How to survive your reporting semester

Photo courtesy of mojourcomm via Wikimedia Commons

By Ryan Levi

We have a unique opportunity as journalism students at Mizzou. We get to work in professional newsrooms as part of our course work. Every day, students report for an NBC affiliate, an NPR member station and a community newspaper.

It's great experience, and it's also a lot of work. But you can get through it. I asked around on Twitter and Facebook and got some tips and advice from folks who have been there and done it.

Storify: Your reactions to the end of the Columbia Missourian paywall

By Sarah Darby

Creative Commons photo from Flickr user nonorganical

This month the Columbia Missourian announced an end to its time paywall.

The announcement is big news for the newspaper, which primarily serves as a teaching lab for students.

The decision to end the much-debated paywall is evidence of the increasing importance of finding digital revenue models that work.

Here's how the public responded to the change:

Event alert: Crash course in Web design

By Bridgit Bowden

Photo courtesy of Flickr user mararie

In online news, Web design is an important factor in keeping readers engaged with content. Poynter says it only takes 50 milliseconds for users to "form strong, long-lasting impressions about your news or information website."

So no matter whether you write a blog or are putting together an online portfolio, what layout, colors and fonts you choose are crucial.

Not sure where to start? Join ONA Mizzou as Rob Weir, director of digital development for the Columbia Missourian, leads a crash course on the fundamentals of Web design. You'll walk away understanding the proper design workflow and what makes a site user-friendly.

• When: 6 p.m., Thursday, March 6

• Where: Palmer Room (100 Reynolds Journalism Institute)

Bring a laptop to follow along with the workshop. See you there!

Three Missouri School of Journalism professors' blogs you should be reading

By Andrew Gibson

There's a good chance you've blogged about something during your time at the Missouri School of Journalism. It might've been for Journalism 2150 -- a required course, for those not familiar -- or maybe you're like us and write for a school organization.

What you might not have known, though, is that some of the professors grading your blogs might have ones of their own. Here's a look at three MU faculty members who, as they advise you to do, are building their online brand.

Joy Mayer

Twitter: (@mayerjoy)

The Columbia Missourian's director of community outreach writes about, you guessed it, the intersection of journalism and community. You'll find posts about being transparent with your audience and about "what Missouri community newspapers are doing on Facebook."

But here's the bonus: Mayer, also an associate professor in Print and Digital News, teaches participatory journalism (Journalism 4700), which is all about "social media, analytics, identifying audience, being ambassadors for the newsroom, crowdsourcing and comment moderation." That means her blog is full of useful snippets from the course. If you're curious how to market yourself, find a job or avoid becoming the annoying one in the newsroom, start reading.