Facebook made Timeline available today for branded pages. My colleagues Mandy Jenkins and Ivan Lajara collaborated on this explainer for how to add Timeline. I guess I need to stop planning to get to Timeline on my page next week.
Archive for February, 2012
How to put Facebook Timeline on your branded page
Posted in Facebook, tagged Facebook Timeline, Ivan Lajara, Mandy Jenkins on February 29, 2012| 2 Comments »
Introduction to Digital First metrics: How do you measure success?
Posted in Digital First journalism, tagged Digital First journalism on February 29, 2012| 11 Comments »
You can’t know how successful you are — or even if you’re succeeding — unless you find a way to measure performance.
I’ll be leading a workshop today on metrics for Digital First journalists in Connecticut. It’s scheduled for the Middletown Press, but if the weather turns nasty, I might stay in New Haven. Either way, you can follow the workshop on a livestream and live chat. The workshop starts at 4 p.m. (but if I’m traveling, weather could delay that slightly).
I’ll start with a process journalists should use to measure their digital efforts, then I’ll discuss some possible ways and tools to carry out that process: (more…)
A workshop on the Digital First workflow
Posted in Digital First journalism, tagged Digital First journalism, digital first workflow on February 28, 2012| 2 Comments »
I will be leading a workshop on working as a Digital First journalist starting at noon today for colleagues in Connecticut. You are welcome to join on the livestream and ask questions on the live chat.
We’ll address the concerns of the journalists in the conference room and on the live chat. Many of the answers are found in my various blog posts on Digital First journalism:
- How a Digital First approach guides a journalist’s work
- How a Digital First reporter should approach statehouse coverage
- Questions to guide a Digital First reporter’s work on any beat
I will not be using slides on this beat, but if they are helpful to you, here are slides I have used in previous workshops on this topic:
13 ways a reporter should use a beat blog
Posted in Blogging advice, Digital First journalism, tagged beat blogging, crowdsourcing, curation, liveblogging on February 28, 2012| 20 Comments »
A beat blog gives a newsroom a vehicle for providing in-depth coverage that the general-interest approach of a newspaper generally doesn’t allow.
I have decades of memories of arguments with editors (when I was a reporter) and with reporters (when I was an editor) about the reporters’ desire to tell stories in greater depth than the interest level of this mythical “typical” newspaper reader. A newspaper has finite space, and to tell the stories that serve this general-interest need of the masses, its reporters gather far more information that has appeal only in niches of people with keen interest in a particular topic.
Beat blogging is a way to serve that deeper level of interest, to use all the information a reporter gathers. It makes a newsroom’s content more valuable to the community, by serving the broad but shallow general interest and the narrow but deep niche interests.
I’ll be leading a workshop today for Digital First journalists in Connecticut on beat blogging. You can watch the livestream and ask questions on a live chat, starting at 3 p.m. Eastern time. You also can read about how the beat blog fits into the full work of a reporter in my earlier posts that addressed the work of reporters covering courts, sports, statehouses and other beats. Other helpful resources would be the BeatBlogging website (no longer active, but loaded with helpful advice and links), my Introduction to Reporting course for News University and my general blogging advice. I’m sure others have produced many other helpful resources. Please share some of those links in the comments.
I will try to compile a list of good current beat blogs, and I welcome your contributions to that list. Who are good reporters who blog regularly about their beats (don’t hesitate to suggest your own beat or someone on your staff)? But for now, I want to offer some basic advice for beat blogging. (more…)
Workshops on community engagement, beat blogging, Digital First workflow and metrics
Posted in Digital First journalism, Training, tagged Digital First journalism on February 27, 2012| 2 Comments »
I will be leading workshops this week for Digital First journalists in Connecticut. You are welcome to watch them by livestream.
The schedule and topics (all times are Eastern time, all sessions lasting roughly 90 minutes):
- Community engagement, 4:30 p.m. today (Monday), yes starting very soon. You can watch the livestream and ask questions on a live chat.
- Digital First workflow, noon Tuesday (watch the livestream and ask questions on a live chat).
- Beat blogging, 3 p.m. Tuesday (watch the livestream and ask questions on a live chat).
- Introduction to Metrics, 4 p.m. Wednesday (watch the livestream and ask questions on a live chat).
My 2008 post: Google doesn’t fear outbound links; neither should you
Posted in Digital First journalism, Ethics, Google, tagged Digital First journalism, Google, linking on February 27, 2012| 5 Comments »
This is a blog post I wrote March 5, 2008, on my Training Tracks blog at the American Press Institute. The original is no longer online, but I’m resurrecting this because Elaine Clisham referred to it on Twitter yesterday, prompting my post this morning about why linking is good journalism. I have not checked the links to see if they are still good. Given the topic, I think I should leave them in this piece either way.
Some questions about journalism innovation stump me. This one didn’t.
A person who’s trying to help journalists move into the digital world was trying to persuade some newspaper editors and writers to “build credibility with their users by having the courage to send users elsewhere for info when they can’t meet the need.” The editors were appalled and asked for “hard data to take home to convince their legacy managers this is a good idea.”
You want hard data? Here’s some hard data: Google.
This need by too many journalists and newspaper executives to control how our audience spends their time is laughable except that it’s so maddening. Our users control how they spend their time. They always did and they always will. We need to give them value and links have value. (more…)
4 reasons why linking is good journalism; 2 reasons why linking is good business
Posted in Detailed ethics discussions, Digital First journalism, Ethics, Linking, plagiarism on February 27, 2012| 49 Comments »
I was traveling yesterday, so I came in late to a discussion about outbound links. A tweet from Elaine Clisham brought the discussion to my attention:
Actually, it was about four years ago, I think. But thanks for remembering, Elaine. Alas, that blog post for the American Press Institute, where Elaine and I were colleagues, is no longer available online. I will try to find it somewhere and resurrect it for archival purposes. (Update: I found and reposted my 2008 post: Google doesn’t fear outbound links; neither should you.) I don’t have time to pull in all the tweets of a really long Twitter discussion, but Mathew Ingram curated some of them in a blog post asking, “Is linking polite, or is it a core value of journalism?“, prompted by MG Siegler’s rant about the Wall Street Journal’s refusal to link when he beat them on a story for TechCrunch.
If you’re interested in the discussion that followed that post, check yesterday’s tweets by Mathew, Charles Arthur and Caitlin Fitzsimmons and this 2010 post by Jonathan Stray. Update: A comment below points out this piece by Felix Salmon that covers linking and attribution at length. I don’t agree with it all, but it’s well argued and reasonable.
This tweet from Fitzsimmons seems representative of the linking-is-just-a-courtesy viewpoint:
My contribution will be these four reasons why linking is good journalism (which may somewhat echo Jonathan’s and Mathew’s posts, because they are both right): (more…)
A workshop on engaging your community
Posted in community engagement, Digital First journalism, tagged community engagement, Digital First journalism on February 27, 2012| 2 Comments »
I will be leading a workshop today for Digital First journalists in Connecticut on engaging the community. I will cover many of the points in this 2011 blog post. Here are the slides I will use (though it’s going to be a free-flowing discussion, so I may not get to them all and may use some out of order):
A workshop on leading a Digital First newsroom
Posted in Digital First journalism, tagged Digital First journalism, newsroom leadership on February 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »
I will be leading a workshop today for Digital First Connecticut editors on leading a Digital First newsroom. We will discuss many of the points I made in the Dec. 22 blog post linked above. Here are my slides for the workshop, which will largely be an open discussion addressing the challenges these editors are facing.
Amtrak fatality in the middle of the night
Posted in Digital First Media on February 24, 2012| 4 Comments »
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Amtrak Train 177 stopped outside Aberdeen MD because of a fatality on board. Emergency crews en route.
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“Wow bummer! RT @stevebuttry Amtrak Train 177 stopped outside Aberdeen MD because of a fatality on board. Emergency crews en route.
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“All I know about “fatality” on Amtrak is what they announced (that was the word they used). All quiet on my car.
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“I can’t recall exact wording of announcement on Amtrak, but we’re not at a station. I wonder if they hit someone (didn’t feel it if so).
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“But why not get to station to allow easier access for emergency crews? RT @paulkuehnel most likely a sudden death like a heart attack
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“@stevebuttry perhaps they had intended to intercept with a medic unit along the way?
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“Lots of flashing red lights outside now w/ emergency crews here. At least 4-5 vehicles. I can’t see what’s going on.
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“Emergency vehicles are large & plentiful, maybe 4-5. I doubt this is a natural-causes death aboard the train.
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“If we were in an area a #DigitalFirst newsroom covers, I’d try to get out to play reporter, but I’ll just tweet from my seat. #amtrakfatal
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““@TheChalkOutline: @stevebuttry on Amtrak 177 listening to EMS radio, fatality was person hit by train. No trains thru here until 3 am.
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With the dark and the reflection, this is an awful photo, but red lights are red lights.
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Emergency vehicles responding to #Amtrakfatal near Aberdeen MD. http://twitpic.com/8nwro1
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“.@stevebuttry is providing great minute-by-minute tweets about a fatal amtrak incident in Md. I hope a news org. picks up the story soon.
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“@stevebuttry There was an Amtrak death yesterday and questions about their response. Hope they learned quick. washingtonpost.com/lifesty…
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“Emergency vehicles responding to #Amtrakfatal near Aberdeen MD. rightnow.io/breaking-news/… #Aberdeen via @stevebuttry
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“Emergency vehicles responding to #Amtrakfatal near Aberdeen MD. rightnow.io/breaking-news/… #Aberdeen via @stevebuttry
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“@stevebuttry Do a good job and we can do a blog on your work. #amtrakfatal
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Larry’s referring to my blog post about his live-tweeting of a breaking story. Larry’s a better cops reporter than I am. He’d have been off this train (he probably also has a media credential).
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I blogged about Andy’s use of Banjo on a breaking story. Alas, it did me no good tonight.
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“Mt @kspaetz @stevebuttry providing minute-by-minute tweets about a fatal amtrak incident in Md. I hope a news org. picks up the story soon
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“Thanks for update RT @Percivall “@TheChalkOutline: @stevebuttry on Amtrak 177 listening to EMS radio, fatality was person hit by train.
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“Follow @SteveButtry’s live report from an Amtrak train at scene where person killed by train.
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Hell, yes.
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“@stevebuttry I can visualize the train, the lights. Sounds like a scene from a movie.
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Well, not exactly “The Fugitive,” but more breaking news than I’ve covered in a while.
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“@stevebuttry Here’s the police, fire, EMS scanner for County you’re in: radioreference.com/apps/au… Audio only but it’s live. Bed for me. Good luck
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“@SethLavin Thanks, but I’m not getting any audio. It appears to be playing, though.
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“Conductor says it was a trespasser, not a passenger. No vehicle crossing nearby. Waiting for cops to clear the train to leave. #amtrakfatal
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“Conductor says it may be an hour or so before we can move. They’re offering complimentary coffee in cafe car. #amtrakfatal
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“Yep. RT @TheChalkOutline Your in the middle of a breaking news story, right?
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“His luck was worse than mine (unless it was suicide). RT @LarryAltman Sun says man hit by train. You have such bad luck travelling.
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“@stevebuttry This is far from the first fatality at that location: archives.exploreharford.co…
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“RT @kspaetz .@stevebuttry providing great minute-by-minute tweets about fatal amtrak incident in #Md. Hope news org. picks up the story soon
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“I may have wrong location of train. Twitter location search doesn’t even show my tweets. #amtrakfatal
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“@stevebuttry I actually mistakenly read an old story, but it seems to have happened again !
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“@stevebuttry No– thank you! Gives me a chance to imagine life had I not rebelled and become something other than a journalist (@fromcarl)
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“@stevebuttry And God forbid Amtrak have any kind of publicly available real-time geolocation for its trains.
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“@stevebuttry something came on Hardford scanner police free app channel about Amtrak but went dark
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“This is the first place Foursquare shows near the #amtrakfatal. (@ Adams Chevrolet) 4sq.com/xN9pus
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“@stevebuttry Interesting. Havre de Grace is north of Aberdeen, not far from Delaware line. Head of the Chesapeake Bay.
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“Of course not. RT @eclisham And God forbid Amtrak have any kind of publicly available real-time geolocation for its trains.
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“@stevebuttry BTW Wed, @TheChalkOutline @douglasmorino & I collaborated via Twitter on a Socal murder that ended with suspect suicide in Utah
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“I was dozing when the train hit the trespasser. I didn’t notice the stop being sudden. #amtrakfatal
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“@stevebuttry #DigitalFirst has a physical area of coverage? Perhaps the hashtag needs adjustment.
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“Lots of communities, none in MD. RT @josephjames #DigitalFirst has a physical area of coverage? Perhaps the hashtag needs adjustment.
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“@stevebuttry Good work sir. I’m more of a fan of #IfYoureNotDigitalFirstYoureLast but that’s lengthy. And © Ricky Bobby.
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“I see no emergency-vehicle lights now, but scanner says something about “we have Amtrak police.” #amtrakfatal
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“First I’ve heard of them, too. police.amtrak.com/ #amtrakfatal RT @Mia_Ria Amtrak police? What are those? Federal? Private?
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“@stevebuttry appears they’re trained at the federal academy and have national power but not necessarily a federal agency
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“@stevebuttry I think most rail lines have a police force. I’ve seen BNSF police cars in the Quad Cities.
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“@ER_DavidLittle Interesting on-the-scene tweeting of #amtrakfatal in Maryland by DFM’s @stevebuttry. He’s on the train. It’s a small world.
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“@stevebuttry As much as it sucks that you’re stuck there gotta give them props for keeping you informed.
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I agree on that. Took a while for the first announcement, but they have been pretty informative about this.
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“@stevebuttry just heard something about finding a scalp and a torso on scanner, unrelated most likely. But that’s my cue to leave
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“Am hearing lots of scanner talk now about cleaning stuff off tracks. Didn’t hear body-parts references @ivanlajara did, though. #amtrakfatal
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“Scanner traffic now is about access to move some cars, including an Amtrak car. There’s a creek in the way. I’m confused. #amtrakfatal
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“Announcement on train: “We had a fatality on the tracks. We struck a trespasser.” Estimated time of release about one hour. #amtrakfatal
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“I’m seeing some lights outside again, not red flashers, but some vehicles apparently belonging to investigators. #amtrakfatal
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“I’m glad I popped the extra $40 for biz class. I’m up front with a better view of activity outside the train. #amtrakfatal
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“@corybe @stevebuttry This happens all the time in the SF Bay Area. I’m told it usually doesn’t make the news. Rare on the east coast?
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“@ProducerMatthew @corybe It’s 2;26 a.m. & the train isn’t moving. So I tweet. I do this over flight delays when no one dies. #amtrakfatal
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“@stevebuttry @corybe True for SF too. How sad is it that, given its frequency, it only warrants a brief? 😦
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“Scanner traffic mentioned a news crew. Couldn’t tell if ABC or NBC (maybe neither). Will check to see if anyone’s covering. #amtrakfatal
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“It’s a big deal for me & the person they hit, but Amtrak had 97 fatalities last year thru November: safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Off…
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“Correction: Amtrak had 97 fatal accidents/incidents last year thru Nov., 107 total fatalities. #amtrakfatal
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“@stevebuttry It’s often a big deal for onboard staff, especially the engineer operating the train who had to witness the fatality.
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“@QuesoGuapo I can’t imagine how traumatic it would be to be the engineer, see the person on the tracks & be unable to stop. #amtrakfatal
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“@stevebuttry Neither can I. But it’s something an engineer may witness 3x over career (via Progressive Railroading). j.mp/zu8zXM
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“@QuesoGuapo I used to know an engineer who had experienced it a time or two. #amtrakfatal
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“@stevebuttry Ultimately, it’s a unfortunate situation for all. Thank you for your updates, especially at this late hour.
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“@QuesoGuapo Hey, what else am I gonna do? When I got on the train, I was feeling bad about Twitter silence the last couple days.
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“Scanning first-hand account/curation from @stevebuttry of an Amtrak fatality in last couple of hours. A good example for reporters to follow
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World’s worst twitpic, flashlights outside train. #amtrakfatal http://twitpic.com/8nxlxm
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“Train is moving! We are heading home again at last. Light rain. #amtrakfatal
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“Now I’m thinking of the family that learned tonight that their loved one died on the tracks. My ride home wasn’t so bad. #amtrakfatal
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As I was curating this (and continuing the live-tweeting, my colleague Ivan Lajara beat me to publishing by Storify. In my defense, I was live-tweeting as well as curating.
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Details are sketchy, as this is a developing story
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Ivan noted that we could collaborate (he understands Storify and lots of tools better than I do). But I decided to publish dueling accounts.
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“Damn! Was about to publish mine! RT @ivanlajara @Stevebuttry live-tweets an #Amtrakfatal accident sfy.co/bpj (done in ipad)
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“@stevebuttry I just found this out yesterday: I just gave you editing access to my account (I can revoke after you are done)
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“@ivanlajara Probably easier to just publish mine (shortly, adding links now). I’ll link to yours, curating your curation.
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