Goodness! Can't believe it's more than a week since I wrote on here ... what happened to last week? It didn't help that it started with a Bank Holiday, they always throw my sense of time out of the window. And there's another one at the end of the month, will just about have caught up with myself by then!
Not Really a Journalist!
Have just about finished my article on Blue Bins and Recycling, will have to work out how to post pictures on here without sending my spacing crazy. I might post words and pictures separately.
Last Fridays' Open Media Day at the local Resource Recovery Centre was a fab experience. (Though jumping out of a friend's wagon in the car park and falling headlong in the dirt wasn't a great start!) I met some lovely people, found the waste processing fascinating and the resulting stacks of multicoloured bales amazing, like huge modern art installations.
It was a very positive experience in lots of ways and has inspired me to be even more of a "Recycling Freak" (in the words of Eldest Daughter.)
As far as writing goes, I don't think journalism will ever really be a serious option for me. I lack the objectivity needed for one thing, though I enjoyed the experience of 'being a journalist for a day' and learned a lot. There's no point in me competing with the guys (real journalists) who were there, so I've written my article from a personal perspective.
But for those of you who want to know more about journalism, here are a few links:
Journalistic Blogging
Blogging and journalism work well together, being expressions of the moment. Blogging is, after all, often seen as a form of online journal. Journalists from all over the world write blogs (individually) as do most major news agencies and networks. Blogs are also a great way to discover newsworthy ideas.
The Blog Herald: Blogging Lessons For and From Journalism
10 Journalism Tips For Bloggers, Podcasters & Other E-Writers by Spencer Critchley
Journalism Tips from the Telegraph blog
A consideration of the interaction of blogs and journalism by JD Lasica
Journalism and Social Media Tips from Blogs.Journalism.co.uk
The Blog Herald: A look at how twitter can be used for journalism
Breaking News on Twitter
Am fairly new to Twitter, but I can see how it has pretty awesome potential for journalism. News spreads quickly across the globe via those little tweets! Someone wanting information from widespread sources can ask a simple question on Twitter and have access to a phenomenal number of different perspectives. Twitter has a culture of community, of sharing information and ideas. I am fascinated daily, as a person and as a writer, by the possibilities (indeed, the realities) of Twitter. I imagine as a journalist I would find it a very useful resource:
The story of how James Buck used Twitter to alert people of his arrest in Egypt
Reuters: Breaking News, Twitter Style
Lots more examples in Marshall Kirkpatrick's post 'How We Use Twitter for Journalism'
Journalists are even using Twitter to find jobs
How to master Twitter if you're a journalist
With the leading national and international news agencies, newsrooms, journalists and a huge variety of other professionals, including academics, social commenters and politicians (even 10 Downing Street) on Twitter, sourcing immediate information is simple.
Another recent discovery that I've found very useful as a writer, which I expect is another excellent resource for journalists is the RSS Feed.
RSS Feeds and Journalism
For some basic general information, further links and steps to setting up your own RSS feed from a blog, see the post I wrote on Write Here! for RSS Feed Awareness Day.
Using RSS feeds as a journalist: advice from SourceWire
How to use RSS and social media for newsgathering by Paul Bradshaw
Finding Journalism Jobs by RSS feed
For anyone interested in becoming a journalist, I wish you well on your journey.
More about my own small experience later this week.
Have an excellent one!
(Also worth checking out, as somewhere with lots of information and advice relevant to online journalism, is contentious.com, Amy Gahran’s news and musings on how we communicate in the online age.)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
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