I started in journalism for the love of learning and writing. But journalism isn’t just a craft expressed in writing and photography anymore….it hasn’t been for quite some time. In newsrooms, journalists are engaging in training sessions to learn about recording and editing audio, making slide shows for the web and shooting and editing video. It often isn’t an option to be “just a writer” or “just a photographer” or even “just a copy editor” anymore.
So I’m jumping on the bandwagon of journalists embracing the new ways and taking a class called “Journalist’s Toolkit I.” So far, we’ve learned to record, edit and upload audio (I have to say, I did quite well, though the initial editing and uploading effort was a bit time consuming. I’m certain things will go more smoothly now that I’ve done it successfully.)
We’ve also had an extensive discussion of blogs, and, as you can see, I’ve learned to make one. Next we’re working on photography, and we’ll do some more assignments in blogging and audio as well. I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying the class. Maybe it’s because we’re putting lots of thought and discussion into the process, and we’ve seen some great examples of outstanding end products.
People use fancy words like “multimedia” and “convergence,” which do aptly describe the new direction journalism is going, but really, it’s still all about telling people’s stories and keeping the public informed. These new forms give us fresh outlets of creativity and expression. They can complement a written article or a traditional photo in ways that provide readers and viewers with more understanding and a deeper appreciation of the issues and people at hand. So, while I will always be a writer at heart, I hope to become a great multimedia journalist, too.
