Typography, Headlines and Infographics

(coco) #1
MIXED MEDIA

R


ob Curley, vice president of Washingtonpost.Newsweek
Interactive, reminds us that “the most important part of
newspaper is news, not paper.”
The growing use of news blogs, text messaging and other technology
means that today, anyone can report the news in an instant to people all
over the world. Media professionals are rushing to use technology as they
adapt to a world where “old” news can mean anything posted more than
10 minutes ago.
More and more frequently, high school publications departments
are asking reporters to produce news for print, broadcast and online
delivery. “While some multimedia journalists—especially the younger
ones—can handle a variety of tasks efficiently and professionally, there
is concern that most will only practice mediocre journalism,” explained
Carol Lomicky, a University of Nebraska-Kearney journalism professor.
“Technology is pushing journalism, and we need to find out how we can
best utilize it to meet our needs and those of our consumers.”
This chapter will look at ways the news media has changed and what
issues these changes create for a new generation of reporters. You’ll learn
about blogs and Web communities and how they influence and impact
traditional media. You’ll also learn how to write for online publications
and how to create a podcast.

NEW MEDIA


The advent of the Internet has created many new opportunities for
news reporting. Some technological advances—including e-mail, instant
messaging, YouTube and portable devices like the iPhone—allow virtually
anyone the opportunity to post ideas and “news events” on Web pages,
blogs and online networking sites such as MySpace and FaceBook.
Traditional news sources are taking notice. To meet their audience’s
appetite for interactivity, many news sites invite people to participate in
the news reporting process. Users can give instant feedback on stories,
send story ideas and tips via e-mail or upload personal photos and video
clips for use on the air.
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After completing this chapter, you will be able to:


  • explain what blogs and other forms of new media are
    and their importance to and effect on journalism,

  • discuss whether or not posting is the same as reporting,

  • describe what an online story should and should not be,

  • discuss the major differences between writing for online media
    and traditional media,

  • explain what it means to be a new journalist,

  • create a podcast.


In this chapter, you will learn
the meaning of these terms:
post
blog
blogger
Web community
Model T
podcast
vidcast
RSS feed
golden nugget
logging

post


to put content, such as audio
or video, on the Web so that
others can have access to it

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