Ryann's Blog

My NATO preview story was different than most in our class.  It was based off of information compiled at the Poynter/McCormick Specialized Reporting Institute on Globalization.  The seminar was held during Spring Break at DePaul University’s College of Communication.  Although this wasn’t my IDEAL Spring Break trip, the information I learned at the seminar was very valuable in preparing to cover the NATO summit.

Journalists from all over the Midwest gathered at our school to learn and discuss issues that would be debated at the G8 and NATO summits.  Speakers from diverse fields of study gave presentations on what they believed were the largest issues at hand for G8 and NATO.

Dick Longworth from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs gave the keynote address, which was a basic NATO/G8 overview.  Knowing the history of G8 and NATO is really important to fully understand what the countries are gathering for.

Immigration, food security and national security were among the key topics.  When I wrote my story, I pulled key facts from the presentation and thought the facts would be more appropriate in a list form, so they’d be easier to read.

Overall, the seminar was a great way to understand NATO and G8 and even get some networking in.  I wouldn’t have picked a better way to compose my preview story!

By Ryann Rumbaugh

At the Poynter/McCormick Specialized Reporting Institute on Globalization, Rick Mattoon, senior economist and economic advisor with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, talked about the global economy and its impact on NATO.

I caught up with Mattoon after his presentation and asked him what he thought about security at the Federal Reserve Bank and whether or not he thinks the bank is prepared for mass crowds and loud protesters.

Listen to his interview here:

By Ryann Rumbaugh

The world of journalism as we know it is changing.

Newspaper circulation is declining while online readership is increasing.  Due to the rising popularity of smartphones and tablets, our country is turning more and more to the Web for news content.

As a journalist, this phenomenon and change is rather scary.  After graduating, we will all most likely go on to work for a smaller, local news market.  Those companies are suffering the most from this change.

Metro newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune are improving their online presence.  The newspaper’s main site reflects the daily newspaper, whereas the breaking news site reflects a blog and is updated constantly throughout the day as stories develop.

This is where local newspapers and start-up news sites need to step up.  Small-town readers are interested in things that are happening around them.  Someone in the town of New Lenox, Illinois might be interested in what is going on in Chicago, but their local news matters more to them.

Creating a website for a local newspaper not only increases readership, it also helps the staff generate relevant content based on what people in the community are saying.  When local newspapers provide readers with the opportunity to give feedback and ideas, the readers will speak.  Crowdsourcing is a fantastic tool for journalists to boost their stories and reach more readers.

The biggest question facing news companies is, how do we make money off of our online content?  By incorporating smart business models and attractive advertising, that’s how.

Local papers can attract more online readers by covering stories that aren’t prominent in larger media outlets.  Readers are more likely to turn to a national media outlet such as USA Today for a wide-scale story rather than their local newspaper.  If a smaller news organization is looking to increase readership and make more money, it should send reporters to local stories instead of trying to cover everything that’s going on in the world.

Of course, these are just suggestions for news organizations. It’ll be interesting to see where the world of journalism stands in the next 10 years.

Convergence doesn’t just mean working with television, print, radio and the Internet.  There are other ways to reach the public through other media.

Text messages, e-mail and Twitter are convenient ways for the public to get their news.

RSS feeds are constantly being updated throughout the day, such as blogs. WordPress allows you to subscribe to anyone’s blog and receive information whenever they update.

Chicago Tribune reporters use their Chicago Breaking News website to constantly update stories throughout the day. What’s even more useful now is Twitter.  Now, I can go on and on all day about the benefits of Twitter, but we simply don’t  have time for that.

Twitter can be used as a news feed if you follow the right people.  News organizations like The Huffington Post, CNN, Chicago Tribune, WGN TV and the Sun Times constantly update Twitter to inform people of what’s going on.

Entertainment sites like E! and Entertainment Weekly update Twitter and link to their websites which feature interactive stories, slideshows and videos.

E-mail notifications are up to the user.  Some sites will allow you to e-mail the link to a friend and share the story. People can subscribe to e-mail services on news websites such as USA Today.

Smartphones are now very popular throughout the world because they are Internet and e-mail capable.  Users can get their news through mobile websites and mobile Twitter applications, which means that they don’t have to sit at a computer all day to get their news.

Cell phone users can sign up for text alerts from news websites as well, in order to receive breaking news when it happens. Typically the headlines will be short and include the essential facts.  From there, the user can either turn on television or visit the Internet to get more information.

Even billboards are using technology such as Twitter.  News organizations can post live tweets from their feed onto a billboard and update drivers of news on the go.

As the public demands faster ways to get news, organizations are responding with media such as text messaging, e-mail notifications and Twitter.

Multimedia is short for “multiple media”, which can be looked at as various combinations of sound, video, text and animation.  All websites can now use this technology to bring even more to viewers, which in turn brings audiences back for more.  A viewer is more likely to visit a website with impressive videos and graphics than one with text only.  A story on the news is more appealing if we can see it rather than just hear about it.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Even though this popular saying is ancient, it still rings true.  No one can explain certain emotions that might be depicted in a photo.  Hearing about a soldier coming home to his family doesn’t stack up to seeing a picture of the wife and children reacting to his return.  Even a lower-quality cell phone photo of a news event is better than nothing.

It’s important to make sure that pictures are good quality and show important parts of the story.  After shooting your photos, it’s important to process, crop, size and fix the resolution to ensure great quality.  Photoshop is a great tool for all of these processes.  You must also know what format the file must be in so that everyone who views your gallery can see the photo.

Websites also use sound to tell stories, such as interviews and podcasts.  Sound bites that are chosen should emphasize opinion and/or emotion.  Quotes that just give information are more appropriate for reporters to say in their script.  Reporters use high quality sound recorders during interviews to ensure that their content is usable.  There are many computer programs that import and edit sound bites, such as Sound Forge, Audacity and Garage Band.  This software also helps with the creation of podcasts, which is like an audio blog.  Podcasts are interesting because they’re like radio shows that you can save and carry around wirelessly.  It’s important to keep the topic interesting and time-appropriate for listeners so they don’t get bored.

The most dominant form of multimedia seems to be video.  As previously stated, it’s more interesting to see something happening than to hear about it.  News sites try to use as much video as possible to interest viewers that get their news on the Web.  If I only have a certain amount of time to look up my news, I’m going to watch a quick video clip rather than read a 700 word story.  Some news organizations stream their newscasts, while others upload files to their websites.  Some good programs for editing video are Final Cut Pro and Avid.  News organizations use these programs for their on-air work as well as online video.  Proper file sizes and types are necessary to work with different mediums, such as .avi, .mov, and .mp4.

Interactive elements to websites are important for news companies to get feedback from viewers.  There are daily polls, comment sections of stories and videos, and the ability to share stories on Facebook, Twitter, and email with one simple click.  Viewers can use a Google map of where a crime happened as well as a comment section to share their opinions.

Using multimedia on the Web is crucial to a news station’s success in the online world.  Technology is advancing faster each year, and newsrooms constantly need to keep up with the times.