Group items tagged

"A columnist must be quick and nimble with various platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter (and all those other platforms you've been avoiding) in order to promote a message with power and reach.  What is your genre of column writing? Pick a niche and own it and use social media to raise your presence to a higher level. Although excellent writing will always be the star of the show, on-line competition requires journalists to set themselves apart. "Create value to a column with reporting," Avlon said. Facts, studies, quotes from experts, new angles and research will add to a columnist's reputation as a go-to resource.  Although reporting is vital, capturing the emotion of an issue creates universal resonance.  Avlon said, "Storytelling with compassion cuts across ideologies." To craft a standout blog or column, Avlon offered these elements: A strong point of view Expertise Research A compelling read"

Writing is low on the priority list in our online journalism classes, not because I want it to be, but because we've got limited time to focus on other things. During two-hour classes, students create individual or group websites and learn how to operate online content management systems. They produce audio slideshows, podcasts and videos. They join online communities or create their own. They gather raw data and use it to create online visualizations. They tinker with HTML and CSS, and dissect their website's analytics, among many other tasks. By the end of term, students will produce a body of multimedia journalism work and become active participants in an online network throughout which they can disseminate their work. Students complete many of our projects without writing a piece of text longer than an average tweet, which can be a major letdown for budding wordsmiths.

Following is a summary of freelance writing rates that I've collected and distilled over my past 6 years as a freelance writer and editor.

"Programs around the country are encouraging self-expression, critical-thinking skills, and collaborative learning through digital-media production. Learning to research and write scripts, hone interviewing techniques, and edit footage are just some of the skills students develop during the creative process-a process that touches on multiple academic subjects and builds both self-esteem and confidence-traits shown to lead to better grades."

"I often use commercials as ways to teach journalists how to write compelling stories. Budweiser's "Puppy Love" Super Bowl commercial gives me one of the best examples of video storytelling that I have seen in years. So let me walk you frame-by-frame through the ad. The story teaches us how to build tension, how to use the "rule of threes," how to find narrow focus and how to build to the big explosion at the end of the piece - the payoff."

This backpack report by HTVer Taylor Huff looks at the free breakfast program that just started at Hillcrest. (Our weekly "backpack stories" require HTV staffers to shoot, write and edit a piece by themselves)

"Why people online don't read to the end."