Tips for success in journalism studies

By Andrew Gibson

Entering my emphasis area at the Missouri School of Journalism has always seemed so far away.

Well, it did until Halloween. That's when I registered for convergence reporting, the first class in my emerging-media emphasis. Although the course has a reputation for brutality, I feel strangely confident when gazing at my spring schedule. I realize now it's because of the amount I've learned in journalism-studies classes.

I can't pretend to be an expert on these classes. For one, I'm in one of them: Journalism 2150, Fundamentals of Multimedia. But I'd still like to share my advice about how to succeed in the four classes leading up to the Mizzou J-school initiation. I might forget if I don't.

ONA Mizzou going on Thanksgiving Break

Photo courtesy of antonellamusina

It's been a long semester, and the four ONA Mizzou student leaders are going home to eat turkey and watch football.

Andrew will tweet occasionally, and we'll have a blog post for you Monday. But please don't expect social media to fire at normal levels.

We want to thank everyone for a great semester so far, and we hope your break is relaxing and enjoyable. See you soon!

Live Blogging: ONA Mizzou Meeting 11/17/11

6:06: Thanks for coming to today's meeting. See you soon. Tweet @ONAMizzou with any questions.

6:05: Q: Flash is dead. Explain please. Weir answers with an important comment about mobile devices connecting to the internet more in the next year. It's more touch screen than hover.

6:04: Web 2.0 Tools are on slideshare and they can be Googled.

6:02: Weir- "To learn more join Hacks/HackersIRE."

5:58: Computer assisted reporting tools involve web browser, spreadsheet, and database managers

5:57: Working with data requires finding it then negotiating on how to investigate it. Then evaluate the data along with analyze it.

5:53: Weir goes into the history of Computer assisted reporting.

5:49: Pro Publica is a national organization and makes more journalism public.

5:47: "Web apps love data."- Weir. He shows an example from the NYT Election page and how candidates are raising money. The Election page is getting it's info from different sources, no one is inputting it.

5:46: Computer assisted reporting helps in many different facets of journalism.

5:45: David Herzog is know speaking about Data Journalism.

The live tweeting handbook

By Ashley Crockett

We've already covered how to verify the credibility of real-time news on Twitter. But what if you're the one tweeting live coverage?

During every ONA Mizzou meeting, our social media coordinator, Andrew Gibson, sits with fingers poised, ready to share the events unfolding before him with @ONAMizzou's Twitter followers. He even makes it easy to search specifically for live tweets by using the simple hashtag #ONAMizzou.

As part of an RJI collaboration with Illinois Public Media, student volunteers will help live tweet during a webcast event today, Nov. 15. Opportunities like this are a good way to show potential employers that you have experience using social media to deliver news and information for a professional news outlet.

Read on for guidance in the still-evolving art of live tweeting.

Calendar Alert: Don't fear tech tools! 5 p.m. November 17

Picture courtesy of Brett Jordan

Hey, journalist! Don't let the word "programming" scare you. With a little help from ONA Mizzou and our panel of presenters, you'll walk away feeling like you can take on the technology world! Bring friends, bring a laptop, and bring questions to Don't Fear Tech Tools!

5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in Reynolds Journalism Institute 100.

Tweet us questions now, so we have a list before the event kicks off!

Here's a list of the technology experts that will be joining our conversation:

• Mike McKean, Futures Lab director, who will talk about mobile-app development for journalists.
• David Herzog, academic adviser to the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, who will talk about computer-assisted reporting.
• Rob Weir, Columbia Missourian digital-development director, will talk about programming and coding for journalists.