Washington Post reporter Anne Hull speaks at UF

Rather than attending lecture for my editing class today, we have been given the opportunity to sit in on a talk given by Pulitzer Prize finalist and national reporter for the Washington Post Anne Hull.

For those who may not know, Hull, working in collaboration with Post reporter Dana Priest, is responsible for the story that ran in February of 2007 about the less-than-acceptable conditions of the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital. The online version of the story is accompanied by three audio slide shows, featuring Hull as a narrator. I like the package as an example of how a top-tier prize-winning reporter can still dip their feet into the multimedia realm of their story-telling.

Other pieces by Hull include stories about gay youth, welfare reform, AIDS and immigration.

Further reading:
"Young and Gay in Real America" -
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

Frontline special tonight: "Growing Up Online"

There are very few TV shows that I like enough to actually work into my nightly schedule. With the writer's strike, it's even less. Tuesdays, I'll admit, are usually dedicated to the heartfelt and motivating weight-loss stories of NBC's Biggest Loser, but tonight I'm switching things up. (But still rooting for the Orange team!)

PBS's Frontline prides itself on "thought provoking journalism on air and online," and more often than not it delivers. Tonight at 9p.m. eastern they are airing a new special called "Growing Up Online."

In "Growing Up Online," FRONTLINE peers inside the world of this cyber-savvy generation through the eyes of teens and their parents, who often find themselves on opposite sides of a new digital divide. From cyber bullying to instant "Internet fame," to the specter of online sexual predators, FRONTLINE producer Rachel Dretzin investigates the risks, realities and misconceptions of teenage self-expression on the World Wide Web.

The documentary also glimpses into the phenomenon of social networking, plagiarism and the disappearance of paper media in schools; all relevant topics to a journalism student like myself and worth a watch this evening. Here's a preview from PBS:

Surfline.com

It's pretty exciting when a cool piece of journalism comes from an untraditional soft-news source. Surfline.com is an online resource for surfers to scope out ocean conditions all over the world, check out sweet photos and stay on top of surf news. Other than a vertical drop-down style of navigation that bothers almost every one I know, the site is nicely done. I especially enjoyed "Eye of the Storm," an audio-backed photo story.

Gotta hand it to their staff for presenting some pretty standard-big-blue-wave-tiny-surfer-dude photos in a way that drew me in by adding some audio to the piece. Listening to the surfer being interviewed, I got to hear the actual "surfer slang" accent give some nice details on what it was like for these guys to be towed into enormous, potentially life-threatening waves. This could be the perfect example of a piece that could have been just as easily created using Soundslides, but I assume it is only a matter of time before that software becomes more popular outside of the journalism community.

Job Post of the Week: MTV News Production Assistant

Job Post of the Week: MTV News Production Assistant

Where do I apply? How? When? They're not very generous on the job responsibilities details but it's MTV. I'll take it.

MTVNews.com is seeking a full time Production Assistant to support daily news operations (via both written stories and video). The Production Assistant reports to the Vice President of MTV News Digital and will work closely with the Senior Producer on a day-to-day basis.

The Basics --

Qualifications/skills:
- Some production/digital media experience (internships/student activities OK).
- Photoshop
- Avid / Final Cut Pro or similar non-linear editing application.
- Basic HTML (text formatting, tables, lists)
- Willingness to learn MTV News' digital content management systems
- Some background in writing/journalism a plus.
- Experience with shooting video and/or photos also a plus.


The ideal candidate is:
- Versed in web and video production.
- Interested and immersed in music, movies and popular culture.
- Energetic, dynamic and creative; reliable and punctual.
- Cool under pressure.

This one has been bookmarked and is on top of my pile so far! :)

Finally, a Bloglines CON

I love Bloglines. I can read blogs minus the obnoxious ads (a necessary evil, I know) and confusing, distracting layouts. Text, links and photos with little mess. But this simplicity and cleanliness that bloglines delivers also sells the reader short. Side elements of a blog like a Blogroll, related links, archives, etc. are left out if a reader service is used, and some of my favorite time wasted online comes from clicking from blog to blog via, you guessed it, blogs! Once my Bloglines list was built I forgot that reading blogs and RSS feeds should be a changing and expanding network process. If you find something that tickles your fancy, click the link to the actual blog and see where it takes you. Don't be a slave to your feed reader!

Mobile media in action

It may have been a longtime coming for me to ditch my old cellphone and enter the wonderfully portable networked world of a PDA phone, and I know I've already blogged about my Blackjack 2 once before, but, because my love affair with my new gadget is still in the honeymoon phase, here I am to rave again. Just wanted to take a minute and demonstrate the mobillity power gained from a device like this as I type from the seat of an RTS bus on my way home from campus on the first day of my last semester. Here's me, almost to my stop, taken discretely with my phone :)

Job Post of the Week: Staff Writer for TheStreet.com/MainStreet.com

Job Post of the Week: Staff Writer for TheStreet.com/MainStreet.com

It's funny that my first Job Post of the Week is a staff-writer position at TheStreet.com. My ever-adventurous dad was just telling me about the Web site the other day after reading Jim Cramer's (of CNBC's Mad Money) new book "Stay Mad." TheStreet.com gathers investment advice, stock market news and trading information and presents it to the average Joe in an understandable way. Their new site MainStreet is set to offer an unusual combination of celebrity entertainment and personal finance. The job listing says:

MainStreet.com will cover breaking news, including celebrity and entertainment news, as a means to get into personal finance, i.e. Jamie Lynn Spears is having a baby…Suddenly finding yourself with an unplanned bun in the oven? Here’s how to start preparing yourself financially to have and raise a child.

The Basics --

Requirements:
• Great news judgment
• 3+ years of journalism experience
• Ability to flourish in a fast paced environment
• Good copy-editing skills
• Sense of humor
• If not direct experience, then interest, in learning about personal finance
• Experience with online publishing is preferred
• Interest in interactive media and the business side of editorial • Creativity

Description:
Write 300 to 1,000 stories and the occasional longer sections
• Come up with ideas both for stories and the promotion of video and interactive content
• Stay current with our subject areas. That means you are required to read both Kiplinger’s and PerezHilton (Yes, this is probably the first time that those two names have been in the same sentence.)
• Write and produce special projects as needed
• Make your stories web-ready (We’ll explain what we mean.)

Location:
New York, NY

Could you apply for this job? Sounds like loads of fun to me, but that 3+ years experience gets me everytime. It's almost discouraging but I know this is a business of working your way up and paying your dues in the beginning.


**Job Posts come via JournalismJobs.com in the online media section unless otherwise noted.

New Wednesday feature: Job Post of the Week

Happy New Year! January is always a time for reflection and anticipation for me. I managed to get a lot of fairly important things done in 2007:

1. In April, through my Online Media Production class, I revamped my personal Web site with an updated resume and bought my domain name. (I'd really like to do a new TextPattern redesign, but I don't want to half-ass it so I'm taking my time.)

2. Spent the summer at the High Springs Herald as an intern and came away some clips that I was pretty proud of.

3. Built my first all-Flash Web site for my sister's photography business and started to get my footing in working with clients.

4. Learned how to use a TextPattern content management system through JOU4946. (I just have to implement it on my own site next!)

5. Invested in an Olympus USB digital voice recorder and a Nikon D40x SLR camera and feel fairly comfortable using both. (Money very well spent!)

Now that 2008 is here with a vengeance, I've made two resolutions that I hope will be easy to maintain and fulfilling to my soon-to-be professional career. (Graduation is May 4 and my job-hunting fingers have been firmly crossed for quite some time.)
First, I'm going to read more books. I'd like to make a habit of putting down the cute but purpose-less dress at the mall and using that money to build a nice library of reference books for what I'm doing on the Web. On my wish list so far? A good book on ActionScript and a beginner-level guide to PHP or working with databases. I'm an self-prescribed novice who looks forward to soaking up a ton of knowledge this year.

If I can't keep up that resolution (some dresses are just TOO cute to put down), then I'd like to start the new year off by blogging more, and using my blog more as a networking tool in the blogosphere. So often are we instructed to do this from professors at UF's J-School, and from the wise words of industry professionals, but I don't do it enough. And after hours of obsessive browsing on JournalismJobs.com and my excitement about getting a REAL-LIFE job pretty soon, I've come up with something to keep me on track. Wednesdays at this blog will now feature "Job Post of the Week." I'll link to and describe a job opening I've spotted during the week that I would jump at. Some may have requirements that are way out of my reach (It seems like 3+ years of newsroom experience is always hiding on the post somewhere), or deadlines that don't work, etc. but just checking in on exactly what editors are looking for and knowing that there really are positions out there for us keeps me motivated. I only hope that it can do the same for whoever may read this thing.

Best wishes for a prosperous and healthy new year to all!