A Journalist's Guide to Doing Social Media

It's April, I haven't posted to the blog in 10 days, and you can probably guess why. That's right ....

In between begging for money and trying to do some reporting, I did manage to grab an hour to talk with members of the Southern Education Desk (SED) reporting team about doing social media. 

Many of us are on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc ... but are we using these properties to their greatest potential when it comes our journalism?  SED Managing Editor Duncan Moon asked me to talk to his team about how we use social media at WBHM, and  thought I'd share that with you as well.

I've broken it down into some simple strategies:

1.  Kevin Costner may believe that if you "build it, they will come" ... but that ain't true! I watched a major public media initiative launch its Facebook and Twitter accounts, then sit and wait for people to show up. Six months into the project they had just a couple dozen followers. And this was for a project that included public media collaborators across many states, focused on one the biggest news stories of our decade.  You have to go out and find followers!

• Search Facebook and Twitter using keywords that apply to your beat/geography/etc, then friend/like/follow those people. Most them will return the favor.  And make sure you're looking for individuals, too, not just organizations. 
• Add your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, Tumblr (insert other social media site) URL onto your email signature line. 
• Back-announce stories with social media handles.  Here at WBHM you might hear an announcement like this after a story from SED reporter Dan Carsen:  “You can find all of Dan’s stories archived at www.wbhm.org and you can follow Dan on twitter at AT-W-B-H-M-ED-Desk."
• And remember, when people follow you thank them publicly.

2. Once folks know you're on a social platform, keep them coming back for quality content.  For every story our WBHM news team produces we not only post it to our website (with copy, audio and photos), but we also promote it heavily through social media. 

• Facebook -- We'll post the story to the WBHM Facebook page, as well as our personal Facebook pages. We make sure to use the "@" function to get as much linkage out as possible. This includes "@" cc'ing people who might have been quoted on the story.  This helps stories spread virally.  We also try to include a listener prompt to encourage conversation, something like this (get out your glasses, the print's kinda small)...

• Twitter – Similar to Facebok, we tweet from the WBHM accounts, then RT from the personal accounts using the "@" replay function as much as possible, but keeping the character count to 115 characters so there's still plenty of space for followers to RT us.  
• Pinterest is driven by photos, so make sure you've got a great image to anchor your post and make sure you add enough information in the caption to capture attention. Much like forward promoting on air, you don't want to give away the whole story in the caption.  It should be a tease that will make people want to click the photo to link through to the full story. 

3. Don't just post promotional stuff. There are plenty of other ways to engage people, including

• Calls for story ideas. We do this weekly with a quick FB post or Tweet that says "WBHM has a news editorial meeting this morning. What stories should we be telling about our community?"
• Reminders that you can find archives of your stories online ("Been looking for a way to find all of our stories on Alabama's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law? Here ya go!") 
• Fun Stuff. Post pictures of your reporters in the field.... 

WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen

WBHM News team & friends at GPB's PubMedia Camp

4. The takeaway from all of this?   Engage... Engage... Engage!  Social media is all about two-way communication, not just promoting your news stories/programs.   The more you look and act like a "real person" online the more your listeners and readers will want to get to know you. 


What tips do you have for creating community around your news coverage? What are your biggest challenges? Your fears?  Share them here and let's get the conversation started. 

Ten Time Management Tips for Reporters on Deadline Story

(Source: Random handout on my desk. Not sure who produced it -- may be WNYC's Julianne Welby? -- but thanks!)

1. Use "Story Mapping" techniques to select focus, framing and questions ahead of time.

2. Tweets or Facebook updates during coverage can serve as building blocks for writing later.

3. Mark audio while recording in the field. Log it during lulls in the action.

4. Grab photos (or video) from all sources. Delete bad shots immediately. Tag or note the best ones.

5. Always line up sources for in-person questions after press conferences.

6. Start producing during the trip back to the station.  This includes listening to tape, picking soundbites and "talking the script" around the tape.

7. Check in with editor upon return to station. Get reaction/follow-up calls out ASAP.

8. Carefully label files with slug, source, date.

9. Write quickly, simply.  Budget time for an edit. Take a break to bring fresh eyes to the final draft (get some AIR!)

10. End of day: Enter new contacts into Rolodex. Note additional story ideas. Have next assignment in mind.

Photo Credit: Klynslis/Flickr

Breaking Down Story Structure

We've been talking recently about story ideas: where they come from and how to develop them.  I want to fast-forward now past the research and interviewing phases and to the writing.  You've got lots of information in your head. How do you get it on paper?  

Media trainer Terry Fitzpatrick has a really useful way of breaking down the structure of a story.

How do you do that with the elements you've collected?

Yes, it's a formula... but you've got to know the formula before you know how you can break it!

The master of storytelling has a slightly more organic, but similar approach... 

What are your tricks? How do you get the story out of your head and onto paper? What tips do you have for organizing a story, dealing with writers block, and any of the other oodles of problems we face daily (and often under deadline)?

KUHF (Houston) Hiring Public Insight Analyst

KUHF is looking for a person who is ready to take on all of the following responsibilities: on-air and on-line reporter, multi-platform producer, editor and community outreach liaison.  All these skills are put to use as a Public Insight Analyst.  This reporter will work in the newsroom and with the public affairs unit. This position will be responsible for KUHF’s Public Insight Network where social media and news gathering meet at the next level.  The analyst will build a network of sources with the goal of strengthening KUHF’s news gathering operation and connection to the diverse communities of Houston.

                                     

The ideal candidate will have a passion for news and new technologies, as well as unbounded curiosity for how news, technology and people come together.  This person needs to be able to manage large projects independently while also working collaboratively with reporters and other departments.  The ideal candidate will have strong communication, writing and reporting skills that meet journalistic standards.

To apply, send audio, writing and multi-platform examples of your work to applications@kuhf.org.  All candidates must also apply through the University of Houston website at www.uh.edu.  Click on ‘Jobs at UH’ at the bottom of the page and search posting #000014. The University of Houston is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Institution.  Minorities, women, veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

More on Webifying Radio Stories

Our recent blog post about justifying web versions of our radio stories  garnered a lot of reaction on Facebook.  Here's a compilation of some of the most interesting comments:

@maxnewsroom
The tools for working the web are *still* not easy to use short of a lot of training and patience. Meanwhile, you are asking a reporter, who may have already put in a full shift covering the story you have assigned to him or her, and who had to come back to the station to turn it into great radio, to *now* take additional time and perfectly "storify" it for the web. As most people who have done it know, doing a good radio story is *not* the same as doing that story well for the web. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise hasn't done it, or has Hermoine Granger's little pocketwatch to compress time... 

@kimbui
I'm not a radio person, but we've struggled with this. It is difficult to ask people who know how to write radio to turn a magic button and write for web, especially when they've got radio to produce. On deadline. Similarly, I think it's unfair to ask a web person to webify a radio story they have not done reporting on. That is ow mistakes and errors get added in. I have no answers, just wanted to point out both sides of this coin.

@tcarpowich 

KPBS reporters write for all platforms and are quite successful. Maybe it's because we believe it is possible.

She offered this video that explains how KPBS made the move to multimedia.  

The KPBS example is a great one. They've clearly put a lot of time and effort and thinking into their multimedia journalism.  But short of big $$ and big staff, how can a less-resourced newsroom hope to do digital well? 


First: Training. Don't just give your staff a camera (video or still) and expect them to know how to use it!  When I got a FLIP camera last year I immediately took it into the field and recorded a video of an urban farm.  It was a panning nightmare! 

At the very least I should have watched this video...

Better yet, I could have taken an online Visual Journalism class from the Poynter Institute. 

Here's more Facebook advice from folks working in smaller newsrooms.

Martha Foley Smith  We struggle with this. Now we have interns in very morning to help with the webification. I will say that having a fast, easy CMS (content management system) for reporters to use - that cleans up word processing "artifacts," finds photos, and feeds the archive automatically helps a whole lot when your making that argument. Don't all reporters want as broad carriage of their stories as possible?




Rob South I think it's a team effort. IMO you don't want good reporters and writers spending a lot of time on something an intern or a producer (or manager) could do. You want them writing and reporting. I'm not saying that they can't do the work needed to get a story online, I'm saying they should have help getting it there.  I've spent many hours watching stories evaporate because I was too busy getting copy web-ready, while there were other people who could be doing it.  On the flip side reporters need to help each other get copy on the web, so you have to know how to do it.

Remembering Mike Wallace

"Comfort the afflicted. Afflict the comfortable."

It was a guiding principal of CBS's Mike Wallace, who died this weekend at the age of 93.  But did you know that before Wallace was holding feet to the fire, he hosted a superhero radio show, sang on television and hawked something call Golden Fluffo?  Check out this video!

Of course, now Wallace is best known as a TV journalist who was "equally at home questioning con men, celebrities and chiefs of state", as we hear in this interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

UPDATE: And thanks to NPR's Jeff Brady for offering this video, which makes it abundantly clear how times have changed in journalism.  No way would our interviews start this way today...

Photo Credit: Peter Freed/AP

Take Your Story Idea from "Idea" to "Story"

Ever get bogged down in reporting or writing a story (who hasn't?!?). You gather a bunch of tape interviews, get back to your office ready to write, then realize you have no idea how to start the story or end the story or, for that matter, what exactly should go in the middle?

Or how about this. You get back to the office, write a kick-ass script, submit it to your editor, who then looks at you dumbfounded because your story isn't at all what she expected.

The problem is Story Visioning (or lack of it!). Stories don't just come together because you interview a bunch of people about an interesting topic. You have to have a plan. Luckily, we've got an appropriate worksheet for that.

My former training partner Melanie Peeples developed it and I revised it. It's meant to be filled out by a reporter, then shared with the editor BEFORE any reporting takes place so everyone's on the same page.

(note: this is for feature stories, not for spot news. And make sure you scroll down for notes on various elements of this worksheet.)

Story Visioning Worksheet

Story Length:

1. What is my Focus Statement?

2. Who stands to win/lose in this story? Who are the players?

3. Who do I need to interview?

Side 1                   Side 2                      Side 3                     Expert/Perspective


4. What is this story REALLY about? Who stands the lose the most? How does it feel to be him/her? How can I open the story with this person?

5. Where should I interview him/her? (do this for every person in #4) How can I describe this place? What nearby sounds should be miked for prominence? What obstacles can I anticipate?

6. What questions should I ask? (remember the “20 minute rule”)

7. Go. Be ready to change course if you find new information.

NOTES: 


Story Length -- It's crucial that you decide the length before you start reporting. Print reporters know they get a certain number of inches or words for their article.  It's tempting in public radio to think it's an "organic process"  and the length of your story should "depend on what you gather in the field". Do that and you'll end up with a 6.5 minute story that won't fit easily into Morning Edition or All Things Considered.  You need to know if you're building a cathedral (8 minute doc) or pitching a pup tent (2 minute super spot).  It determines how many interviews you have to do and how many "scenes" you need to gather.

Focus Statement -- Did your eye just start twitching? PTSD from high school english class? Yes. A focus statement is crucial. No. It's not difficult. Fill in these blanks:  (Somebody) is doing (something) (because)...

Winners/Losers -- Who stands to win or lose the most in this story? These are the real people affected by an issue.  You want to frame the story around them, not the talking head/politician/analyst-y types.

Where to Interview -- Don't interview someone in a coffee shop unless your story is about coffee shops!

20 Minute Rule -- Most interview should and can be conducted in 20 minutes or less. If it takes longer than that you haven't done your research, don't know this person's role in the story, and are wasting their time (and  yours). There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. If your story is a profile of a person you'll need to spend more than 20 minutes with them.  You may also need to spend more than 20 minutes with the "real person" around whom your story is framed, especially if they're not used to being interviewed.   I spent more than an hour with Virginia Teat for this story because you clearly can't ask a 75 year old woman to talk about how her husband died of Mad Cow Disease, then start a stopwatch.


What advice to do you give reporters who are just starting out? Are there simple tips you've learned over the years that make the story visioning process easier?

WLRN (Miami) Hiring Three Senior Editors

Please excuse the slap, dash, cut & paste, but I wanted to get this up quickly. If you haven't been following WLRN's journalistic rise, take note: this is a station to watch. 10 years ago when I was working in Florida the station had barely a news presence. Today they're doing some bang up investigative reporting (see their stories on Charter Schools and their fabulous series Neglected to Death).


# 1

Job Title: Senior Editor, News, WLRN-Miami Herald News

To apply:

Application should include (1) a cover letter, (2) a resume or CV, (3) work samples and (4) at least three references that have worked closely with you and can speak of your qualifications for the position. Please email application to WLRNnews@gmail.com. Applications will be accepted through April 30, 2012.

Position Summary:

The Senior Editor for News is one of three WLRN Senior Editors who with the News Director constitute the News Department’s Leadership Team. The News Director reports directly to WLRN’s General Manager. The WLRN news department has a nine-year editorial partnership with the Miami Herald and is located inside the Miami Herald newsroom. The Senior Editors will manage their assigned areas of responsibility; help craft and manage overall News Department direction and strategy across all of our platforms; apply high ethical, journalism and radio standards consistent with NPR’s new ethics code; supervise content consistent with the News Department’s approach to subject-area verticals (beats), sense of place programming and user interactivity; participate in news events; act as working managers and pitch in on daily production needs; and supervise and evaluate staff assigned to them. As a team, the Senior Editors will meet regularly to review all assignments, set priorities for the coming week and do longer-range planning. In the absence of one of the other Senior Editors or the News Director, the Senior Editor will be called upon to oversee other areas of news across all of our platforms and/or function as acting News Director. The Senior Editors will rotate as the on-duty manager during nights and weekends.

Senior Editor, News: Directs, reviews and edits work of assigned staff, including the anchors, producers and beat reporters. The primary goal and focus of the Senior Editor for News is to increase the value and impact of WLRN’s news coverage by focusing our reporting resources on the coverage of fewer subjects in greater depth. This individual will oversee WLRN’s news coverage across all of our platforms, including 16 daily newscasts and signature segments, mobilizing staff resources and working in collaboration with the Miami Herald newsroom to maximize the timely delivery of key information to our digital and broadcast audiences around defined subject-area verticals. This position has primary responsibility for monitoring the breaking- and hard-news flow to ensure timely coverage. This editor will manage WLRN’s relationship with the Florida News Exchange, collaborate with newsrooms across the state and oversee daily coverage from correspondents in Washington, D.C., Tallahassee, Palm Beach County and Broward County.

Position Responsibility:

General duties:
• Demonstrates interest in and knowledge of the major issues facing South Florida. Engages in continual self-education and education of the staff.
• Drive daily coverage plan for 16 daily newscasts, and suggest continual ways to refine and improve our core broadcast news product.
• Ensure a daily flow of fresh breaking and hard-news content across all of our platforms.
• Oversees coverage of breaking news of importance to our listeners in close collaboration with the Miami Herald’s breaking news team.
• Liaison with the Miami Herald’s Continuous News Desk.
• Train Miami Herald reporters in audio recording, writing and production to produce daily spot stories.
• Tap into the full potential of the Miami Herald news partnership to shepherd news stories across multiple platforms.
• Coach reporters to come up with fresh, forward-looking news approaches that emphasize the news department’s core values of Sense of Place and Audience Interactivity. Engage the audience regularly in coverage of the community using the Public Insight Network.
• Assists in recruiting and hiring best candidates for open positions. Keeps current with talent for such purposes.
• Establish a story planning and communications process. Attend and participate in Miami Herald news meetings, weekly enterprise planning meetings; run daily radio standup meetings; establish and run weekly news planning meetings and listening sessions with the reporting staff. Coordinate coverage plan and resource sharing with News Director and other Senior Editors to reflect evolving news assignments and opportunities.
• Put an emphasis on coverage of ethnic and racial diversity and full regional geographic coverage, in particular stories in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
• Oversee the workflow from local freelancers as well as correspondents and contributors in Tallahassee, Broward County, Palm Beach County and Washington DC.
• Engage the audience regularly using the Public Insight Network, though daily queries and questions of the day.
• Work with the News Director and other Senior Editors to ensure 100 percent participation of the news staff in the creation of digital content.
• Work with the WLRN communications, programming and membership staff to ensure proper promoting of high-impact coverage.
• Fill-in for other Senior Editors, News Director, or other staff as needed.
• Create and work under an approved annual work plan, with goals, objectives and measureable metrics.
• Performs all administrative duties as assigned, including time sheet monitoring and approval, vacation scheduling and payment of freelancers.
• Performs technical liaison as needed for the news staff with Miami Herald IT and WLRN engineering.
• Help organize, attend and participate in public events and community outreach as a representative of the station. Maintain an active social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, as well as other platforms yet to be identified.
• Rotates with other senior editors as on-duty manager for the news department during nights and weekends.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Expectations:

• The News Editor will often be called on in the early morning and weekends to coordinate breaking news coverage, and in the evenings and weekends to edit spot stories.
• As a regular part of his or her duties, the Newscast Editor will be expected to produce spot news coverage of breaking stories across all of our platforms. Producing these stories will relieve pressure on the staff due to periodic staffing shortages. This is an opportunity to lead by example.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Minimum 4 years directly related experience, 3 years reporting experience.
• Excellent knowledge of and broad experience in broadcast journalism, including reporting, researching, writing, interviewing, and editing.
• Excellent ability to create story ideas, report, edit and produce program elements.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders and partners to find win-win situations.
• Ability to successfully meet deadlines, handle multiple responsibilities under pressure and often independently outside of regular business hours.
• Good multi-tasking abilities.
• Strong critical judgment skills and the ability to make decisions regarding credibility, personality and value of material to program.
• Strong news judgment and familiarity with public radio news and values.
• Ability to edit material of remote producers over the phone.
• Strong research skills.
• Ability to work with little or no supervision.
• Superior communication skills.
• Ability to work quickly and effectively with reporters and freelancers.
• Ability and willingness to train/mentor/coach on a daily basis staff, freelancers and Miami Herald contributors in best news coverage practices across all of our platforms.
• Avid consumer of WLRN news content across all of our platforms.
• Ability to operate remote and on-site recording equipment, edit audio and prepare all elements of program in ready-for-broadcast form.
• Ability to operate digital computer equipment and software for digital presentation.
• Consistent and reliable attendance is an essential component of the job.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Strong background in daily journalism and breaking-news coverage.
• Familiarity with digital design and presentation desired.

Reporting To This Position:

• Reporters, Producers, Anchors as assigned.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:
• Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.




#2:

Job Title: Senior Editor, Enterprise, WLRN-Miami Herald News

To apply:

Application should include (1) a cover letter, (2) a resume or CV, (3) work samples and (4) at least three references that have worked closely with you and can speak of your qualifications for the position. Please email application to WLRNnews@gmail.com. Applications will be accepted through April 30, 2012.

Position Summary:

The Senior Editor for Enterprise is one of three WLRN Senior Editors who with the News Director constitute the News Department’s Leadership Team. The News Director reports directly to WLRN’s General Manager. The WLRN news department has a nine-year editorial partnership with the Miami Herald and is located inside the Miami Herald newsroom. The Senior Editors will manage their assigned areas of responsibility; help craft and manage overall News Department direction and strategy across all of our platforms; apply high ethical, journalism and radio standards consistent with NPR’s new ethics code; supervise content consistent with the News Department’s approach to subject-area verticals (beats), sense of place programming and user interactivity; participate in news events; act as working managers and pitch in on daily production needs; and supervise and evaluate staff assigned to them. As a team, the Senior Editors will meet regularly to review all assignments, set priorities for the coming week and do longer-range planning. In the absence of one of the other Senior Editors or the News Director, the Senior Editor will be called upon to oversee other areas of news across all of our platforms and/or function as acting News Director. The Senior Editors will rotate as the on-duty manager during nights and weekends.

Senior Editor, Enterprise: Directs, reviews and edits work of assigned staff, including anchors, producers and beat reporters. The primary goal and focus of the Senior Editor for Enterprise will be to develop in-depth, investigative and enterprise reporting across all of our platforms and to increase the impact and appeal of our reporting. This individual will oversee the creation of some signature programming and subject-area verticals; manage integration of enterprise and feature production into the daily workflow of the news department; and develop and cross-train the staff in best practices to produce in-depth enterprise content. This individual will also oversee non-news content such as audience callouts, arts contests, fiction, poetry, personal essays, commentaries and audio postcards. Our goal is to create more investigative stories, signature segments and one-of-a-kind programming that capture significant public attention. In the future, staff in this area may include a new senior reporting position of correspondent, specializing in major high-impact projects.

Position Responsibility:

• Demonstrates interest in and knowledge of the major issues facing South Florida. Engages in continual self-education and education of the staff.
• Oversee creation and production of one daily high-impact short depth or feature story for broadcast at peak drive times.
• Act as lead editor of most high-impact features, signature segments, subject-area verticals, and other assigned reporting and production in coordination with the reporting staff and News Director.
• Train and critique the work of radio and Miami Herald reporters and producers on a regular basis.
• Tap into the full potential of the Miami Herald news partnership to shepherd enterprise stories across multiple platforms.
• Establish a story planning and communications process. Attend and participate in Miami Herald enterprise meetings, daily radio standup meetings; establish and run weekly enterprise planning meetings and listening sessions with the reporting staff. Coordinate coverage plan and resource sharing with News Director and other Senior Editors to reflect evolving enterprise assignments and opportunities.
• Coach reporters to come up with fresh, forward-looking news approaches that emphasize the news department’s core values of Sense of Place and Audience Interactivity. Engage the audience regularly in coverage of the community using the Public Insight Network.
• Assists in recruiting and hiring best candidates for open positions. Keeps current with talent for such purposes.
• Put an emphasis on coverage of ethnic and racial diversity and full regional geographic coverage, in particular stories in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
• Oversee the workflow of enterprise features from local freelancers as well as correspondents and contributors in Tallahassee, Broward County, Palm Beach County and Washington DC.
• Work with the News Director and other Senior Editors to ensure 100 percent participation of the news staff in the creation of digital content.
• Fill-in for other Senior Editors, News Director, or other staff as needed.
• Create and work under an approved annual work plan, with goals, objectives and measureable metrics.
• Performs all administrative duties as assigned, including time sheet monitoring and approval, vacation scheduling and payment of freelancers.
• Performs technical liaison as needed for the staff, with Miami Herald IT and WLRN engineering.
• Help organize, attend and participate in public events and community outreach as a representative of the station. Maintain an active social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, as well as other platforms yet to be identified.
• Rotates with other senior editors as on-duty manager for the news department during nights and weekends.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Expectations:
• The Enterprise Editor is a coaching/training/mentoring role. He or she is expected to be a leader in the newsroom for creative, in-depth, enterprise storytelling that evokes a “Sense of Place” and engages the audience and taps into the community’s insight.
• The Enterprise Editor is encouraged to produce his or her own news and enterprise coverage, but not at the expense of duties outlined above.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Minimum 4 years directly related experience, 3 years reporting experience
• Excellent knowledge of and broad experience in broadcast journalism, including reporting, researching, writing, interviewing, and editing.
• Excellent ability to create story ideas, report, edit and produce program elements.
• Extensive experience in public radio audio production and sound mixing.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders and partners to find win-win situations.
• Ability to successfully meet deadlines, handle multiple responsibilities under pressure and often independently outside of regular business hours.
• Good multi-tasking abilities.
• Strong critical judgment skills and the ability to make decisions regarding credibility, personality and value of material to program.
• Strong storytelling skills and familiarity with public radio news and values.
• Ability to edit material of remote producers over the phone.
• Strong research skills.
• Ability to work with little or no supervision.
• Superior communication skills.
• Ability to work quickly and effectively with reporters and freelancers.
• Ability and willingness to train/mentor/coach on a daily basis staff, freelancers and Miami Herald contributors in best enterprise coverage practices across all of our platforms.
• Avid consumer of WLRN news content across all of our platforms.
• Ability to operate remote and on-site recording equipment, edit audio and prepare all elements of program in ready-for-broadcast form.
• Ability to operate digital computer equipment and software for digital presentation.
• Consistent and reliable attendance is an essential component of the job.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Strong background in enterprise journalism and high-impact feature storytelling.
• Familiarity with digital design and presentation desired.

Reporting To This Position:

• Reporters, Producers, Anchors as assigned.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:
• Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.



#3:

Job Title: Senior Editor, Digital Media, WLRN-Miami Herald News

To apply:

Application should include (1) a cover letter, (2) a resume or CV, (3) work samples and (4) at least three references that have worked closely with you and can speak of your qualifications for the position. Please email application to WLRNnews@gmail.com. Applications will be accepted through April 30, 2012.

Position Summary:

The Senior Editor for Digital Media is one of three WLRN Senior Editors who with the News Director constitute the News Department’s Leadership Team. The News Director reports directly to WLRN’s General Manager. The WLRN news department has a nine-year editorial partnership with the Miami Herald and is located inside the Miami Herald newsroom. The Senior Editors will manage their assigned areas of responsibility; help craft and manage overall News Department direction and strategy across all of our platforms; apply high ethical, journalism and radio standards consistent with NPR’s new ethics code; supervise content consistent with the News Department’s approach to subject-area verticals (beats), sense of place programming and user interactivity; participate in news events; act as working managers and pitch in on daily production needs; and supervise and evaluate staff assigned to them. As a team, the Senior Editors will meet regularly to review all assignments, set priorities for the coming week and do longer-range planning. In the absence of one of the other Senior Editors or the News Director, the Senior Editor will be called upon to oversee other areas of news across all of our platforms and/or function as acting News Director. The Senior Editors will rotate as the on-duty manager during nights and weekends.

The Senior Editor, Digital Media: Directs, reviews and edits work of assigned staff, including WLRN’s social media editor and Public Insight Network analyst. The primary goal and focus of the Senior Editor for Digital Media will be to lead the news team in exponentially growing WLRN’s digital audience. In the first phase of the job, this individual will launch and oversee a series of new WLRN digital properties, including launching a news website and subject-area blogs, a refined social media architecture and new mobile products, powered by NPR Digital Services technology and in editorial collaboration with the Miami Herald. In the second phase of the job, this individual will be at the center of a dynamic, digital-first newsroom, working closely with the WLRN News staff and the Miami Herald newsroom to create content across all of our platforms around breaking news, feature stories and audience callouts. In order to fulfill its mission to grow the digital audience, it is projected that this unit will grow in the future, and the Senior Editor for Digital Media would oversee and direct that growth.

Position Responsibility:

• Demonstrates interest in and knowledge of the major issues facing South Florida. Engages in continual self-education and education of the staff.
• Responsible for crafting, leading and implementing WLRN-Miami Herald News’s digital initiatives, including the development of new sources of original content across all platforms (i.e. will “own” the news department’s digital assets).
• Will work with the digital staff of the Miami Herald and NPR Digital Services to maximize those partnerships in the digital space.
• Will act as a liaison with the communications department at WLRN and membership department of the Friends of WLRN to coordinate outreach and promotion of news products on their websites, newsletters and events.
• Build WLRN’s digital and social media audience to broaden station’s engagement with users and generate content.
• Work with News Director to lead WLRN’s multi-platform strategy and guide station digital decision-making.
• Train and coach WLRN-Miami Herald News staff and key freelancers in new digital tools and digital best practices.
• Assists in recruiting and hiring best candidates for open positions. Keeps current with talent for such purposes.
• Develop awareness in reporters and producers of the importance of and opportunity for digital display of their stories, to ensure high-profile treatment of WLRN content on all digital platforms.
• Establish a story planning and communications process. Attend and participate in Miami Herald digital meetings, daily radio standup meetings; help lead weekly editorial meetings and critique sessions with the news staff. Coordinate coverage plan and resource sharing with News Director and other Senior Editors to reflect evolving digital assignments and opportunities.
• Responsible for the development and growth of revenue associated with WLRN’s digital assets by coordinating underwriting, development and marketing initiatives.
• Oversee the technical development and launch of new digital news platforms, including a new news website, blogs, and mobile products, as well as content displayed on Miami Herald sites.
• Oversee WLRN’s social media architecture, strategy and staff.
• Work with the News Director and other Senior Editors to ensure 100 percent participation of the news staff in the creation of digital content.
• Represent WLRN as lead in all NPR digital initiatives.
• Initiate and manage all digital partnerships and relationships that strengthen WLRN’s digital presence.
• Identify and secure funding that strengthens WLRN’s digital efforts.
• Create and work under an approved annual work plan, with goals, objectives and measureable metrics.
• Assists in recruiting and hiring best candidates for open positions. Keeps current with talent for such purposes.
• Put an emphasis on coverage of ethnic and racial diversity and full regional geographic coverage, in particular stories in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
• Fill-in for other Senior Editors, News Director, or other staff as needed.
• Performs all administrative duties as assigned, including time sheet monitoring and approval. Vacation scheduling and payment of freelancers.
• Performs technical liaison as needed for the staff, with Miami Herald IT and WLRN engineering.
• Help organize, attend and participate in public events and community outreach as a representative of the station. Maintain an active social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, as well as other platforms yet to be identified.
• Rotates with other senior editors as on-duty manager for the news department during nights and weekends.
• All other duties as assigned.

Expectations:
• The Senior Editor for Digital Media combines a coaching/training/mentoring role with a visionary approach to digital reporting and storytelling. He or she is expected to be a leader in the newsroom for creative, in-depth, digital storytelling that evokes a “Sense of Place” and engages the audience and taps into the community’s insight.
• As a regular part of his or her duties, the Senior Editor for Digital Media will be expected to produce news coverage across all of our digital platforms. This will relieve pressure on the staff due to periodic staffing shortages. This is an opportunity to lead by example.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Minimum 4 years directly related digital journalism experience.
• Knowledge of and experience in digital journalism, including reporting, researching, writing, interviewing, and editing.
• Large social media networks and a fluency in emerging digital technologies and platforms.
• Passionate advocate for the digital transformation of public media and in the potential for rapid growth in public radio’s digital audience.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders and partners to find win-win situations.
• Established track record as a digital innovator and entrepreneur.
• Ability to successfully meet deadlines, handle multiple responsibilities under pressure, independently and outside of regular business hours.
• Good multi-tasking abilities.
• Strong critical judgment skills and the ability to make decisions regarding credibility, personality and value of material to program.
• Strong understanding of audience engagement and social media and familiarity with public radio news and values.
• Strong research skills.
• Ability to work with little or no supervision.
• Superior communication skills.
• Ability to work quickly and effectively with reporters and freelancers.
• Ability and willingness to train/mentor/coach on a daily basis staff, freelancers and Miami Herald contributors in best digital practices.
• Avid consumer of WLRN news content across all of our platforms.
• Ability to operate remote and on-site recording equipment, edit audio and prepare all elements of program in ready-for-broadcast form.
• Ability to operate digital computer equipment and software for digital presentation.
• Consistent and reliable attendance is an essential component of the job.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Strong background in digital design and presentation.
• Ability to create story ideas, report, edit and produce program elements.

Reporting To This Position:

• Social Media editor, Public Insight Network analyst, Reporters, Producers, Anchors as assigned.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:
• Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

Another Free Training Opportunity for Pubmedia Journalists

K-12 and higher education are vital issues in any community and one that is intensely local. And yet there are common issues and themes that cross local, state, and regional boundaries. Currently, however, many education journalists at NPR member stations have little contact with colleagues at other stations or with NPR. At this two-day workshop participants will share ideas about how to collaboratively cover this quintessentially local beat, and how to cover it best for radio. To that end, one of the main goals will be to come out of this two-day session with a well-formed summer project plan for reporting stories along a theme or topic at the local level.

Topics we'll cover:
• Covering the Education Beat: What are the Big Stories?
• Issues in School Leadership
• Finding Your Voice: How to think and write creatively to produce compelling radio pieces
• Writing and Self-Editing: How to construct your story to keep the listener engaged
• Microphones in the Classroom: Getting Good Sound and other Technical Essentials
• Small Group Listening Critique Sessions: Share with your colleagues a piece in the works, or one you would like to have done differently. What are some elements that you would include or edit given the chance to re-write.
• Teachers: The Education Reform Debate
• Summer Learning and Loss Mitigation: The Wallace Foundation has been a leader in promoting efforts to address this widespread issue. Well hear from the experts on some of the research that's been done.
• Summer Stations Project: Local station collaboration around a summer education topic.

Requirement:
To participate in this two-day training workshop you'll need to secure an agreement from your news director/program director to meet with you after the workshop to discuss a plan for continued coverage of the education issues of vital importance your region.

Who Should Attend?
The application process is open to all NPR member station reporters who cover the education beat and those who plan to make a commitment do so.

When: May 22 & 23, 2012

Where: NPR West. 9909 Jefferson Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232

Tuition, Hotel, On-Site Meals and Travel: Underwritten by a generous grant from The Wallace Foundation.

Note- This workshop is open only to NPR member station reporters. The selection process will be fair and rigorous. To apply, please read carefully the instructions for submitting your application packet electronically.

You can apply here

If you have questions, please contact Danyell Irby, Supervising Editor (dirby@npr.org)

Training Opportunity For Your Reporters

On behalf of Public Radio News Directors Incorporated, I invite you to nominate a reporter to participate in PRNDI’s upcoming Reporter Training in Houston, TX. This is a free opportunity for young, novice, and new public radio reporters from PRNDI member stations. The training will take place June 27th and 28th, ahead of the official start to the PRNDI conference. We only ask that you cover the cost of transportation, accommodations and a meal or two for your reporter.

We’ll have two full days of hands-on training focused on upgrading your reporter’s overall journalism skills. PRNDI senior trainers Tanya Ott and Julianne Welby will offer new strategies for story visioning, sound gathering, interviewing and writing. The trainers will help each reporter localize a national story that they can bring back to your newsroom and air in your market. We will forward you the story assignment as soon as it is available.

To nominate a reporter, please email me by Wednesday, April 25th with REPORTER TRAINING in the subject line. Include the reporter’s name, years in public radio, and a brief assessment of your reporter’s abilities in the following areas:

• Story selection and planning.

• Interviewing and story gathering.

• Tape selection and writing.

• Performance and production.

• Multi-media.
As room is limited (10 spaces), we may not be able to accommodate all requests.

While the training is free, if your reporter stays for the full conference, he/she will be required to pay the appropriate conference fee. If you have any questions, please hit reply or call me at the number below.


--
George Bodarky
PRNDI Training Committee Chair
News Director/Cityscape Host
WFUV -- New York
718-817-5561

Justifying Web Stories

NPR Digital Services recently hosted a webinar on webifying our radio stories (the slides are online). It's more than just deleting the pronouncers and adding a few links. Studies show web viewers skim (rather than read entire posts) and don't usually listen to the audio even at NPR.org).

One of our blog readers, a reporter/producer in a mid-sized newsroom, is looking for advice. She'd like her newsroom to produce more "cleaned up" web versions of their radio stories, but she says there's considerable push back from reporters. Their arguments:

1. Not enough time to do web versions
2. We need a web editor

We can all sympathize with feeling like we have to do more with less. Still , we can't ignore the web!

Radio/TV folks: What advice do you have for this newsroom? Have you faced a similar situation, but somehow managed to convince your reporters that they CAN do both a radio version and a web version (without working a 12 hour day or losing their minds)?

Web Pros: What are your favorite *easy* ways to "webify" a story?

Monday Morning Dilemma

It's Monday, 4 a.m., and you're in the newsroom scanning the AP for newscast stories.

Option #1: Budget woes in a city 45 minutes outside your listening area. Not "the sky is falling, we're declaring bankruptcy" kind of budget woes, but "the federal government still hasn't paid us some disaster relief money and we're feeling the pinch" kind of budget woes. (story based on article from yesterday's newspaper)

Option #2: Local police department has been training for five months to do a better job handling deaths of infants and toddlers. In the last few years nearly half of all infant deaths in city remain unsolved (this is 5 deaths, btw). (story based on article from yesterday's newspaper)

Option #3: Man from your state (but not your listening area) shot to death by police in a neighboring state after he ran from them during a check of suspicious activity at a hotel.

Option #4: Soldier from your state, but several hours outside your listening area, was laid to rest Saturday after dying in non-combat related accident in Afghanistan.


Sound familiar? What's the phrase - "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?" But really, how much can you do with this?

It's the Monday Morning Dilemma. Thin wires. Crime, two day old stories, abbreviated versions of in-depth stories that already ran in the newspaper. What's a morning host/producer to do?

Answer: Wednesday is the New Monday.

It's an idea that's not exactly new, but gets a brilliant makeover from former NPR/Marketplace/KUOW editor Cathy Duchamp. Cathy suggests that each Wednesday you assign someone from your newsroom to produce a newscast story for the following Monday morning. It should be a meaty issue, sound-rich, engaging... all that stuff.

But wait! I don't have a crystal ball! How am I supposed to know on Wednesday what will be news five days later?

Simple:

1. Look at the agenda of local governing bodies (state legislature, city council, county commission, school board. You get the idea). Is there an issue you can preview? The beauty of this is that you'll have time to find the "real people" affected by a potential policy change.

2. If you're signed up for press release services like Newswise and Profnet you can access hundreds of press releases, many of them ahead of time on an embargoed basis.

3. Take the "Story Idea Challenge"

Do you have a weekend reporter? If not, what do you do to make sure Monday morning news is engaging and relevant?

Photo Credit: Evil Erin/Flickr

"Find a Story" Challenge: More Answers

Many years ago I participated in the PRNDI project with Alan Siporin. Confession: I was really, really nervous! There were some really experienced reporters in the room, and I was quite sure I was in over my head.

We were discussing our stories (mine was on Clinton's welfare-to-work initiative) when one of the most experienced reporters in the room made a stunning (to me) confession. He admitted having a really hard time figuring out what constituted a good soundbite. I was shocked because I'd heard this guy regularly on NPR. If he could get on the network all the time surely he could pick a good soundbite, right?

Truth is, we all have aspects of our job that don't come as easily. And for many people it's finding story ideas. @JasonSmithRadio tweeted today, "Coming up with good story ideas has always been tough for me. The hotel art thing blew...my...mind."

I challenged you to find a story idea from something seemingly mundane. Regan McCarthy hit it out of the park with her idea (and video) that will bring a smile to the face of anyone who's ever sat through a long, boring government meeting.

Here are a couple more ideas that came in:

From KNPR's Luis Hernandez

Story Summary: I remember hearing regular service announcements as a kid on the importance of brushing my teeth. Now I see tons of spots on selling the sexiness of white teeth and teeth brightners. Have we forgone healthy teeth for sexy teeth? Is that damaging to our health?

From WPSU's Emily Reddy

Story Summary: This is the appraisal for the house I'm buying. In the process of buying a house I've learned that since the housing collapse there are new regulations in place when it comes to appraisals. They must be done by appraisers out if the area who are chosen by lottery. The mortgage broker cannot have any interaction with the appraisers. The reasoning is that before, lenders and appraisers were in cahoots to "make" the house appraise to the amount needed for the mortgage. So the new set up sounds good, right? But there are down sides. The new situation means that appraisers don't necessarily know the areas they're appraising in very well. Appraisals are coming in low and causing sales to fall through. (I think I heard a statistic recent that backs this up.) This could be a hard one to keep interesting. You'd have to find someone whose sale feel through because of their appraisal.


So, what do you think? Do these story ideas have legs? Would you like to hear any of them on the radio?

"Find A Story" Challenge: Answered

Yesterday, I challenged you to find a story - any story - in the room you were in at that moment.  I've done this exercise dozens of times in workshops and each time I get a "deer in the headlights" look from attendees. What? In this room? But this is a conference room at an airport hotel in Springfield, Illinois. There's nothing but other equally freaked out reporters, a coffee pot, and some lame hotel art. 

Lame hotel art. Hmmm.... maybe I can work with that.  I mean lame art is everywhere, especially in hotels. Where do they buy this stuff? Who creates it? Did she set out to paint landscapes for commercial spaces or did she have aspirations of SOHO studio openings?  What's the artistic process for someone who's designing to be pleasant and approachable, but not too distinctive? 

Truth is, there are lots of stories around us. All the time. Everywhere we go. We just have to be open to them.  And you were.  You emailed with photos of things in your room that inspired a story idea.  So, let's get right to it.

Regan McCarthy saw my call for story ideas during a brief break in a Tallahassee City Commission meeting (Ahhh, the fun of covering local government. Zoning meetings. Easements. Millage Rates. Sounds a bit like hotel art, doesn't it?).  Since my directions said don't wait for a Pulitzer Prize winning idea to strike you, she took a picture of the first thing she saw: a speaker appearance form. 

And it got her thinking:

• Who are those frequent speakers who show up again and again at meetings to address agenda items after agenda item?
• Why do they do it? What drives their passion for public meetings?
• What's their background? Where do they come from? Where do they work? Where did they go to school? 
• What agenda items do they remember speaking on and really making a difference -- persuading the commission to take a specific action?

And those questions led to two potential profile subjects:

John Doe:  An almost high school graduate who regularly attends and speaks during local government meetings. He's already spreading word that he plans to run for local office as soon as he's eligible.

Brian Pitts:  Pitts is well known in Tallahassee. He speaks at what seems like every committee meeting the Florida legislature holds. Lawmakers often repeat catch phrases from something Pitts has said. There's even an auto tune YouTube video of him.



OMG! This is great. And did you notice that comment from TamaracTalk? "This is brilliant. I would love to find out more about Brian Pitts"

So, what do you think? Does she have a story idea?  Leave your feedback below and if we agree there might be a story here we'll help Regan "Story Vision" it in a follow-up blog post.

P.S. I'll be posting more Story Challenge Submissions in the coming days...

The "Find A Story" Challenge

First, let me say WOW!  What started as an mindless attempt to clean my desk yesterday and morphed into a late night decision to start a journalism training blog has now turned into a full-fledged smack-myself-on-the-forehead OH SHIT moment after @MorningEdition and Marketplace's @moorehn retweeted my first blog post.  We're now up to 268 pageviews in less than 12 hours.  Exciting and really, freakin' scary!  Thanks, guys... I hope you're not disappointed. 

So, building on the debut "You Want To Tell A Story" post (in which I talk about ignoring the press releases and the email inbox to instead find stories IYourRL), I've got a little exercise for you.  

Stop, right now, whatever you're doing. Look around the room for a story idea.  Find something, anything, that triggers a possible story idea.   Take a picture of it and email it to me (tanyaott@gmail.com) along with a brief summary of the possible story idea.

This isn't rocket science. And it doesn't have to be a PRNDI/Murrow/Polk (insert other fancy award name) winning idea.  Just a kernel of something to work with.   I did the exercise myself and have these two photos to offer.

Tomorrow, I'll explain my story ideas ... and share some of yours.  C'mon. This'll be fun. I promise! 

So You Want To Tell A Story... But What Story?

"Stories are all around us, people."

Cheesy, I know.  I couldn't resist.  It's a variation of the opening line of a disastertation dissertation my husband once reviewed.   But seriously, stories really are all around us.  Not just on the fax machine or in the email inbox.  You just have to train yourself to see/hear/feel them.

Sometimes, having the outsider's perspective helps. When I moved from Orlando to Birmingham to work at WBHM, I was shocked - SHOCKED! - at how much it cost to register my kids for school.  Hundreds of dollars per kid. For public school.  What?!?

I figured if I was stressed about this, surely there were other parents feeling the pinch.  So I started asking questions. Why do we have to pay so much for public school, in a district that already has higher property taxes?  What does all the extra money go for? What happens if a parent can't afford it?

Pretty much everyone I talked to agreed it sucked, but they mostly shrugged and said "it's always been this way."  But does that make it right?  What about families that have lots of kids? Families that live paycheck to paycheck?

My questions turned into this story for NPR.

It's tough, knowing when something's just a bugaboo that bothers you and when it's something bigger. It's tough, pulling yourself away from the press releases and newspaper headlines.  But it's so worth it.  It's where you'll find the most compelling stories.  You just have to learn how to trust your gut.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave_mcmt/

I'm starting this blog as an online repository for some of the ideas, tips, techniques I've collected over the past quarter century (damn... that makes me feel old!).  I hope you'll find something useful here and that you'll contribute your stories as well.  Because that's what we do in public media. We work together to bring voice to the voiceless, to tell stories others won't and to support and inspire each other in the process.