Digital media offer varied writing tools and opportunities

I’ll be speaking today to Steve Klein‘s “Writing Across Media” class at George Mason University.

I’ve written lots about traditional writing in the style of newspaper stories and those styles and issues remain important. But digital tools and platforms present a broad range of challenges and opportunities for writers, which I will focus on here and in my presentation to the class. The best way to learn each of these writing techniques is to practice it. I will offer a few tips and link to some helps (I appreciate other links, if you can offer them in the comments). Some good places to learn about writing for different media are Mindy McAdams’ blog or Mark Briggs’ books. Some digital writing tools and types I will encourage the students to study and try:

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Social media help old friends connect in person

I was busy enough in June that I didn’t take time to blog about an interesting social-media experience. But when a similar thing happened this week, I decided it was time to take note.

I can’t recall how I first learned about TripIt, though it probably was from Mark Briggs, who was my first TripIt contact. I had already joined Dopplr, a travel-oriented social tool co-founded by my friend Dan Gillmor (who was a reporter assigned to me at the Kansas City Times before he became a new-media star). I travel a lot, so I figured I would try them both out and see which one I liked better.

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Join a live chat about transforming the news business

I am pleased to be involved this week in a discussion of ways to transform the news business. Nothing could be more important for our industry now and I will be discussing this topic Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern time (1 p.m. Central) in a live chat hosted by the American Society of News Editors.

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A more thoughtful approach to ethics in social media

Common sense works better than strict rules in guiding journalists’ use of social media.

I encourage people concerned about journalism ethics in social networks to read Leah Betancourt‘s Mashable post How Social Media is Radically Changing the Newsroom (the headline is overbroad; the post is well-focused on journalism ethics).

Betancourt passes along some helpful suggestions for making good ethical decisions in the use of social media, primarily from Kelly McBride of Poynter and Mark Briggs of Serra Media, two of the best sources you could consult on the topic.

You may recall how critical several bloggers, including me, were of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in their guidance on using social media. Journalists will get better advice from Betancourt, McBride and Briggs. I hope top editors at the Journal and Times are among those reading Betancourt’s post. She makes these central points:

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Nieman J-Lab praises C3 blueprint

Latest praise (“highly recommended reading”) for the Blueprint for a Complete Community Connection comes from Martin Langeveld at the Nieman Journalism Lab. Newspaper Death Watch says we’re “shaking up the traditional newspaper model.” And Gazette colleague Jason Kristufek asks, “What part are you going to take ownership of?”

Previous praise for C3 came from Michele McLellan, Robert Ivan, Mark Potts  and Mark Briggs. Thanks to all.

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More praise for C3 blueprint

Bloggers continue to praise my Blueprint for a Complete Community Connection. Michele McLellan calls it ambitious on News Leadership 3.0. Robert Ivan calls it a must-read in Metaprinter. As I noted yesterday, Mark Potts  and Mark Briggs also were generous with their praise. Thanks to all. I hope we can turn the blueprint into a beautiful building that will last for generations.

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Praise for the Complete Community Connection

Thanks to Mark Potts for his lavish praise on his Recovering Journalist blog for my Blueprint for a Complete Community Connection. I would quote it here, but that would be too immodest even for me. I hope my Gazette colleagues and I can justify his kind words. Mark Briggs piled on with more praise, too. Again, thanks.

I posted the blueprint yesterday as a series of blog posts. If you are interested in innovation in the media, I encourage you to read it, either by starting on the link above or by reading the pdf below:

View this document on Scribd

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Liveblogging: Telling stories as they happen

I will be leading a webinar on liveblogging this Tuesday, April 21, for the American Society of News Editors. I have compiled these tips as a handout for the webinar. I welcome experienced livebloggers to add their tips in the comments here or to answer the questions I raised Friday. If you are an experienced liveblogger or an editor whose staff liveblogs, please email me. I would like you to  join us in a live chat Tuesday afternoon about liveblogging.

Please plan on joining the live chat about liveblogging Tuesday between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Central time:

ASNE live chat about liveblogging

Newspapers originally responded to the opportunities of the web by posting print stories online after they appeared in print. Then we recognized the need to post news immediately to the web and started posting bulletins when news broke, often followed after the newspaper deadline (or even after newspaper publication) by newspaper-like stories. Liveblogging is a story form for digital platforms, a blend of the styles and techniques of traditional newspaper-style reporting, radio play-by-play and the interactivity of blogging.

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