'Cleaning Your Copy' deadline

I have sent this out in a classwide e-mail, but I'm posting it here as another reminder:

“Hi all, Way back on Jan. 13, I assigned the free "Cleaning Your Copy" course at News University, and I gave no firm deadline for completion. Well, today is the day I'm setting one. This exercise should help everyone prepare for the final by getting you back in text-editing mode, so I'd like everyone to finish this as soon as possible but no later than midnight April 27. After you complete the course, you have an option of having NewsU sending me an e-mail of a course report. But there’s no need to wait that long (I also plan to provide time in class to work on this). Also remember, there's a reward in the extra credit contest to the first person to complete the course. Please let me know if you have any questions.

- Chris”  

P.S. This assignment is the last in-class exercise for the semester. Like several other in-class exercises, it's worth 100 points, but unlike the others half will be considered extra credit. I have decided to do this to give people a last-chance opportunity to improve their in-class exercise grade. But remember, if you don’t complete this assignment, it will be zero points. If you're wondering how your in-class exercise grade currently stacks up, I will be sending everyone an e-mail update very soon (It's 20 percent of the class grade).

Online discussion for Chapter 14 of 'The Art of Editing': Editing in other fields

This week’s chapter focuses toward other fields editing skills prove valuable, including public relations, book publishing and advertising. Just like newspapers these fields are struggling in the current economy as they evolve in our current digital age.

Of the these three, previously I would have only considered book publishing as a primary alternative field to journalism. I have never really been interested in public relations, although I would consider it if it were an organization or cause that I personally believe in. Although I was the business manager for my high school newspaper, I really have no desire to create ads.

That was my feeling, of course, before the current turmoil in the newspaper industry and before I learned I would be out of a job at age 34 in the prime of my career over economic reasons. It is in these times that preferences face their true tests.

Despite my personal tastes, I believe these fields can provide rewarding careers. They all deal with communication and crafting a message. They just have different priorities than journalism that emphasize other truths.

Here are some questions that hopefully kick off the discussion: Have any of you considered these other careers? If so, explain why or why not? If you have already worked in any of these fields, please share your experience. Lastly, how do think editing would be different in these fields as opposed to journalism? Does that matter to you? Why?

As usual, the deadline to participate in this discussion and receive credit is midnight Monday.

P.S. This is the second to the last online discussion for the semester, so if you already have not participated, I would strongly urge you to do so. If you do not, it will adversely affect your participation grade. The minimum requirement is 300 words, and you do not have to spew all those words in a single post. Additionally, if you participate in more than one discussion, it will benefit your participation grade. Please e-mail me if you have any additional questions. I also will e-mail those who have yet to participate.

John McKay surges toward first with fixes in video lecture post

John McKay broke out of a tie for second in the extra credit contest and closed in on leader Michael S. by catching three errors in the post “Notes from video lecture.”

McKay caught two errors associated with software titles. Windows was not capitalized while I had misspelled Adobe Premiere. 

As an aside, here is the entry on software titles from the Associated Press Stylebook:

“Software titles: Capitalize but do not use quotation marks around such titles as WordPerfect or Windows, but use quotation marks for computer games: ‘Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?'”

McKay also caught a typographical error: 

“‘• It’s good to engage the subject in conversation beforehand to make the comfortable before shooting.’ Should say ‘make THEM comfortable … ’”

Good job, John, especially with the assertive message. Editors need to clearly state what is wrong. Maybe your catches will inspire a final flurry of competition for extra credit. Remember, I am giving a 5 percent boost for first place and something lower for other top places. So, even if you are not on the scoreboard, it would be worth your while to make a late-semester run. You can earn one point for every fact, style or grammar error that you correct on this blog or on The Flint Journal’s Web site. To score a point, be the first person to e-mail me at cmachnia@umflint.edu.

Notes from video lecture

Hello all,

Here are the notes I used for my lecture today about tips for video, which I put together from a webinar from News University. Speaking of which, the webinar's host gave approval for me to show some highlights in class. I plan to do that on Thursday. 

I paid about $25 to be able to watch the podcast that was recorded on Sept. 25. Howard Finberg, NewsU’s director of interactive learning, hosted. Regina McCombs, a Poynter faculty member who has worked as a senior producer for multimedia at startribune.com and a producer and photographer from KARE-TV, served as the presenter.

Here are my notes (I’m more detailed than usual because I’m new to all of this):

I. The Basics of Video:

A) Simple video techniques
“Find, develop and deliver stories that speak clearly to the viewer’s mind while connecting with viewer’s mind while connecting with the viewer’s emotions. [Video] teachers principally through emotions.”
-- Al Thompkins, TV and video instructor at The Poynter Institute
• Telling a complete story needs an emotional component, it could be humor or pathos.

1) Sequences: the story’s visual building blocks. There are 3 types.
• Wide, medium, tight (and cutaway)
a) Online videos especially don’t get tight enough. Beginners need to be able to get close enough to show sweat.
b) Cutaways are transitions between thoughts. They let you avoid jump cuts, which is when the same person appears in two adjacent shots in different positions. For example, they show a woman playing a piano, cut to a man listening in the audience and then a woman standing up talking to the audience.
i) You always have to think about shots and how the story works. Always know where you’re headed.
ii) McCombs says text slides, in most cases, don’t work because they stop the action. The right story or transition is necessary.
iii) Some general tips:
• Keep shots steady.
• Use a tripod if possible
• Avoid pans and zooms (looks like home video)
• Get a camera close to a subject
• Think about your opening and closing.
iv) When using a Flip Video — never zoom — walk closer. Zooming degrades the image.
• Matched action
a) Movement feels seamless, compresses time. Basically, these are short snippets of people doing the same thing or different doing aspects of a something. Within the story, it allows your subject to leave or enter the frame. It’s helpful to find someone who is repeating himself or herself and who is excited, such as a mom cheering for her child during a high school sporting event.
i) An example given for how this could be used was discussing someone who makes coffee. You could boil down that several-minute process in seconds by shooting the various aspects.
• Action/reaction
a) Best for news. The reaction often tells the story. For example, a crashed car showing victims tells something different than a crash test dummy. It can work for features too, such as an example of people who attended a wrestling match on Xmas.
• Importance of sound, some tips
a) It’s just as important as video. Get close to the sound
b) Use a wireless mic, if possible.
c) Monitor audio, if possible. (Using an earpiece or headphones)
d) If on-camera mic, find a quiet place for interview.

2) Organizing the story
• Always think about your story structure. It’s important to be able to go from one scene to the next.
a) Opening
b) Closing
c) Themes (no more than 3) You should be able to say the story in one sentence. Like a nut graf in a news article.

3) Editing concepts
• Here’s where transitions start to become important, such as dissolves and straight cuts (“We dream in dissolves and think in cuts.”) There’s also a fade to black (rarely used because it’s so jarring unless at the end of a story).
• Don’t be afraid to write scripts. When you add, it’s important to include what’s not in the footage. Also the scripts should be conversational, like you are talking to a friend.
• A rule of thumb is 20 minutes of video can produce 1 minute of edited coverage.

4) Growing your skills
• Have someone look at it. (pro or average person can help).
• Give it time, go back and look at it.
• Critique sessions with others

5) Misc questions/points
• TV reports typically 1:10-1:30
• Web site can be longer, but only if the subject matter warrants. A good length tends to be about 2 minutes.
• Video with stills can be jarring. It can work with good transitions.
• iMovie and its Windows counterpart aren’t good for editing, such as laying in voiceovers. Programs such as Avid, Final Cut and Adobe Premiere are better.
• It’s good to engage the subject in conversation beforehand to make them comfortable before shooting.
• Other free seminars available
a) 5 steps to multimedia story-telling
b) Reporting across platforms
c) Covering breaking news
d) Introduction to ethical decision-making

Online discussion for Chapter 13 of 'The Art of Editing': Editing for broadcast

While I have been interviewed on television and participated in broadcast forensics in high school, the core of my media background is in newspapers. That said, can anyone in class provide some more firsthand experience from a different course or internship on broadcast editing? What makes broadcast different from other media? Is it more difficult to write a script than a story for either newspapers or the Internet? Are there types of stories more suited to television and radio?

Also, how will convergence factor in? Do you think those working in print need to learn broadcast styles as companies consolidate, especially after the Federal Communication Commission eased rules in 2008 to permit a company to own a newspaper and television station in the same market?

As usual, the deadline for this discussion and receive credit is midnight Monday.

Take advantage InDesign free trial

Right at the end of Tuesday's class that focused on newspaper design, John McKay offered a good suggestion when he noted that Adobe offers a 30-day free trial for its latest version of InDesign (as well as its other software). So, if design is something you're interested, it might be worth your while. Learning desktop publishing is a skill that is useful not only in journalism, but many other careers.

Online discussion for Chapter 12 of 'The Art of Editing': Web editing

This week's discussion focuses on Web editing, and prompts an important question: What does a Web editor exactly do, and who are they? The answer, I think, will vary from media company to media company. I've mostly seen it where Web editors can be highly technical people who focus on the design aspects of a page, creating buttons and adding content to a story including info boxes and links. In some places, they are copy editors who post the stories after traveling through the traditional newspaper news desk. Other times, especially with blogs, Web editors are the content producers themselves. This is the case with the Runners’ Finish Line and, of course, with this blog. 

The chapter discusses using HTML and XHTML. In my world at The Flint Journal, we don't necessarily need to know this code because we use a program called MoveableType in which our Web editor has set up specific coding for us to cut and paste to create items such as info boxes. Here's an example to the right that I often use (with other text, of course):

"They're smart. It's like a stakeout. You don't want them to see you looking at them. It freaks them out. - Humane Society volunteer Diane Biega on capturing feral cats.

One last though about Web editing. It is time consuming, especially when you're trying to juggle responsibilities with reporting or related to producing the print newspaper. Nevertheless, it has become an essential part of media and learning these tools are important. This conflict, especially given shrinking resources, is fueling some of the tough choices media companies are having to make, I believe. What do you think? What are your experiences with Web editing? What do you like or don't like about it, especially in comparison with working in other traditional media?

Lastly, the deadline to participate in the discussion and receive credit is midnight Monday.

Online discussion for Chapter 11 of 'The Art of Editing': Magazines and newsletters

This week's online discussion focuses on newsletters and magazines. The textbook discusses how some don't realize the career opportunity in these publications. It's understandable. I never would have guessed there are as many as 2,000 consumer magazines in the United States or there are about 12,000 specialty magazines. But the reality is they can make gobs of cash. In many cases, this is true because these publications tend to cater to niche audiences, which advertisers covet.

So, don't be surprised that even if you end up working at a newspaper, you also spend some time helping create a specialty publication. I even spent one summer helping put together a book about the Crim 10-mile race celebrating the event's 30th anniversary. Like that one, sometimes they're part of the newspaper, and sometimes they are not. Another in-house example were working on right now - a annual community answer book that the paper publishes each April. But The Journal also has a monthly business-focused publication called "Your Magazine" that's produced by a separate staff.

So, have anyone else had experience with magazines or newsletters? What was it like? Does anyone want to work for these types of publications? Which ones do you read and why?

As an aside, the deadline for this discussion will be midnight Monday.

Jessica M. earns point with highest score on in-class exercise, ties John McKay for second place

Jessica M. tied John McKay for second place in the extra credit contest today by making the most fixes to a March 5 in-class exercise.

She corrected 12 errors in a story about the 2009 state budget, three higher than the next best score. Scoring was finalized today after one makeup exercise was completed last week. The point gives her six, which is four behind the leader, Michael S.

Students asked to lead the way - an online discussion of Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 in the 'Art of Editing'

Michael S., our online student, attended a class last week, which allowed for a brief pause in our online discussions. With this post, the discussions of the "Art of Editing" have returned, and this week's focus is on "Chapter 9 Using Photos, Graphics and Type" and "Chapter 10 Editing Newspapers."

In previous discussions, I started with some observations about the reading, but this week I'm asking Stechschulte and the rest of the class to lead the way, and I will be one of those who responds. The deadline to participate is midnight Sunday.

Instructor's mother-in-law beats JRN 375 students in catching the dreaded comma splice

I believe some of the best/entertaining/compelling/insightful/funny journalism can be when a reporter is willing make a point through real-life examples. It also can be risky in terms of writing and in terms of how sources might react. I believe both are true in this post, in which I am providing useful grammar insight from my mother-in-law, a retired English teacher and librarian:

"----- Original Message -----
From: Ann
To: chris machniak
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 8:58 PM
Subject: Sentence Punctuation Error

Chris,

While reading your class blog today, I came across a very common grammatical error in punctuating two independent clauses while using the conjunctive adverb 'however':

'I think this a point-worthy question to raise, however, I would justify The Journal's use of it because it's coming from the police, who are using it to explain a key fact in the story.'

By using a comma and not a semicolon after the first clause and before the conjunctive adverb 'however', the writer creates what is called a 'comma splice.' The following Web site might help clarify what I mean:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commacomp.html

I hope this helps you see what I am trying to point out.

ANN."

She, of course, is correct, although I would not recommend fixing the error with a semicolon. The newspaper writing style would favor breaking the clauses up into two sentences or using a coordinating conjunction. When using the conjunction, a comma would be required after the first independent clause and before the conjunction.

I feel obligated to give her an honorary extra credit point. I hope no one objects.

Teams listed for audio-based assignment

For those who missed Thursday's class, we held a random draw to pick our groups for the upcoming audio-based assignment. There will be more on that assignment on Tuesday, March 10. In the interim, here are the groups:

• Jordan C., Michael S.
• Gabrielle O., Tim Jagielo
• David Veenhuis, Jessica M.
• John M., Krystle H.
• Amanda Emery, Jennifer Profitt
• John McKay, Chad R.
• Austin B., Brett Smith.