Resources for training journalists

I’ll be leading an #ASNEchat about newsroom training today at 2 p.m. Eastern time, 11 a.m. Pacific.

We’ll discuss a variety of challenges and opportunities in newsroom training during an exciting and volatile time in journalism.

Panelists will be:

• Charles Apple, who trains in design and blogs about The Visual Side of Journalism
• Denise Bridges, who leads newsroom training at the Virginian-Pilot
• Matt DeRienzo, Connecticut group editor for the Journal Register Co.
• Howard Finberg, director of interactive learning at the Poynter Institute, and “dean” (my term, not his formal title) of News University
• Deborah Gump, professional in residence and John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies at Middle Tennessee State University
• Evelyn Hsu, Media Academy program director at the Maynard Institute
• Robin J. Phillips, web managing editor at the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism

Training is a longtime passion of mine. It’s been at least a part-time pursuit since 1997 and it was my full-time job from 2005 to 2008. Many of my blog posts are handouts for my workshops or supplemental resources related to my training. To promote and supplement today’s chat, I have compiled links to my own training resources as well as other links that might be helpful in planning and delivering newsroom training.

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Advice for editors on becoming conversational on Twitter

Most editors using Twitter should try to be more conversational. They use Twitter primarily to post headlines and links to their staff’s stories. Posting links is a valid use of Twitter, but if that’s all you’re doing, especially if you’re just posting headlines with the links, you’re just getting started.

Twitter has much greater value for improving your journalism and engaging with your community. As I’ve noted, too many newsroom leaders don’t use Twitter at all, but when they do, most start by sharing links to their staff’s stories. That’s a good start, but it’s just a start.

In my Twitter tips for journalists and my exhortation to editors to be active on Twitter, I encourage journalists to be more conversational. A group of Journal Register Co. editors asked me to elaborate this week, with some advice for what to tweet about and how.

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