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Only 9,906 More Words to Go

11/24/2010

10 Comments

 
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No Emerging Media class this week as it's the start of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Which means I get to stay home and start to focus on catching up on overdue assignments – and to begin thinking in earnest about a course I'll be teaching next semester. The course is Introduction to Digital Storytelling (JOUR 1550), for all intents and purposes the undergraduate-level version of our graduate-level Craft of Digital Storytelling class. I'm really excited to get to teach JOUR 1550 and feel much better prepared having taken the graduate course and our Emerging Media course, too. Professor Menck has provided several great guest speakers and even more documents and sites for our learning.

Still, needed to decide which books, if any, to use to teach JOUR 1550. Carole Burns showed me "Online Journalism: Principles and Practices of News for the Web," by James C. Foust. I think I will be able to make that work. Searching the Internet led me to another book, "The Digital Journalist's Handbook," by Mark S. Luckie. He describes himself as a digital journalist who combines his love for journalism with his passion for technology. I will use his book as well.

What really impressed me is Luckie's blog, 10,000 Words, which he created as a resource for journalists and web and technology enthusiasts to learn the tools that are shaping digital journalism. I came across the blog while looking for someone else's account on Twitter – and saw that the 10,000 Words account has 12,725 followers. I quickly added myself to that number and will spend a lot of time reviewing all the previous posts, archives and useful sites offered. (Check out How Mark Luckie Created 'The Digital Journalist's Handbook' from another blog.)

Here's his latest post: 5 myths about digital journalism. His list includes 1) journalists must know everything, 2) social media is the answer, 3) journalists must have database development skills, 4) comments suck/comments are essential for democracy and 5) there are no journalism jobs. He ends the last item by saying: "All hope is not lost, though. Make sure you set yourself apart from the pack by developing diverse and unique skills (which don't always have to be digital). If you're unemployed, use the opportunity to learn or develop independent projects that demonstrate your ongoing commitment to journalism." Sounds like excellent advice for my students.

Well, then, that was 94 words from Luckie. Now, only 9,906 more to go!

UPDATE (December 1): Walked into Diederich College Dean Lori Bergen's office today and saw this book, "Producing Online News: Digital Skills, Stronger Stories," resting on her desk. It's by Ryan M. Thornburg, a University of North Carolina professor. This definitely has possibilities for my class. Thornburg also has his own blog, Producing Online News. His latest post offers a sample syllabus called, Producing Online News. OMG!
10 Comments
Mark Strotman
1/20/2011 10:20:43 am

I completely agree with what he said at the end about being uniquely talented. It sounds obvious to be talented in as many different facets of your job as possible, but not enough people take advantage of that. EVERY opportunity you have, whether it be a class, a job, or just watching someone, is a chance to learn. People who continue to learn will have more to offer as time goes on, making them more successful.

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Joshua Arter
1/23/2011 07:36:39 am

Since I started blogging a few year ago, I have become a big fan of 10,000 Words as well as CopyBlogger.

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Jodi Denk
1/24/2011 09:50:46 am

10,000 Words talks about a lot of topics from photoblogging to analysis of certain products. It seems like a cool site with a lot of good ideas to try out.

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Elizabeth Heebink link
1/24/2011 11:05:08 am

10,000 Words looks like a very helpful site and I will definitely be using it in the future. Reading the part where you discuss the 5 Myths of Digital Journalism made me laugh because it's so true, particularly how there are no journalism jobs. People continuously assume that you will never find a good career path with a journalism degree. However, that is not always the case. Unfortunately, like what Mark said, people are not taking the opportunity to become talented in more than one area. Setting yourself apart from others and being a leader rather than follower will only get you farther in life regardless if you have a job or not.

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Trey
1/24/2011 11:06:11 am

I'm relatively new to blogging so a site like this would be a really good idea for me. I deffinitely agree that it has become an important part of journalism today as many of the websites I visit for sports news contain blogs.

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Ashley De La Torre
1/24/2011 01:39:30 pm

The OMG! at the end of the blog just threw me off but besides that the 10,000 words site seemed really informative. I also agree that although the digital stuff is helpful especially in todays society it is good to be unique. Today unique seems to be if you can get back to the basics out side of the digital world.

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Jon M
1/24/2011 11:57:47 pm

What I like most about this 10,000 words article is myth number 2 of social media will save everything or whatever that was. I believe that social media is a very useful tool, but I just find it very hard to believe that sites like Twitter will be able to maintain such a high user count and what not. Just seems unlikely.

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Jonathan Zimmermann
1/27/2011 01:15:23 am

I was about to say "10,000 words!?"

I will definitely check that out!

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Liz McGovern
9/1/2011 04:24:37 am

I enjoyed browsing 10,000 Words. One blog article I found interesting is about the online newspaper, The Daily Dot. The blog gave insight into why certain trends on YouTube and Twitter are so popular--online communities.

I am interested in learning how to write for niches and how to gather an online following.

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Dana Christen
1/18/2012 12:39:23 pm

I thoroughly enjoyed the 5 Myths About Journalism. Number five especially--I always worry about how I'm going to find a job after college and if it'll be in the field of journalism. This gave me hope!

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    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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