Shorthand: You're the Best

Week 10 - Personal Content 

This week I have been experimenting with an assortment of online tools which are available to me to help tell my online story. Automatically I was inclined to use Shorthand because I was familiar with the program and it allowed me to use all the online/interactive elements I wanted to be able to use. Other programs I could have used include Storify, Blindspot and Pageflow (which are also equally as great and also ran away with my heart so check them out to!)

Heres why I chose shorthand:

1. Shorthand allows you to easily edit and format fully responsive multimedia within a web browser without having to code or use HTML. For me this is perfect because I have very limited skills in those areas.

2. Shorthand also lets you structure and reorder sections of your story in a simple drag-and-drop interface - so its super easy to use once you've established an account.

3. Once published your article is east to share across all social media platforms!

4. The high quality use of graphics in a scrolling format is important in  my story because its an extremely visual one! As the reader is scrolling and reading they are presented with the corresponding visual. Also, I can embed other sorts of multi-media such a video - which I need to tell another section of my story.

5. Its free! (Well the version I'm using is!)

6.Major news organisations like the ABC, SBS and the NYT are utilizing this very same program! And that's awesome knowing im using the same story telling tools as the professionals! If its good enough for them its damn well good enough for me!

Check out a previous shorthand article here:

Online Audiences

Week 9 - Lecture Content with Mark Fuler

In a lecture with Mark Fuler from Australian Regional Media, different types of audiences where identified and explained. I found it very interesting understanding where my future audiences where coming from! Here is what he had to say:

Casual Users: 

These users will likely never convert to subscribers, however they deliver audience reach and build advertising inventory – with a good opportunity for growth.

Medium Users: 

Over half of casual users access our sites via search engines, with another 21% coming via social networks and other websites. This kind of visitor generally lands on an article page and reads little-to-no other content other than the page they landed on.

If asked which sites they get their news from, they likely wouldn’t mention any of our sites, but would attribute it to the search engine, social network or website that they linked through from.

„44% of medium users come direct to our sites – meaning that they either type the address or have it bookmarked.

„55% land on the homepage and navigate from there – with a further 12% accessing via a site section landing page.

Heaviest Users: 

„Over two-thirds of these users access the sites directly.

„They have a stronger news appetite and habit – consuming an average of 22 pages of metered content every month. 66% enter the sites via the homepage and navigate their sessions from there.  A further 19% enter via a section landing page, with more than half of these users coming directly to the site – suggesting they have a relevant landing page bookmarked. „These consumers typically visit approximately 3 times every week and spend almost 17 minutes with the site on each visit. 

The Media Industry: What Options Do I Have?

Week 8 - Personal Content 

Over the past two years I have spent studying Journalism my eyes have been opened to a plethora of jobs and opportunities within the media industry. Since I was 13 I knew I wanted a career in writing. It's something I do. It's something I'm good at. It's something I love. So a journalist just seemed logical. 

However, since developing skills in other areas of the newsroom such as editing, reporting, writing features, working with TV and Radio, dealing with PR and other press personalities I have began exploring other options. I love the media and need to work within it - and for this very reason have decided to explore PR. In addition to being a good writer, I also have a very good set of people skills and am excellent at communicating. 

What else could I be? Lets have a look at all my options:

Reporter: I would directly involved in the gathering of information for a news story. I would conduct interviews, find sources, and pull together all the information needed to write a well-rounded news story. Reporters also present the information in a written or spoken form in news stories, documentaries, or feature articles. I could be a general reporter and cover all kinds of news stories, but also have the potential to specialize in certain areas such as sports, politics or lifestyle. 

Sub-Editor: I would take stories written by reporters and put them into a form that suits the special needs of the particular newspaper, magazine, or website I was working for. As a sub-editors I would not gather the information myself but rather concentrate on how existing stories can be better tailored to match a specific audience. I would have to make sure it suits the publications style and audience, and sub for spelling and grammatical errors, legal issues and fact check. 

Photojournalist: I would use photography as a way of reporting the news. I may cover events with a reporter, taking photographs to represent a written story or attend news events on their own, doing both jobs. As a photojournalist I must carry photographic equipment with me, and must make decisions instantly in order to capture important events at the time they take place. 

Feature Writer: I would write longer stories (up to 2,000 words) which give more background to a news story. This type of writing involves a lot more in-depth research to give readers a lengthy and informative article. These types of articles are found across all types of publications and come in many forms. 

The Editor: I would be in charge of deciding what goes in a newspaper, magazine, or news bulletin. I would be responsible for the content that is to be written by the journalists and makes all final decisions.

The News Editor: I would be the person in charge of all news journalists. They make all the decisions about what stories to cover and who will do the work. In large news organizations, the news editor may have a deputy, often referred to as the chief of staff, whose job is to assign reporters to selected stories.

Broadcast Presenter: As a broadcast presenter I would be the public face, or voice, of programmes broadcast on television, radio and the internet. My role is always to entertain and inform my audiences by presenting information or entertainment in an accessible and attractive way. The nature of the job varies according to a programme's subject matter, such as news, weather, sport, music, lifestyle, etc. Generally though, a broadcast presenter will introduce, host (or co-host) a programme, create links between items, introduce and interview guests and interact with the audience.

Publicist: As a publicist I would generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album. Most top-level publicists work in private practice, handling multiple clients. A s a publicist I would help people manage their relationship with the media. This may include arranging interviews with journalists; making press announcements on their behalf; organizing their social media; helping them to gain publicity; arranging for public appearances; and advising on how to avoid unwanted publicity.

Ref: Here

Graphic Design in Online Journalism

Week 7 - Fairxax Forum with Matt Martel

This week we had Matt Martel answer some of our questions. He is responsible for managing a large team of photographers and graphic designers and has spent alot of time in the industry.

When asked what different opportunities exist by publishing to touch and mobile devices he said many - and that they tend to to do desktop web first - and then mobile, and print gets done at the last minute. Often a project that takes a month will have no print component till the last day.

Once upon a time they could do a graphic once - for print. Then they could do it twice - for print and the web. Now they do it three times - print, web, tablet. This could go on forever with the expansion of technology and devices. 

He explained that data visualisation is nothing new but the mass interest in it is. 

"That's a good thing. Anyway we can explain the news to people in better ways helps us as journalists. The world is visual and we need to reflect that. The issue for us is that the really big data pieces take masses of time and don't justify themselves with traffic."

He then went on to suggest websites like infogr.com because it allows journalists to really quickly create numbers/data-based graphics which can be attached to their stories.

When asked what impact the dwindling numbers of staff photojournalists having on the presentation of the news and how can we create more avenues for photojournalism in the future Matt told us that this is concern but we will have to learn new ways to overcome this obstacle. 

"We have fewer photographers in the industry as a whole and that is not a good thing for news generally.....but we also have much, much faster technology so they can do more and we have more avenues for our photos. Making use of thrid-party services to take exclusive photos for us has helped reduce our costs and makes our newsrooms more sustainable.

Having said that, there are many great photographers out there who are not professionals who we engage with through our photo club Clique and we just look at social media to see what the public can do."

What we Can Learn from Newsy and Vox

Week 6 - Lecture Content 

Online news sites need hits in order to survive. But how do they do this?

Social media such as Facebook obviously seems to divert a lot of traffic to numerous online news sites however the user is only there for  a short time - to read the story they clicked on - before leaving.

So how do you get a user to stay on your site? To continue to move within it and click on other published stories in your online publication??

How do you make your online news site stand out? How can you turn traditional online news into something that keeps users coming BACK? 

You need to stand out of course! Repackage and present your news in a unique and totally individual way. This isn't about just including images, graphics and polls (which is helpful yes) but instead about straying from the traditional news formula.


Popular online news site Newsy has done just that.

Newsy is a multi source video news service that highlights perspective from various media outlets and packages them into concise, easy-to-digest news bites.  The site analyzes and features a variety of sources, providing users with a deeper understanding of the news.

Clips are available on the web and on mobile - which means it is user friendly.  Newsy analyzes how global news organizations e.g. The New York Times, Fox News Channel, The Guardian, and CNET.com cover the day's events.

Newsy.com's approach embodies a basic principle of comparative journalism: asking the same question to multiple sources and comparing their answers.

Similar to Newsy.com, popular news site Vox.com promotes itself as a pioneer in explanatory journalism, helping users to understand the news and the world around them. This is done by packaging news in detailed timelines and using in depth explanations of current events, posing and answering questions and using video graphics to assist in the story telling. 

Vox explains to its users that their end goal isn’t telling you what just happened, or how they feel about what just happened - it’s making sure you understand what just happened.

This unique and totally engaging way of packaging news is incredible and stands out amongst the rest. Of course it does not suit every target demographic - some users want their news quick and fast and short - but for users who want to submerge themselves in a news topic they are passionate or interested in - then Vox is perfect.