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Editor, Class Focus on NNS Success

9/27/2012

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The news service's home page proudly features headlines and weblinks to its Murrow award and Knight grant.
"Stop typing! Look at me!" The 16 #loweclass #digital students had been live tweeting nuggets from Sharon McGowan's accounting of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service's origin, mission and success as she met with the class recently. McGowan demanded their full attention as she stressed the following: "Don't think that you can know multimedia and not have to write. Trust me – because everybody has to know how to write."

This is the third semester the news service and my JOUR 1550 students will team to pursue community journalism in Milwaukee. Based on the successes and lessons learned from the first time in fall 2011, students from last semester's class said they found their NNS projects to be among their biggest learning experiences.

As editor and project director, McGowan also noted that the news service has earned national recognition and support. It includes a regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association, and a $192,000 two-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, matched by grants from two Milwaukee foundations. The grants will allow NNS to expand its coverage area to 12 more local neighborhoods, she said.

McGowan had the class watch and discuss a compelling NNS multimedia package about young mothers organizing to create children's activities on Milwaukee's North Side. "What makes it a good story?" McGowan asked. Student Alexandra Whittaker replied, "Even if I don't know their story, I can understand where (they're) coming from." The editor agreed and added, "The reason I like this story is because it exemplifies the kind of story we want to do."

Another student, Monique Collins, is interning at the news service this semester. "This is the best thing," she told her classmates. "I have lived in Milwaukee my whole life and I have learned so much (about it) I didn't know." That led McGowan to say her job allows her "to do everything I love and all in one place" – teaching and editing.

Each student afterward wrote a blog post about McGowan's visit and the news service. Several reported being excited for the chance to move outside their comfort zone. "I can't wait to find out what our assignments will be," Stephanie Graham wrote. "I think everyone can benefit from these projects, since we'll get some experience doing journalism in Milwaukee, rather than confining ourselves to news on campus and downtown."

Those eight team assignments will come from among the additional neighborhoods the news service is now covering. I will, of course, reveal toward the semester's end how it all goes.

Even though @milwaukeenns does a great job of reporting, organizations are their sources, not partners #loweclass #digital

— Jacob Born (@Jacob_Born) September 19, 2012

"I started something that I hoped would live longer than me": @sharonmcgowan_ on the news service. #loweclass #digital

— Casby Bias (@casbias) September 19, 2012

"Our model is to be a professional and balanced news organization." - @sharonmcgowan_ on @milwaukeenns #loweclass #digital

— David Tukesbrey(@DavidTukesbrey) September 19, 2012
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Article on Standing Out Stands Out

9/13/2012

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A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about how to make your twesume count, referring, of course, to the 160 characters (maximum) that comprise one's Twitter bio. After that post became one of the most visited pages yet on this website, Poynter.org accepted my offer to expand on the topic for its site's How To's and journalism education sections. "How to Write a Twitter Bio That'll Make You Stand Out as a Journalist" debuted there last week.

I crafted the article so it featured several tips for creating a great #twesume. They include start with the basics, show that you can write, always consider your audience, use relevant Twitter handles and hashtags, show a little of your personality, don't distract from your goal, have some place else for them to go and keep it updated. The article also includes great twesume examples from Erika Glover (@ErikaJGlover), Daniel Jimenez (@DMJreports), Taylor Shaw (@TaylorShaw_427), Eva Sotomayor (@sotomayoreva) and Brianna Stubler (@BriStubler).

I figured the article would resonate among journalism students and educators. It is about Twitter, after all. However, the response far exceeded my expectations. Indeed, the piece earned more than double the amount of tweets from its Poynter.org page than happened for my previous best-received article for them, about showing journalism educators how to teach students to live tweet campus events. At last look, this new offering has nearly 600 tweets!

A note about the headline: I definitely like it. But I think another reason the piece got so many retweets is because it doesn't just apply to journalists. The title could easily be "How to Write a Twitter Bio That'll Make You Stand Out."

Anyway, not everyone liked everything about the article. Many objected to the term twesume. Why? I'm not exactly sure. None of the dissenters in the comments section made an argument against the term that I can remember now. No matter. The point is we should take every opportunity to use those 160 characters to present our best self. Call it a twesume. Call it a Twitter bio. I don't care. Just use it so someone with a job will want to call you for an interview.

Fun piece on how to write a twesume (aka Twitter resume) that'll make you stand out as a journo: bit.ly/RIg3yP @herbertlowe explains.

— Mallary Tenore(@mallarytenore) September 7, 2012

#COM135 students new to Twitter--here's a must read by @herbertlowe poynter.org/how-tos/journa… thanks @itsapopod for the heads up!

— Intro to Journalism (@lujournalism) September 8, 2012

@herbertlowe for all that is good and holy, please don't write the word "twesume."

— The real Jon Brodkin (@JBrodkin) September 9, 2012

I just read an informative article on how to create a distinctive Twitter bio by @herbertlowe. I pass the test. Do you? tinyurl.com/9qhczmh

— A DuB (@JusADuB) September 11, 2012

How to write a Twitter bio that’ll make you stand out as a journalist by @herbertlowe poynter.org/how-tos/journa…” #twesume

— NABJ_Marquette U (@NABJ_MarquetteU) September 12, 2012

How to write a Twitter bio that’ll make you stand out as a journalist by @herbertlowe poynter.org/how-tos/journa…

— journalism festival (@journalismfest) September 11, 2012

#FF #loweclass students w/nice #twesumes: @moniquekcollins @alexawhittaker @marissaaevans @grahamcrackers @jacob_born poynter.org/how-tos/journa…

— Herbert Lowe (@herbertlowe) September 14, 2012
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Remembering Those Who Died on 9/11

9/10/2012

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Here are the ash-covered shoes I wore while covering the terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001.
On Sept. 10, 2001, a Newsday deputy city editor gave me – a reporter in the newspaper's Queens bureau – my next day's assignment: Starting at 10 a.m., if not called earlier, cover “all non-Election Day news” in New York. From crime to quirky, if it happened in the five boroughs and wasn’t linked to Primary Day, I would scoot to the scene.

Of course, a crime of previously unimaginable dimensions happened that next day. Today, my students and I will take a little time to remember the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon. We will also reflect on how much the terrorist attacks changed all of our lives – for better or worse.

A year ago, various media in Milwaukee and at Marquette took interest in my "9/11 Chronicle" – an accounting of my personal experience those fateful hours after the planes hit the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. Here for your quick and easy access are the media accounts that focused on the attacks' 10th anniversary in 2011.
  • "Marquette Educator Reported Near Ground Zero on 9/11" – "Live at Daybreak" segment on WTMJ-TV (Milwaukee) on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011.
  • "A Reporter's Account, Minute by Minute" – abridged version published in the Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • "Remembrance and Rebirth After 9/11" – "Lake Effect" segment on WUWM (89.7 FM), on Friday, Sept. 9, 2011.
  • "Flashback 9/11: Herbert Lowe" –  video interview by Marquette University journalism major Katie Doherty for The Marquette Tribune, posted Thursday, Sept. 8, 2008.
  • "Zero Hour: Reflections on September 11" – posted Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, on Communic8, the Diederich College of Communication blog.
Let us all pray that Americans and those everywhere who love peace and freedom will never again see such tragedy.
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Hoping JOUR 1550 is Again a Blast!

9/6/2012

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Click on the image to visit this semester's JOUR 1550 class page and for quick access to each student's digital portfolio.
This is my fourth time teaching Digital Journalism II (JOUR 1550) in the Diederich College of Communication – and it's become my favorite course. It's the one in which most of my students begin to see themselves as journalists.

Take Brynne Ramella, for example. I loved how she – without prompting from her instructor – crafted a stellar blog post, "The Dark Underbelly of Comedy," about her experience last semester with what's now a course staple: the "One at Marquette" package based on The New York Times' "One in 8 Million" collection. In a subsequent blog post, "Looking Back and Moving Forward," Ramella wrote: "Thanks to everyone who's been involved in the project, listened to my complaints or listened to me gush about my successes with 'One at Marquette.' It's been a blast!"

JOUR 1550's objectives remain the same: producing digital news stories using text, images and audio; focusing on key industry trends, technologies and multimedia reporting techniques; working alone and or as teammates to create journalism for the Web, and using social media to build a following and "brand" as a digital journalist. The course textbook is the second edition of "Aim For The Heart: Write, Shoot, Report and Produce for TV and Multimedia."

Once again, each of the 16 students this semester will pursue a Digital Journalism Basics certificate from the Poynter Institute's News University; write a weekly blog post related to their assigned news media website; produce a Storify from each of two campus events they will live tweet; and partner with a classmate to produce a multimedia package about a local nonprofit organization and assigned by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. The students might also get to work on projects that would be published on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's website.

As in my two journalism seminar courses this semester – one on sports, the other on campaigns and elections – the JOUR 1550 students will share their coursework on their respective digital portfolios created via Weebly.com. These portfolios can be accessed collectively from the same webpage here. Check their progress often.

Diversity should go beyond the obvious. It is important to have a diverse pool of interviewees in every story #loweclass #digital

— Alexandra Whittaker (@AlexaWhittaker) August 30, 2012

I never knew about the rule of thirds in photography. So that's something I learned in #loweclass #digital.

— Ben Greene (@BenSGreene) August 30, 2012

When taking photographs you should zoom with the camera, not your body. #loweclass #digital

— Caitlin Miller (@caitlin_mmiller) August 30, 2012

I received some great constructive criticism on my blog from classmates today. I will be working on the corrections! #loweclass #digital

— Courtney P. (@CPerry28_) September 6, 2012
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Sports Fan Aims for Worthwhile Course

9/5/2012

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Click on the image to visit the "Outside the Lines" class page and for quick access to each student's digital portfolio.
For the fourth time in my six semesters as a faculty member, I am teaching a new course. It's another journalism seminar called "Outside the Lines: How the Media Report on Amateur and Professional Sports." Disclosing here that I didn't cover athletics full time during my newspaper reporting career. But as a lifelong fan of sports in general, and Philadelphia teams – Phillies! Sixers! Eagles! – in particular, definitely aiming for a worthwhile course.

The course objectives include learning the basics of media coverage of sports on the high school, college and professional levels; developing critical thinking skills about issues and dynamics impacting and caused by sports; gathering and curating social media to tell and present stories about sports and athletes, and evaluating how these highly paid performers use the media to shape their public persona and legacies.

The 10 students will also discuss sports journalists' ethical obligations and the business implications that technology brings to the media's coverage of sports. They also will develop a blog with regular posts that analyze a topic or task assigned by me, and take stock of their respective news media website's sports coverage.

Each student will do two Storifys demonstrating their capacity for live tweeting. They will also each research and write a 1,500-word analysis on social media and sports journalism; and do likewise related to media coverage of a sports-related issue of their choice as well as offer a 15-minute presentation on the matter in class.

Here are the issues the students chose: cheerleading, concussions in hockey, track and field between Olympics, double standards related to male and female sports journalists, compensation for college athletes, the black quarterback, the Miami Heat's "Big Three," fantasy sports, sports scandals and paralyzing injuries in football.

The course textbook is "Field Guide to Covering Sports," by Joe Gisondi, who has a fantastic blog, "Sports Field Guide: Tips and Suggestions for Covering Sports." The course will also take advantage of helpful and relevant modules offered by the Poynter Institute's News University, including "Introduction to Sports Reporting." Here's hoping my misguided students rooting for the Jets, Packers, Raiders, Rams, Seahawks and Titans enjoy the course – even as they scheme for seats on the Eagles' bandwagon as my team moves toward Super Bowl XLVI.

Today I discovered that I will be covering The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper, how exciting! #LoweClass #Sports

— Kevon Albright (@KevonAlbright) August 30, 2012

Avoiding widows and orphans help improve your writing. Keep it short and concise. Thanks for the Weebly tip @herbertlowe. #loweclass #sports

— Ryan Ellerbusch (@RyanEllerbusch) September 4, 2012

I learned @herbertlowe is way too confident in the Eagles in #loweclass #sports

— Michael LoCicero (@michaellocicero) September 6, 2012
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Acquainted Group to Study Election Coverage

9/4/2012

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Alec Brooks
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Joseph Kvartunas
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Melanie Lawder
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Brynne Ramella
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Alex Rydin
Click on each student's image to visit his or her blog for this semester's #loweclass #elections (JOUR 4932) course.
I am again teaching a journalism seminar course that focuses on how the media report on political campaigns and local, state and national elections. Last semester, I taught the class with a Diederich College of Communication colleague, James Scotton, and we had 12 students. This time, I'm on my own and have just five students. I had hoped for more given the focus this fall on the general election between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, instead of the lackluster GOP primaries last semester. Then again, this is the third time each of the five have had me for a teacher at Marquette University, so we are all well acquainted.

The course objectives are much the same as last time. They include developing a journalistic blog that offers fair and balanced commentary about media coverage, gathering and curating social media to tell and present stories about campaigns and elections; and analyzing how candidates use the media – and money – to shape their campaign messages. There's no course textbooks this time. However, I have negotiated with the Poynter Institute's News University to provide the students with access to some interesting and relevant course modules. They will include "Reporting on Religion and Political Candidates," "Social Media and Your 2012 Election Coverage," "Political Fact-Checking: Tips and Tricks for the 2012 Election" and "How to Work With Campaign Finance Data."

The students have individually chosen to monitor election news coverage from CNN, NBC News, Politico, The New York Times or The Washington Post as weekly beat assignments. They have also each picked a U.S. Senate race – in either Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri or Ohio – from which to analyze in a 1,500-word paper and to make a 15-minute class presentation. They will also similarly analyze and offer a presentation on one of these traditional campaign concerns: abortion, education, family values/civil unions, health care and homeland security.

I hope to again present relevant guest speakers. Last semester's group greeted, among others, Sharif Durhams, Mike Gousha, Charles Franklin and Eugene Kane. Also proud to say that a student from the spring, Tessa Fox, used the course as a springboard for a wonderful opportunity with The Washington Post.

Finally, this semester's class schedule better matches when "On the Issues with Mike Gousha" – the public affairs program that brings newsmakers and policy shapers to campus – is held at Marquette's law school. My students are excited to get to witness and live tweet from the "On the Issues" event featuring former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) on October 4, the morning after the first presidential debate between Obama and Romney. So am I.

Three semesters in a row of #LoweClass with @mel_lawder, @joekvartunas and @alexrydin. #champs

— Brynne Ramella (@brynneramella) August 28, 2012

What's the relationship between #journalism & political campaigns? Find out by reading my new blog post for #loweclass. melanielawder.weebly.com/jour-4932.html

— Melanie Lawder (@mel_lawder) August 30, 2012

Today in #loweclass we learned that journalists always have to watch what they say, even when they think no one is listening.

— Alex Rydin (@alexrydin) August 30, 2012

@joekvartunas nice assignment. let us know if you need anything specific

— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 30, 2012

Today's #elections #loweclass centered around the representation of women and minorities as presidential debate moderators.

— Alec Brooks (@alecbrooks) September 4, 2012
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    Welcome

    My journalism DNA remains strong as I learn and teach new ways to tell and present stories, especially via digital and social media. This blog is where I share what happens in my classroom and my life and, from time to time, offer my views on current events. I appreciate your feedback – either as comments herein or in an email to herbert.lowe [at] marquette [dot] edu.

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