REPORTING AND PRODUCING FOR DIGITAL MEDIA(MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY SERIES, ALAN B. ALBARRAN, SERIES EDITOR)

While contemporary journalists must approach each story with the same respect for truth and fairness as their predecessors, additional rigors guided by a new skills set must now also be navigated. A pervasive online and cross-media presence defines journalism today. More than 4,000 newspapers in the United States alone have online sites. Academic programs in journalism and mass communication are reconfiguring their curricula to better prepare students for this media era. As digital journalism rapidly evolves, Reporting and Producing for Digital Media emerges as the definitive textbook. Author Artwick integrates sound journalistic perspective with the skills needed to research, report, write, and present news in a world of digital and converging media. The most recent title in Blackwell Publishing's Media and Technology series, featured topics in this volume include: functions of the press in a digital society; case studies illustrating core journalistic values; legal and ethical issues specific to the Internet; examples and exercises of interactive techniques that set digital storytelling apart; strategies from print and broadcast media that are appropriate for the Web and those that aren’t; framing stories and storytelling tools for the Web; working with photographs, shooting and editing digital video, creating still images from digital video, and planning Flash presentations; working and competing in convergent media. Fully illustrated and complete with chapter-ending activities for further learning, Reporting and Producing for Digital Media is the ideal text for emerging digital, converged journalism curricula, as well programs including digital media in their print and broadcast tracks.

CLAUDETTE GUZAN ARTWICK is Associate Professor of Journalism in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA. In addition to her academic teaching and research experience, she has served numerous television stations in writing, reporting, research, and technical capacities.

1. Journalism in a digital age.

Digital journalism defined; Functions of the press in a digital society; Defining news on the net; News values; Agenda setting and the Internet; Online gatekeeping; Technological determinism; The new global village.

2. Core values online.

Seeking truth; Accuracy online; Fairness; Clarity; Avoiding sensationalism and extremes; Round-the-clock deadlines and their impact; Serving the community.

3. Legal and ethical considerations.

Free press, fair trial; Libel; Invasion of privacy; Plagiarism; Fair use of content; Conflicts of interest; Safety of sources and newsmakers; Withholding information; Distorting content; Stereotyping; Going undercover; Commercial pressure.

4. Digital storytelling: its own genre.

The 5 “I’s”; Interactivity; Immediacy; Involvement; Integration; In-depth opportunities.

5. Learning from the “old” media.

Radio’s changing leads; The wires and updating; Adapting broadcast and print writing styles; Headlines for the Web; Using audio as an “extra” ; When video is appropriate; Focus on the human element.

6. Framing stories for the Web.

Framing defined; Story elements and framing; Multimedia and framing; Framing and the interactive audience.

7. Digital storytelling tools.

Chunking material; Pull-outs; Timelines; Online polls; Graphics; Slideshows; Links; Databases; Quizzes; Games; Fact boxes.

8. The reporting process—new considerations.

Sourcing with e-mail; Audience participation through interactivity and its impact on the story; Juggling gear in the field; Producer-driven versus reporter-driven news.

9. Working with images.

Research in visual communication; Visuals and attention; Visuals and memory; Visuals and meaning; Visuals and social reality construction; Visual stereotyping; Using visuals in digital storytelling.

10. Operating within a convergence model.

Cultural issues; Communication issues; Reporting live; Competition; Realistic expectations.

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