Blog Assignment 7

Chapter nine of Mark Briggs’ “Journalism Next” is all about data-driven journalism and digitalizing your life. As a database entry intern for a large graphic company, I understand the importance of this chapter right away. Event information, salary wages, transcripts; everything can be put into digital form nowadays. It is important that every industry understand the benefits of using digitalization in the workplace. For banks or schools, this may be a given, but what Briggs points out in chapter nine is that journalists can benefit as well.

Briggs mentions a few ways that journalists can use digitalization to organize information. All reports, whether opinion, news, political, or whatever it may be, can be divided and organized in a digital format. The most useful, Briggs cites, is a data spreadsheet. While many may see Excel program spreadsheets as a bunch of columns of numbers, these spreadsheets can serve as excellent organization tools. Dividing a story by categories such as event, source, address, city, company, and employees (CEO’s, managers, etc.) can help a reporter keep track of all of the information that goes into each individual story, and hold onto this information within an online program or external hard-drive.  Briggs mentions that by doing so, this helps to tell a story through data.

Including maps is also a great tool, and these maps can be organized and edited on an online database, as well, or in a program such as Excel. Briggs idea of including a map feature to a story is becoming increasingly important as much of a journalist’s initial work in a story can be done via mobile device. Most mobile devices are able to figure out where the device is, and mark that area. So when a journalist goes to a specific site, the phone or device will recognize this and keep track. This feature allows journalists to follow stories as they happen from changing geological areas.

Briggs tips from chapter nine are some of the most unexpected yet beneficial for todays journalists. Although many journalists may not recognize how important digitalizing information may be, creating and organizing databases of a report is going to become a vital part of the journalism industry as technology continues to grow and expand. I found this article from Mashable.com to be helpful when expanded upon Briggs idea of the benefits of database entry in the field of journalism. The article mentions that as journalism becomes more focused online and less in hard print, along comes a growing importance to protect the information gathered by a journalist by using database entry and spreadsheet programs such as Excel.

Blog Assignment 6

Chapter 10 of “Journalism Next” by Mark Briggs discusses the importance of Managing News as a Conversation. The reading states that 2/3 of adults now participate or create content on the web, whether on social media such as Facebook or Twitter, or on the comment section of news forums like the NYTimes or Washington Post. However, many journalists face ethical dilemmas when contributing to or facilitating news website commentary sections. I think it is important for a journalist to carefully monitor their objectivity when commenting on news on the internet, because their opinions will be projected and this can make readers view the reporter as biased or being too involved in their own reports.

The reading also discusses how journalists can attract readers to join online conversations on blog entries and in online news. This is very important for journalists to know how to do because they must be able to bring in readers and keep those readers engaged in the blog.  Another benefit on having successful online conversation is that the conversation that takes place on the blog can be progressive enough to stir up another story that could further engage current readers and potentially pull in new ones.

However, the two-way conversation between the reader and the journalist can be compromising, as well. This is because the comment sections on blogs and  on well-known news websites are open to everyone. Any reader can comment, and while sometimes this conversation can be productive and reflect the journalist's or organization's reporting in good light, it also has the potential to open the door for offensive commentary. This also allows readers to pose attacks on other commenters that they are in disagreement in, or even pose threats to the journalist. If content is offensive enough in the comment section, then Briggs suggests that the journalist may want to look into removing the comment section of this particular post down or even removing the article that caused the stir.

Briggs also recommends collaborating with the community. By doing so, journalists create a more localized article that people in the direct community will be able to relate to. This kind of post can allow readers to contribute to issues going on in their community, as well as communicating with one another on an online platform. 

Video Team Assignment 2

Members of the University of Massachusetts Amherst community have noticed an alteration in sustainability with the closing of Hampshire Dining Common, located in the Southwest Residential Area, this semester.

Berkshire Dining Common, the most popular dining hall on campus, also located in Southwest, expected an increase in traffic among students when Hampshire closed. In an effort to reduce crowding at Berkshire, the University introduced Hampden Dining Common, located below the Hampden Convenience Store, added hours at Berkshire, and gave students the option to use a Residential Meal Plan swipe at the Baby Berk and new Baby Berk 2 food trucks.

One of UMass’ efforts to lessen traffic at Berkshire was to provide more choices at Grab n’ Go locations. Sustainability has become a focus for the University, however, Hampden Grab n’ Go and the Baby Berk trucks provide students with plastic water bottles and soda cans for a meal swipe, contradicting the UMass Sustainability Mission Statement.

“We’d love to just have water coolers at Hampden Grab n’ Go but we want to give students an option. We don’t provide the water bottles and soda cans at Berkshire Grab n’ Go because it’s less of a carbon footprint and more sustainable,” said Tim Lane, Operations Manager at UMass Amherst.

Lane said that the installation of portable soda fountains into Hampden would have been an unnecessary renovation since it would only be used for one semester. The only way to provide students with beverage options was to resort to water bottles and soda cans.

“I think the fact that Hampden Grab n’ Go lets students take plastic water bottles and soda cans is a huge issue because with Hampshire closed, so many more people are using Grab n’ Go to avoid the crowd at Berkshire,” said Conner Kelly, a kinesiology major who has been working at Berkshire for almost two months.

“It is costing us more to have the water bottles and soda cans, but it was our best option. And, it is only for one semester,” said Lane.

Lane said that having the Baby Berk trucks outside and Hampden Grab n’ Go have both lowered the number of students in Berkshire, which was the main goal.

“I haven’t seen as much of a crowd at Berkshire because of both Hampden and the trucks, but the amount of waste being used is over the top and I think the plastic bags they use for Grab n’ Go are a big issue too,” said Kelly.

However, according to Lane, the object is simply to feed as many people as possible. So with the addition of a new Grab n’ Go and the Baby Berk trucks, Lane said that students have more options and more variety when it comes to choosing their meals.

“I just think that the University could be doing more, like offering reusable drawstring bags or reusable water bottles. Having that Permaculture gardendirectly outside Hampden is a huge contradiction because of the damage being done,” said Kelly.

UMass has invested $15 million into the new “green” renovations at Hampshire Dining Common, which is expected to have a one-of-a-kind design with 15 different New England-themed options. The new D.C. will be a sustainable facility with recyclable Grab n’ Go containers and meals that are not only flavorful, but also healthy and environmentally conscious.

Kelly hopes that in the upcoming semester, the Dining Commons will return to their sustainable habits and that the carbon footprint left from Hampden and Baby Berk has only been a phase for the University.

Digital Help from Mark Briggs

Chapter 10 of “Journalism 2.0: Howto Survive and Thrive: A digital literacy guide for the information age” by Mark Briggs is about basic video editing. Knowing how to use video editing software is an important part of modern journalism, since it allows a text story to be brought into a new platform. Visualizations reach audiences on a different level, since a reader can watch the story come to life. According to Briggs, good audio is one of the most important aspects to the video component of a story. iMovie and Movie Maker are two examples of programs that journalists can use to edit video footage. Since video footage packages have several different clips that need to be organized, edited, shortened, or zoomed-in, these programs have several features to allow for this work to be done.

        

         Briggs mentions that it is important to use the Title feature in the iMovie and Movie Maker programs, in order to keep the video in coordination with the story. If the two pieces have similar sources, as packages usually do, the Title component becomes even more important because it keeps the reader at pace with the content. The Briggs text shows how to use iMovie (and for PC users,Briggs links to a set of different steps for a separate video-editing program) using step-by-step instructions that are easy to understand.

            The Timeline feature of iMovie and Movie Maker is easy to use, Briggs says, and is important to learn, since this is where the beginning steps of video editing are.  The Timeline feature allows a user to drag chunks of clips, or the entire clip, into the Timeline window to be edited or cut to the user’s preference. Making these decisions accurately is important. The video content must be organized so that the reader gets a new take on the same story, not the same take of the same story, which is often a mistake many new journalists make. After reading Briggs' tutorial on how to edit video in iMovie and Movie Maker, I feel prepared and ready to take the text content that I produce and create an additional layer to the story with visualizations. If you are not convinced yet, read what this blogger has to say about why journalists should add video to their stories.