courses. Practice. Learn from your mistakes. Practice some more. NOTE: As one of my professors, Chris Delboni, always says, "It's not about technology!" She's absolutely right. Technology doesn't tell the story; it helps you tell the story. And technology changes. (Foreshadowing number 10...)
5. Two important Web sites: Join LinkedIn: Like a Facebook for professionals, LinkedIn combines your resume with who know. It's great way to keep in touch with reporters, editors and recruiters you've met. You can also link to your blog, school (insert medium here)'s Web site, a page with links to your work and links to your social networking sites. If you're ever asked to e-mail a resume for a job or internship, be sure to include a link to your public LinkedIn profile – and a homepage, if you have one. Overall, this is just one more way to show your Web savvy and shape your digital legacy. Bookmark Poynter: Poynter Online should be at the center of your online journalism world. The site has articles on a variety of journalism topics, columns, NewsU training courses and will soon have social networking with the planned Poynter Online Groups. Jim Romanesko's blog on the media is a must-read. Any one who wants to go into journalism or who is in journalism should subscribe to Joe Grimm's "Ask the Recruiter" column, which runs Monday through Friday, and take a glance at Colleen Eddy's weekly "Colleen on Careers." Put all these feeds into your reader. Another area is Career Center, where you can look for job opportunities, post your resume and get career advice.
6. Are you experienced? Join campus media: This is an item that everyone should know, but for some reason people still don't do it. Why? In the most simplistic way I can rephrase it: Recruiters are not going to select you for internships without some kind of previous experience in that field, and you need internships (note the plural) to get a job. Dabble in the various student media at your college or university. Find the one you like the most and focus on it, but don't leave the others behind. Establish working relationships in the spirit of cooperation/convergence to better tell the story. You need to be familiar with other forms of storytelling (see number four). Gear it towards the Web (number one) and blog about it (number three). Look for off-campus opportunities: When I took Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman's sports reporting class last spring, she told of how she, as a student journalist, would go through the UM team rosters and pitch features to a player's hometown paper. Be entrepreneurial. You're going to need clips, and simply working for a campus news outlet isn't likely going to be enough, depending on where you apply. Try to string for your hometown or college town paper during the summer to get clips and quality experience. But when? Don't wait until you're a senior, or even a junior or a sophomore. If you can, try to do it before you even get to college; experience in high school helps with this. Once you're in school, apply for multiple internships EVERY summer. Leave the comforts of a familiar setting if you can. The only way you have a chance anywhere is to apply. Interview as an underclassman, even as a graduating high school senior to help you evaluate where you are and where you need to be to get a position. This will also help you establish a relationship with a recruiter early on in the process.
7. Utilize campus resources: Part I -- Talk to older students: Who are the best professors? What should I being doing this semester, next semester, next summer, next year? Talk to your peers. Find a student mentor. Professors and deans make great mentors as well (see part II), but having a peer – someone who you can better identify with – guide you is a great asset. As a first semester freshman, I met a journalism/political science major who was two years older and offered a lot of great advice for both areas. Part II -- Get to know your professors: Assistance can also come from professors, outside the classroom. Shocking, I know. You likely have access to a wealth of academic and professional knowledge in your journalism school or department – take advantage of this. I enjoy talking to my professors and, in the many countless hours I've spent chatting with them in their offices, I've received a great deal of help. Internship advice, information on upcoming classes, story ideas, study abroad opportunities and more. Where should you look to intern and/or freelance? Networking is huge (i.e. LinkedIn and next item) and professors are probably some of your best connections to newspapers, TV, radio and online news sites. Even if they didn't work at whatever organization you want to go to, they might know someone who does.
8. Network: Meet people. This is an essential part of your job as journalist. If you can't network with students, journalists, professors, reporters, editors and recruiters, what does that say about you're ability to connect with readers/viewers and maintain good contact with sources? This overlaps with the previous two items, but networking warrants its own segment. Networking will help you do your job better, as well as get a job or internship. You're much more likely to get a position you want if you know someone at the paper. The best references are people who the recruiter or editor knows and trusts, or those who have a well-known reputation. But how? Go to job fairs and conferences. Comment on blogs and articles. E-mail your favorite writers and reporters.
9. Know the business: Subscribing to Romanesko (part of number five) will help you keep up with the industry in which you hope to work. Another great way to do so is by reading Editor & Publisher. If you can have a conversation with a recruiter or editor about the current state of the news business it will show two things: 1) You're passionate about the profession and 2) You're not just another green college student – you comprehend the world you want to get into, its harsh realities and why people are both optimistic and pessimistic. Reading blogs (item two) and talking with professionals (item eight) will help you to do this.
10. Be able to evolve and have an open mind: Above all, you must be able to adapt to the changing world of journalism. Evolving is at the heart of numbers one through five. This concept also involves having an open mind, as Curley and others note. Similarly important is being entrepreneurial (six) and being able to do it yourself (four). Being spoon-fed ain't happen, folks. You need to take the initiative to learn on your own. A Jan. 9 post by Paul Conley triggered a wide-spread discussion about training and adapting. While I don't think that train has left the station (sorry for the horrible pun), training should not be a crutch. Training should be supplement, a way to learn new tips and tricks. (Insert "old dog" cliché here).

Weigh in: Did you find this list useful? What would you add or remove? I will take into consideration suggestions and recommendations for adjusting this list.

Past posts with tips:
Trying to 'survive and thrive' in journalism (Dec. 15, 2007)
Talking dirty diapers (Dec. 17, 2007)
Poynting out one's online identity (Dec. 27, 2007)
Non-wired journalists and non-wired cameras (Dec. 30, 2007)
Links about journalism education (Jan. 6, 2008)
Bloggers' thoughts that student journalists should heed (Jan. 11, 2008)
More words of wisdom from journo-bloggers (Jan. 15, 2008)

Newspaper site traffic data

From Editor & Publisher online, citing Nielsen Online:

EXCLUSIVE: Our Monthly Top 30 Most Popular Newspaper Sites -- 'Newsday' Pulls Ahead of WSJ.com

By the numbers:

Brand or Channel -- Unique Audience (000) -- Year-over-year % Change

NYTimes.com -- 17,177 -- 29.9%
USATODAY.com -- 9,939 -- 9.1%
washingtonpost.com -- 8,478 -- 11.2%
Newsday -- 6,450 -- 182.8%
Wall Street Journal Online -- 5,409 -- 109.0%

LA Times -- 4,607 -- (-6.4%)
Boston.com -- 4,364 -- 15.0%
Chicago Tribune -- 3,891 -- 14.0%
Daily News Online Edition -- 2,956 -- 23.2%
New York Post -- 2,851 -- (-5.7%)

SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle -- 2,785 -- (-30.9%)
Philly.com -- 2,300 -- 33.4%
International Herald Tribune -- 2,250 -- 14.9%
Village Voice Media -- 2,224 -- 70.6%
Chicago Sun-Times -- 2,186 -- 8.3%

Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- 1,974 -- 26.2%
The Houston Chronicle -- 1,946 -- (-18.6%)
The Seattle Times -- 1,840 -- (-19.3%)
DallasNews.com - The Dallas Morning News -- 1,828 -- 21.9%
Seattle Post-Intelligencer -- 1,785 -- (-0.1%)

The Politico -- 1,672 -- N/A
Orlando Sentinel -- 1,522 -- 78.6%
NJ.com -- 1,455 -- 40.1%
Azcentral.com -- 1,435 -- (-36.6%)
Baltimore Sun -- 1,332 -- 26.2%

MercuryNews.com -- 1,315 -- (-15.1%)
The Detroit News -- 1,256 -- 21.4%
The San Diego Union-Tribune -- 1,180 -- 10.4%
Detroit Free Press -- 1,168 -- (-22.9%)
The Washington Times -- 1,161 -- (-24.9%)

Weigh in: Does Newsday pulling ahead of WSJ surprise you?

Back in action...sorta

The newsroom was abuzz for the first time in more than a month.

Editors abound. Couches pulled out. Ideas overfloweth.

It was great to see everyone again after break for The Miami Hurricane's first staff meeting of the semester. Old faces and new faces, all ready to get back into action (please excuse the cliche).

Here are some of the topics we discussed:

• Copyediting all possible content before layout, which will begin with first issue
  
• Outlook for multimedia this semester and what role the multimedia editor and assistant multimedia editor will play
  
• Preview of Web site overhaul, which will be a collaborative, semester-long effort; Art Director/Visuals Editor Will Wooten, Webmaster Brian Schlansky and I will take the lead, working with other staffers and Chris Delboni's CNJ 442 class
• New Sunday meeting structure
• Outline of SG spring election coverage timeline
• What everyone's favorite color is
• Adjustments to process for editorials
• Emphasizing the importance of blogs and being connected
• Highlighting that we are not just a newspaper, but a news organization
  

Weigh in: What would you like to see from the paper this semester?

Putting newspaper stands on their heads

I think the men in white coats are going to lock me up for the idea that somehow came out of my head and onto Ryan Sholin's blog post: The one dollar newspaper.

Here's the craziness I just conjured up in a comment about ideas for a new variety of newspaper box/newsstand:

“We could all use a little change.”
-Smashmouth

I like the general concept because I never carry change either and still enjoy holding a paper in my hands.

Going out on this limb even further (and assuming these boxes are powered), why not have a blank below-the-fold? That way, when you purchase the paper, it prints the latest news in brief while you still have your main day’s news/feature above-the-fold and all the inside content.

Or even a news kiosk that prints tab or 8.5×11 papers on-demand with ALL the latest news. This would be the drunken love-child of an old newsstand and El Pais’ 24 horas (elpais.com/24horas).

Stay with me for a minute. You’d have these strategically placed in high-traffic areas, such as metro and bus stations, government centers, shopping malls, business districts, etc.

It may not the most practical idea, but it’s a good marriage of portability and timeliness. I don’t mind reading news on my smartphone, but I think a lot of people would prefer this kind of product on-the-go. You could print it with at what ever size font you want and even customize what you want to read. Don’t read sports? Double your business section. Like pictures? Print photo stories.

How about the ultimate one-stop-shop: It dispenses coffee or tea for another buck. Heck, throw in a muffin.

I’ll stop these mutterings for now. Any thoughts or suggestions for this hair-brained scheme?

UPDATE, 5:53 P.M.: Just to clarify, this wouldn't be a go-to source for breaking news, merely a way to get updated news in place of reading a newspaper that is X hours old.

Weigh in: What do you think about this idea? Would you give me the money to try it OR would you say I flew the cuckoo's nest?

Sacked newspaper editor's column

A partial version of the quote below in one of the comments posted on a very telling column by now former San Angelo (Texas) Standard-Times editor Perry Flippin:

Columnist caught up in newspapers' changing times

"The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

I haven't heard this quote in a little while, but was inspired to use it to kick off an occasional "quote of the day" post. I'll post an interesting quote, either current or historical, if I run across something I find noteworthy. I won't just throw on a quote for the sake of doing so.

Thanks to Romanesko for posting the link to Flippin's column.

Weigh in: What's your reaction to Flippin's column?