Convergence challenges

Reporting on a multimedia story is a difficult task, and doing it with a team of three students this semester has taught me a lot. What I call "convergence stress" is a type of stress I've never felt before--an anxious feeling where you never know what's next or what you have until you arrive back. Here are some lessons I've learned from the experience:

The idea must be everyone's
For everyone to be fully committed to the story idea, it has to be something everyone is invested in. The way my group achieved this was by discovering the idea together. When we brought in individual ideas or curiosities, there was a disconnect in the communication of the idea to the other group members. Therefore, brainstorming together has been a strength of working in a team.

Step over barriers

I have taken a much stronger project management role than I would have anticipated this semester, as two of my partners come from other countries and English is not their first language. They are incredibly talented and intelligent girls, but we have gone through some hurdles together that I never would have experienced otherwise. Many times, we will all be on the same page but can't communicate it in language that resonates with all three of us--with one being from Russia, another from Hong Kong and me from the United States. Overcoming these barriers has been a challenge but one I can say we happily step over and make progress on every day. 

Team members help you where you fall weak
My team members might not communicate as quickly, but believe in the definition of team more than any American students I've worked at in college. Rather than silo-ing off into work, they take on the work right then and there so the team does not fail. This not only comes in the form of compiling pieces, but also when we want to ask sources all of the questions. Having a partner assures that someone will see what you are missing, which was one thing missing in the indiviual convergence assignments at the beginning of the semester!

Benefits of teamwork
Overall, we benefit by each getting to play up one of our strengths in an area where it was most needed. One of my partners, Margaret, has excellent web design skills and started the design for our website as early as she could. Another, Barbara, has rigor and curiosity keeps us motivated to always keep moving forward even when it's difficult. I look forward to cranking out our project in the next 10 days and having a nice, final product!

Targeting audiences in journalism

As consumers view the news with less interest, journalists inadvertently have a role to adjust their traditional practices to better connect their stories with news audiences. What are some ways they can go about achieving this?

• Journalists don't just write or film stories, but must question in the pitch who their target audience is. You can no longer assume that the audience is anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the TV station. Who has a vested interest in this subject? Who will be attracted to the story because of their hobbies or news interests? As much as election stories serve the public, the target for how an election story is compiled is based on its audience. A 50-year-old businessman's news habits differ from those of a 19-year old first-time voter, so journalists need to cater to a target when compiling stories.  

• A new role is developed in sharing the news story with where this perceived audience is. Do these people check the publication's website often? Get all of their news on Twitter? Read news from blogs on specific industry categories or email wrapups? Journalists need to place the news on the right platform in the right location, or else the story is overlooked.

• Authors must actively attend to comments on their story to show the audience they care and respect their opinion. More than continuing a conversation, this small act of kindness from a journalist shows that someone appreciates that a consumer is engaged in the news enough to comment on a story. Therefore, a response encourages audience members to pay attention to news and gives them hope that they are being heard. 

So the real question here is, why should the journalist gain so many responsibilities because consumers are changing? Why do we put all of the blame on those trying to serve democracy and do a public good, rather than the crisis of Americans with declining interests and care for the news? As we brainstorm what journalists can do to better connect journalism to audiences, the next discussion to have is what news organizations as a whole should do to avert this crisis. One of these tactics could include educating and training journalists and staff to better engage the public, but the tactics overall should focus on converged newsrooms and innovation into multimedia news to serve the public in a manner where they will pay attention to stories--ultimately, keeping journalism in business.

Donald W. Reynolds Foundation announces gift to RJI

This morning, University of Missouri announced a $30.1 million endowment gift to the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation funded the gift, which is the largest gift specifically for endowment in the state of Missouri. Donald W. Reynolds is a 1927 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism

Chancellor Brady Deaton said this gift provides media researchers a continuing role in serving the citizens and democracy with their journalistic work and cutting-edge research projects.

Roger Gafke, Director of Program Development at RJI introduced Steve Anderson, president of Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, to give remarks. Anderson said that endowment funds are unusual for the foundation, and the gift is given to continue RJI’s mission to change.

“Smartphones and blogs weren't even talked too much about when we made the grant on 2003,” Anderson said. “Who knows what will happen in the next few years.”

Hannah Watts, Stewardship Coordinator at the Office of Donor Relations, said it is monumental to receive such a gift.

“When you have a gift that’s to endowment like that, it’s a huge commitment and shows their investment in the future,” Watts said. She explained that they invest it and that RJI can use a portion of it each year.

The gift announcement ended in an anecdote about over-pouring maple syrup across the table when Missouri School of Journalism educators heard about the last announcement. As a takeaway, pure maple candy from Maple Grove Farms was distributed.

Here are 3 photos from the event:

1.  Portrait of Hannah Watts

2. Roger Gafke introducing Steve Anderson

3. Pure maple candy basket

Convergence feedback

This Friday, my multimedia project went out on our first field reporting experience for our final project. We drove 70 miles away to a private deer hunting reserve, and learned a lot. The only reason we were able to report on our topic, deer hunting, with so many different pieces of equipment was because of the amount of time we spent practicing at the beginning of the semester. Here is some of the feedback I received on our so-called 'practice' assignments and how my team applied it this weekend:

Audio

• Obtaining natural sound of activity related to the topic: The first audio story I compiled didn't have as much nat sound as it could have, so I paid extra attention to details we could record when on the reserve. One piece of nat sound I'm happy we obtained was the setup of a rifle, and the actual rifle being shot.
• Continue clear voicing and use descriptive narration: This will come into play when compiling the story, but my group will make sure we use descriptive narration, especially when we create an audio-visual slideshow describing what was on the premises. 

Video

• Watching out for unintentional camera movement: We used a tripod at all times and Margaret, my team member who did a lot of the video recording, kept the tripod in between her legs to keep it balanced. 
• Apply the "visual cha cha" by getting close-up shots: While navigating the hunting reserve, we tried to film detail shots of the various equipment, plants the deer eat and clothing worn. 
• Telling sources not to look directly into the camera: We always had the interviewer off to the side of the camera and another student filming, so the interview was authentic and the source was not staring into the video camera's lens.  

Photo

• Use aperture settings to assure the photos are well-exposed: I made sure the ISO, shutter speed and aperture were all at good settings manually by taking some practice photo and ensuring the best settings for each photo. 
• Keep an eye on what's behind the person in the frame, and don't cut off people's bodies: In my previous photo assignments, the edges of people's arms or feet would be cut off because of how I framed the photo. This weekend, I made sure that wasn't done by securing the full frame in the photo and taking a look at the context so nothing distracting was in the background. 

Convergence Final Project

Now that we are done with the upfront work in my convergence class, we end the semester with a final project applying all of the multimedia lessons learned. For this project, I am in a group of 3 students that will produce a multimedia project on a story topic of our choice. As we approach the end of the semester, here are my goals for the finished product:

• Keep all reporting with a journalistic purpose. In class, we have been talking a lot about having a journalistic mission. While multimedia reporting, it's easy to get distracted from the story's purpose and acquire the best footage. Therefore, I aim to keep each multimedia component of our story on track. 

• Improve my video recording skills. Video reporting was particularly difficult for me- especially filming sequences. I hope to practice this and walk away with some solid video. 

• Shoot photos and capture good moments. After learning a lot about photojournalism during the beginning of the semester, I hope to apply these skills and really contribute some good visuals to our project. Both of my partners' strengths are in video filming, so I really see this being somewhere to take charge. 

• Be a patient reporter and team member. I'm working with two international students, and English is their second language. Because of this, I am not only producing a project, but acting as a liaison between our sources and my teammates. Sometimes, they think of a word or description in their native language, but can't think of the phrase in English. Usually, once we discover the message intent, it's something great that will really help our project. Knowing how our group meshes together will be a driving force for patience and an excellent completed project. 

I'll measure how I attain these goals at break points the rest of the semester to assure they are being accomplished. After we field report once, twice and start creating the website are good check-in points to measure the status on these. Wish me luck!

Video reporting

In my convergence journalism class, we put together our first broadcast stories in video package form. Multimedia reporting was a lot more difficult for me than I ever could have expected, because you can't redo events if what you filmed isn't exactly what you want for the video package. My first package portrayed the impact of children's theater in Columbia, with interviews from a theater dance teacher and two students who have acted in many local musicals.

The biggest thing I've learned and will do differently in the future when compiling TV stories is referencing. Referencing is when the verbal narration of a piece is aligned with what visually appears on the screen. This is especially important in broadcast journalism because it is common for TV viewers to look at the screen but not fully listen to what's being explained. When they do choose to tune in, the narration must match the visuals so viewers understand the news and digest it accordingly.

One way to counteract the issue of referencing is to acquire as much "b-roll" film as possible, with a variety of shots. Then, you can set the scene with a good variety of shots and reference each one. Therefore, in my future video projects, I will set the goal of getting as many shots as possible so I can reference what's going on when I put together the package.

Journalistic video: A crowded Mexico City prison

On Time.com's video stories, I came across a news video story titled Inside Mexico's Overcrowded Prisons. After learning about good qualities of journalistic video stories in my convergence coursework this week, I paid attention to the video's attributes to analyze if the correct types of shots were retrieved, how the interviews are framed and if using multimedia for the story contributes something new to the stories that photo, text or radio cannot add alone.

I think this video is a good example of TV journalism because it takes the viewer on a journey through the jail. The reporter takes viewers through the largest penitentiary in Latin America in Mexico City, discussing how its 12,000 inmates are crowding the property. Video reporting allows various parts of the story to be told and portrayed- such as the overall atmosphere, exercise therapy, and the different programs and recovery classes that the Mexico City prison has. A variety of wide, medium and tight shots are used wisely and work together to portray the story of an inmate's daily life inside this packed prison. While a photo slideshow would also be powerful, the background sound as we observe the prison and interviews contribute to the significance of this prison and its newsworthiness.

There are more than three interviews, and the interview shot framing does a good job of focusing on the sources. The interviews showcased are not just thrown into the story, they add detail and personal stories to the package by discussing the inmates' situations, explaining how one man has not seen his son in years.

One way I observed that the video could have improved upon was using a tripod to film shots. Some of the film was bouncy - meaning someone carried the camera around instead of keeping it still on a stand - and it diminished the story's credibility.

Check it out yourself:

Convergence: Improving radio reporting

After an intense few weeks of photography, my convergence course has moved onto audio reporting and learned how to use Zoom recorders to capture interviews and natural sound. Our first assignment was to compile soundbites, but next we were challenged to put together an NPR-style story with natural soundbites and two interviews.

I've been reporting on the musical Annie held in Columbia, Mo. as a co-production between Performing Arts in Children's Education (PACE) and Columbia Entertainment Company (CEC). For my story, I interviewed Liz, the 12-year-old actress who plays Annie, and Angela, the show's director. Both interviews went well and I had a good experience putting the piece together by teaching myself to storyboard it out, decide which story I wanted to tell and cut and edit the audio sound after.

In the future, the biggest improvement I want to make is writing my questions in a manner that elicits the sources to tell stories. This will make the story more interesting, connect the dots and let me as the narrator write good transitions that build up to a good overall piece. I'll continue to put effort into storyboarding out what I want to tell, and writing good narration. Last class, the most powerful advice we received was that the end of an audio story is just as important as the lede of a print story. I will incorporate these best practices and look forward to combining audio and visual skills this next week with video reporting and learning FinalCutPro!

Seeing the world through a different lens

After completing just a few photography assignments, I'm already starting to look at moments from a different perspective after attempting to capture them on camera. Manually taking photos has really made me gain an appreciation for still moments in time. I have been challenged to find decisive moments, facial reactions and interactions--and realizing how difficult they were to capture reminded me how special they truly are. I can enjoy the physical appearance of a friend's laughter, a memorable exchange between a group of people or the details of a scene...and sometimes even wish I had a camera with me.

Because of that, photo work has taught me the importance of context in everything humans do. We are constantly curious, and expect to see see the full scope of what is happening around us. We are not satisfied with just one facet of an atmosphere and demand additional information because it is so easily accessible. Therefore, photography has affected my worldview because it reminds me to take note of context, place scenarios with accurate background information and appreciate the moments going on right in front of your face--rather than trying too hard to find moments that won't arise.

The Art of Photojournalism

This week was a learning experience in manual photography, since it was my first time using a camera where I could change the ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Prior to playing with the camera, we completed a tutorial in class as well as a series of readings from the Nikon website and from photojournalism professionals. Taking good photographs requires curiosity, patience and good timing to capture moments and emotions. Detailed pictures aren't just present to enhance a story, they contribute to the story by showing an aspect of it that the reader can't envision already. Below are some inspiring ideas that I plan to incorporate into photojournalism assignments the rest of the semester:

• Framing- Choosing which elements to include in a photo and blending them with the environment in a balanced manner requires a lot of thinking. Applying concepts like the Rule of Thirds and placing subjects strategically will enhance future photo projects. 

• Preparation- Being prepared seems like it's obvious, but rather than being prepared to just take a picture, you must be prepared to interview the source as well. I plan on having background questions ready to really obtain the context behind the story. 

• Showing interaction- Photos should show interaction not only between people, but between humans and their environment. Assuring that captured moments use angles and emotion to show that communication will add a layer of meaning to pictures.

Attributes of multi-platform reporters

As I enter the Convergence Journalism emphasis area in my coursework, readings and class lectures this first week of school have taught me the definition of multi-platform news. Converged media is shared  through a combination of text, photographs, video clips, audio, graphics, online interaction and emerging methods. Class readings emphasize that each medium complements the others, rather than telling the same story in a different way. 

Being a multi-platform reporter requires versatility. This occupation caters to individuals who are willing to learn developing platforms, innovative and ambitious to embrace new ideas and express their stories in different ways. 

A good multi-platform reporters prioritizes:

• Being purposeful and articulate.  A story published in different media vehicle must bring something new to the table and not repeat the same ideas as a text story. There should be a defined purpose for why you select one medium over another, and the outlet you choose should be where you can best articulate that piece of news or feature.

• Creativity. Multi-platform journalists are creative and willing to learn & try new things. They can think of new, innovative ways to portray information and have concept and strategy behind what they do. 

• Ability to keep the conversation going. As more platforms arise, it is a journalist's responsibility to produce talk value in his or her pieces and continue the conversation after the story is published. Participatory journalism is active in today's society and a good reporter knows how to enter and facilitate such conversation around the news.

• Being a good writer. Traditional text stories are not the only medium that require good writing skills. Radio and audio require copy text, videos need scripts and websites need well-written descriptions too. Regardless of the platform, clear and concise writing skills are valuable. I respect and agree with the quote below from Simon Dumenco, and believe it applies to all platforms- not just blogs. 

Quoted in Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism by Tim Harrower (McGraw Hill, 2007)