Guru: Teacher of wisdom, literally, one who takes you from darkness to light.

Richard Koci Hernandez seems to fit that description in the realm of multimedia.

I first met him at an ACP conference in San Francisco last spring. It was the most inspiring seminar I’d ever witnessed. He talked about breaking the rules and going against the grain. He shared his views on the future of HDV instead of DSLRs. His message was sincere and presented in a fresh way. Since the conference, I’ve kept a close eye on his blog and am always interested in what he has to say.

The following is the result of a recent e-mail interview with him:

Continue Reading →

Guest blog by Ryan Chartrand

The problem

Newspapers have made some pretty desperate moves in the last few years. They’ve cut pages, cut staff, cut paychecks, but then decided to try to add social networking to their Web sites.

Sure, it was a great idea; the problem was they were too busy cutting and scrambling to notice that it was just another desperate attempt at “innovation.”

The turning point

And as much as I didn’t want to believe it, the turning point came in May 2008. When the once-messiah of digital journalism Rob Curley jumped ship from Loudon Extra, the forerunner in innovative community sites attached to a newspaper Web site, newspapers started to rethink the idea of community sites.

I work at a major newspaper in a major California city that felt the effects only a month later. Our community site hadn’t even left its “beta” stage before the paper abandoned it…partially (there are still some advocates left in the building, likely to be laid off soon anyway).

The saddest part of this little memory in digital journalism history is that a lot of people thought community sites would be what saved newspapers.

Bringing the community together in a fully-interactive space where they could have profiles, post pictures/video, talk to people with similar interests, become more politically active, etc. were all possible through these community sites once they got off the ground.

Sadly, “off the ground” was a marketing dream that eventually turned into “buried in the ground.”

The blame

So who’s to blame for newspapers’ last hope? The site that already offered all of this, of course: Facebook.

Newspapers rarely hire the right people for the Web, and they suffer because of it. At my paper, the technology used to develop the community site was clunky, bland, and not nearly as robust as Facebook.

Facebook has always been and always will be clean, easy to use, consistent, and very robust in its capabilities.

With that in mind, here’s what people wanting to get involved with social networking were faced with:

While newspapers had a lot of features to offer similar to Facebook (not nearly as many, of course), it seemed silly to join a social network that had 10 people while all of your friends partied in the Facebook castle next door. There’s simply no way to compete with these massive networks that have already claimed the territory.

Some newspapers were semi-successful in their attempts at generating communities, but the costs of maintaining these sites rarely exceeded the gain.Should newspapers completely abandon this innovative idea then? Is it truly hopeless? Once again, the answer lies in the beast that is Facebook.

Giving in

If you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em. I really think newspapers are focusing their efforts in the wrong part of town, and if they actually went to where the people are, they’d have the potential to bring in the community they desire.

Should newspapers actually make the switch to Facebook, they’re going to need developers to build them applications. CNN and New York Times have a few cute applications, but nothing that really helps engage people, as they’re mostly RSS-generated info. (Although I must say, CNN’s public forum connection to Facebook is quite brilliant).

Considering the amount of information a newspaper receives daily, coming up with innovative ideas for applications should be simple; finding people to develop them, however, won’t come easy.

The future

But just imagine applications like the Washington Post’s blog Buzz Map (a map that geocodes keywords from blogs and news stories and places them on a map according to the keywords) that would also pull data from what its “fans” are saying on walls and notes. If a newspaper offered a dozen of applications like this on its profile and distributed them to fans’ profiles, people would actually be interested in connecting and “friending” a newspaper (which seems impossible, I know).

Or an application that shows breaking news or live blogs on your profile. People want ways to make their own profiles come alive, let alone the newspaper’s profile. And just to make advertising happy, how about an application that feeds off of the paper’s classifieds, showing the latest jobs or private party cars posted?

These are just a few random ideas, the point is that there is plenty of room for creativity and rethinking the newspaper and how it can be applied into a social network.

Online journalists think that because they’ve made poor replicas of Facebook that they’re being innovative and saving newspapers. What we need to do is put newspapers into an actual social network with actual people and see where truly innovative ideas can take the industry.

The idea of online communities merging with newspapers shouldn’t be abandoned quite yet; at least not until it’s tested in a real, populated social networking environment.

I think we could see a much stronger connection develop between newspapers and their communities through this relationship with Facebook. If we could just leave the tent outside and go where the communities really are, if we could just serve people the way they want to be served and where they want to be served, rather than trying to take them away from their networks, newspapers really could still have hope online.

Richard Koci Hernandez, an Emmy-winning multimedia photojournalist who just left the SJ Mercury News to work at Berkeley, said the switch from the newsroom to the classroom was easy.

“I was already teaching in the newsroom, so it was a seamless transition,” he said via a recent e-mail interview.

Newsrooms are a place where people are constantly testing their boundaries and learning new skills. And their teachers? The Web gods of the newsroom who taught themselves through online tutorials, books and seminars.

And the better the teacher, the better the quality of your content and your Web site.

In a college atmosphere, audio slideshows will probably be the starting point for any online editor who is trying to teach multimedia basics. Here are a few tips for how to do it without going insane:

Understand it

Teachers can’t teach if they don’t know what they’re doing. Make sure you know the basics first. Write out everything you know about audio slideshows. Take a look at a few of these resources:

• “Producing Audio Slideshows” from Advancing the Story
• 9 tips for recording audio for the web from 10,000words.net

Be clear

Don’t just briefly explain the concept to your new multimedia reporters. Sit down and really show them what an audio slideshow is. For the little extra time you spend initially explaining the assignment, you’ll save hours and hours later.

• Remind them of the basics that may come naturally to you by now (e.g. don’t talk over your interviewee, bring extra batteries, hold the mic 6+ inches away, ask open-ended questions).
• Show them what an audio slideshow is. Give them samples of the best quality so they aim high (great resource: interactivenarratives.org)
• Give them your specific expectations for quantity (e.g. 30 photos and 3 minutes of audio)
• E-mail/write out tips/expectations for them. They won’t remember it all, so it’s nice to have a go-to sheet

Start simple

Assign fluffy, arts-related audio slideshows to take your reporters’ multimedia virginity.  Interviews/photos are generally easier to get, so the focus is more on the production end. Make sure it’s not a time-sensitive slideshow. There is nothing worse than trying to teach someone Garageband/Audacity on a deadline (ok, actually there are… just thinking about teaching Flash gives me a headache).

Go with them the first time

Or let them go with you when you’re covering something for a multimedia piece. Let the reporter get comfortable with the process of recording audio that will be used beyond simple transcription.

• If they have questions on the spot or technical problems, they have the comfort of turning to you — their teacher — for advice
• If you notice the reporter doing something wrong, you’re there to offer immediate feedback (but try to remain a mere observer. Don’t be too intrusive on the reporter’s space).

Editing: No such thing as too picky

Teach it right the first time. Don’t think that a reporter can get away with sloppiness the first time around. It’s hard to break a bad habit later.

• Show them shortcuts in the audio-editing program you’re using
• Drill your stylistic preferences into their brains (e.g. Do your audio slideshows use a title slide? An ending slide with your news site’s URL? Do you fade the sound between speakers/ leave silence?)

Let the reporter control the mouse/keyboard

• It will be hard to not take control (you can do it 10x faster anyway, right?)
• Let the reporter stay in control. The more control he/she has the first time, the easier it will be (psychologically) to do an audio slideshow alone the next time around

Be patient

• Reporters who haven’t touched an audio editing program before are going to be intimidated
• Give constant encouragement (even if they’re screwing up). Say “You’re learning fast, but one recommendation would be…)
• They will ask you the same questions over and over if they’re not comfortable with the program yet. After the first few times, answer with: “You tell me…”
• Be available while they’re editing.
• Keep smiling. Don’t get grouchy or upset.
• When they’re done, tell them “good job” and then go over how to make it better for the next time

You’ve probably heard old photography rule of thumb, but do you understand it?

I always thought the “rule of thirds” meant to compose your subject into one of three evenly-split sections, either horizontally or vertically. As I quickly learned in my photojournalism class: I was wrong.

Rule of thirds: A photography/design guideline that composes the most interesting elements of a photograph in visual “hotspots” at intersections of each third (horizontally and vertically).

Too many words? For the visual learners:

Why it works

• By putting points of interest at hotspots, your photo becomes more balanced
• Eyetrack studies show that when people look at photos, their eyes go to the hotspots, not to the middle of the photo
• The composition works with, not against, the natural way we see things

Questions to consider when taking a photo:

1. Where are the points of interest?
2. Where am I intentionally composing photo elements?
3. Will I be editing/cropping this photo later?

Practice makes perfect

The technique sounds easier than it really is. Whether you’re a wedding photographer or a photojournalist, elements like good lighting and focus and “the moment” are probably your priorities. Trying to picture a grid is probably the last thing on your mind.

I hate to throw the cliche out there, but practice makes perfect. Walk around downtown and try the technique. Go to a park or a sporting event and try to make it part of your natural routine.

If it’s still too much to think about, then you should at least keep the rule in mind when digitally post-processing your photos later.

Example in action

Consider these two photos from Nader’s visit to Cal Poly. Which one is more visually engaging?

In this first example, Nader’s face is between the main hotspots. Although the mic and his hand hit the spots almost exactly, they’re not the most visually engaging aspect of the photo. Because he’s a speaker at a podium (which is already boring to being with), his face should be the biggest appeal.

In the second example, his face and his brightest, most visible logo hit two of the uppermost hotspots. It’s slightly more visually intriguging that the side, profile shot.  It feels more balanced and natural.

What are “important” visual components?

• Faces
• Shapes (especially circles)
• Bright colors
• Eyes
• Anything else that catches your attention

Breaking the rule

That being said, sometimes breaking the rule of thirds and settling with complete symmertry or complete imbalance is ok:

kafirwall.deviantart.com

yondus.deviantart.com

But you know what they say: “You’ve gotta know the rules before you break them.”

Google Calendars

Things to schedule:

• Budget meetings
• Deadlines
• Must-cover events
• Special editions

Why it’s useful:

• Can be shared with everyone on staff
• Collaborative – everyone can contribute
• Embeddable

Google Documents

What to use it for?

• Stories: If the newsroom server goes down, it’s good to have all your stories saved somewhere remotely (or, if a natural disaster forces you out of the newsroom, your resources are still available)
• Organization: You can easily filter stories by section, and they’re color coordinated
• Collaboration: Editors and reporters can see who’s working on which document. You can also see “history of revisions” to see who changed what
• Contact lists: Use Google Spreadsheet documents to keep a cumulative list of all your key contacts.
• Data collection: Keep information for in-depth research (council member salaries, history timelines, etc.) in spreadsheets that can be accessed anywhere

Google News Archives

What is it?

• Online database of news archives dating back 200 years (obviously, though, the collection of articles isn’t complete yet)
• Small cost: Some publications require a small fee of $2.95 to access an archived article. They do, however provide a pretty thorough preview.

Why use it?

• While microfiche is free and basically the same thing, when working on a tight deadline for a story, sometimes the few extra dollars is worth the time it will save you to dig through library archives
• Quick, efficient way to do research on a topic in a hurry

Google Alerts

As Ronald Wong reminded me in his comment (how could I forget?) Google Alerts are one of the best tools for editors and reporters (especially beat writers). Google alerts show you news as it breaks and give you the potential for great story ideas.

What is it?

• Google e-mails you links to anything on the Web that pops up with your keyword in it
• E-mails can be sent weekly, daily or as-it-happens
• Examples of a few of my Google alerts:
  - Cal Poly (unfortunately I get Pomona results galore)
  - Mustang Daily
  - Lauren Rabaino (not vain! You should know what’s being said about you on the web)
  - Warren Baker (Our university president)
  - Joss Whedon (that’s just for fun)
• Other ideas to consider:
  - Name of your sports conference (if you’re a sports editor/sports beat reporter)
  - Specific clubs/groups on campus
  - Faculty associations (for the CSU it’s the California Faculty Assoc.)

Anything I missed? Let me know and I’ll add it to the list…

If you know a thing or two about graphic/web design, make your résumé mirror your knowledge.

When a “new media” journalist has a résumé made off a Microsoft Word template, it shows nothing about the creativity that person has.

I recently redesigned my résumé to give it that Twittery feel. Why?

• Using elements that are popular in web design show that I actually pay attention to web design trends
• It’s eye-catching. What would be more memorable? Times New Roman with a bulleted list, or Helvetica in colorful boxes?
• If I have “graphic design” listed as a talent, I sure as hell better have a unique résumé. In a way, the design of your resume is your own advertisement for yourself.

A few other tips for journalists’ resumes:

• Keep it short and clean. While this applies to pretty much every résumé, it’s especially important for a journalist. Journalists are supposed to be pros at keeping things concise and to the point. The first hint at whether you’re truly capable of that is through your resume.
• Run it through spell check. Again, this is more important for a journalist than it would be for an engineer. If you can’t copy edit your own resume, how can you be expected to copy edit your stories?

Who would you hire as your new media reporter?

Here are some other great ideas for resume design:

• Brand yourself. Give yourself a logo that you use on your résumé, your business card, your Web site and your blog. It’s a goal I have for myself, in fact. It gives you an identity and establishes your credibility
• Use color. I often hear the use of color/borders/shapes as huge résumé no-no. I disagree. Use color appropriately. Draw the readers’ eyes to the parts that are important, use it as a separator or as an accent.
• Use white space. Don’t make your résumé look like a novel. Again, applying basic principals of Web design, less text is better. Don’t distract the recruiter. Use bulleted lists and keep it clean.

Now, here’s some inspiration. Go open Photoshop, Illustrator, inDesign or all three and make yourself a new resume masterpiece. Even if you’re no good at graphic design, it’s easy to use good fonts and a little color to make your resume sparkle.

I have never experienced anything like watching live comments on a VP debate as it happens:

http://election.twitter.com/

Web 2.0 is truly amazing…

More on this later…

The big Chicago Tribune redesign has been released and, not surprisingly, it’s not the version that was heavily circulated around the Web that featured the title “Trib.”

Here are a few before and afters:

A prototype that surfaced the web last week showed a front page the read “Trib” big and bold across the masthead– a bold move that the traditional newspaper apparently wasn’t quite ready for.

While the new design is obviously a lot more modern, will it work? Newspapers won’t survive by simply giving themselves a facelift. They have to start from within and change the content to match the new design. What does that entail?

• More features
• A more magazine/blog-like appeal
• More modern design (like the Tribune)

My theory is that newspapers cannot keep using print to try to break news. If newspapers want to make it, they need to stop cutting jobs and pages. They need to add pages and add jobs. Change the content to be an in-depth analysis of yesterday’s news that was already broken on the Web.

When TV got big, radio was supposedly going die. That was almost 80 years ago.

The industry isn’t dying. It’s changing. We need to embrace it.

While walking to class, taking a jog or driving to the store, you probably always find yourself coming up with great topics to blog about.

The only problem: six hours later, you have no idea what those topics were. So, today’s tip for other amateur bloggers — write the ideas down as they come to you.

• Text message it to yourself
• Call into your voicemail
• Write it on your hand or post it
• Leave a notepad and pen in the bathroom

You’ll be grateful for it later.

This is been another blog tip, from one amateur to another.
Prior tips: Tip #1: Test your comments