War, wind farms, Obama and MTV: Street Team '08 concludes

I posted my final video for MTV News' (EMMY AWARD-WINNING!) Choose or Lose Street Team '08, a Knight Foundation initiative that used 51 citizen journalists (hate that term) to cover the youth movement during the election.

This project was rewarding, though sometimes frustrating. But looking back on it, it provided me with skills, insight and ideas that I never had before. I can edit a video like a whiz, our Election Day-tweets were posted on Times' Square HD board and I interviewed Ralph Nader. Pretty cool.

Here are some highlights, in no particular order:

• I saw Barack Obama speak three times, including his first (and only) visit to Kansas, the state where his mother was from. Also twice in Kansas City, including a rally with 75,000 people, where I got patted down by Secret Service.
• I embedded with the 1st Infantry Division's Dagger Brigade, as they trained to go to Iraq at Fort Irwin, Calif. I saw first-hand how our troops train for war, reported from the back of a Humvee and had front row seats to some intense combat simulation. I was also invited to embed with them in Iraq, but that looks unlikely.
• Great interview with author Tom Frank, who wrote "What's the Matter with Kansas?" and "The Wrecking Crew." Tom, if you're reading, I'll buy you a beer next time you're in Lawrence.
  
• Ralph Nader came to Lawrence to speak. I didn't do a story on him for MTV, but I got to interview him for LJWorld.com's Schoolhouse Talk blog.
• My MTV blog, Making Kansas Count, was named one of the state's top political blogs by The Washington Post's Chris Cilizza.
• I contributed an article on guerilla journalism to Harvard University's Nieman Reports.
• I met tons of exciting, engaged young people who are working hard (on both sides of the aisle) to make Kansas a better place. Most impressive, I think, are the kids at Greensburg High School, who are rebuilding their town as America's first all-green city.
• Daily Kos linked to a story I did on State Sen. Donald Betts, who was running for Congress at age 30. He, however, got smoked in the general election.

So it's been a long, crazy 11 months. Many thanks to MTV for choosing me to report on Kansas, and major props to my fellow Street Teamers, who were a source of support (both technically and emotionally).

A glimpse at how the Army trains for war...MTV style!

Here's my latest MTV video...I recently embedded with the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan. This video was distributed by the AP Online Video Network.



I also created a multimedia package for the Lawrence Journal-World. Good stuff!

In which I embed with the Army

I just got back from being embedded with the 1st Infantry Division, out of Fort Riley, Kan., as it underwent desert warfare training at Fort Irwin, Calif. It was an incredible experience, and I walked away with a greater respect for the very professional and mature troops fighting for our country. I'll produce some stories for MTV about the trip, but you can read my blog entries for the Lawrence Journal-World here, and check back at LJWorld.com on June 6 for complete coverage.

In Which I Create Multimedia

I had my first day on the job at the Lawrence Journal-World yesterday. Not much happened, newswise, but I covered the Lawrence Fall Arts and Crafts Festival. It was a nice community event, and the story can be found HERE. There's also some decent video that I took with a handheld digital camera. I always thought these videos were done with heavy duty equipment, but this was a similar camera to what I own...and that is about as heavy duty as a toy dump truck. Anyway, it was great to be in the newsroom and learn the ropes. Woohoo!

Click this link to Watch the video.

I am a machine

Since I've started grad school, I've not had that many opportunities to do a lot of writing in class. Luckily, I have started writing for the University Daily Kansan, the well-respected student daily here. Most grad students don't write for the paper, but I want to have as much writing under my belt as I can.

I'm going to get a lot more experience.

Today, I was hired on as a part-time reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World, the daily here in Larryville. I'm psyched! I guess this means I'm a working journalist. It's cool and weird at the the same time. Mostly cool, though.

CitJ in Larryville

I read an interesting sidebar in today's Journal-World. It was about an online chat session with representatives from the Journal-World and 6News, discussing the Citizen Journalism Academy. I'd never heard of this before and dig some digging on the LJW site. The Journal-World and 6News have created essentially a crashcourse j-school for regular people who want to learn about the news process (VIDEO). This is the third third time the pair has run this academy, which also draws on experts from KU's j-school.

Says KU Dean Ann Brill, "With all the media outlets, it’s difficult to know what to pay attention to as well as the credibility of the people reporting and writing. Our hope with the CJA is to help citizens become better media consumers as well as help those passing along information to be responsible and accurate.”

6News director Cody Howard added, “People want to be a part of the community conversation — to know their voice is being heard. This class provides an opportunity for that, while training citizens on the basics of journalism and news gathering."

Very interesting stuff indeed, and further proof on the innovations happening here in Larryville. While it is rare for news organizations to give the milk away for free like this, I wonder what they expect citizens to do with their newfound skills.

Unlike the Chicago Tribune, which is turning CitJ content into its own edition, the Journal-World doesn't give a suggestion for these reporters' next steps. There are numerous outlets here in Lawrence, including Lawrence.com and Larryville.com, which has potential; somewhere, somehow these cub reporters can practice their craft. It would be cool to see a page or a weekly section on what the town's citizen journalists could provide.

Just don't give the milk away for free.

UPDATE: A little more research has learned me good. Here are stories about previous academies. Last session's graduates created content for the Journal-World's really cool multimedia project "24 Hours in Lawrence."

Design: Key to harnessing the power of the Internets

The Bivings Report had a cool blog entry on the top 10 newspaper designs in all of the land. I’ve gotta say, the list looks pretty spot on. It gives props to the New York Times, Washington Post, USAT (I disagree on this one. It’s got a lot of social networking, but have you ever tried using the archive? Blah) and a number of smaller circ papers in major cities. Conspicuously absent: The Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times (I like the Bright One’s design), as well as the AJC, Miami Herald, and LAT. Wouldn’t you think these power players would be on the forefront of excellent design?

Many moons ago, I was inspired to start a blog all about newspaper Web design, something I know absolutely nothing about (it didn’t happen). But I know what looks good to me, and I know what I like as a reader. This was after a shooter went on a rampage in Kansas City, but I could hardly find any content on the Kansas City Star’s site. There was a quick write up, but no pictures or video; the TV sites did a pretty good job of providing updates, and Aaron Barnhardt, TV critic at the Star, was very complimentary of his news rivals. (NOTE: I can’t even find the story in a quick archive search)

I was flabbergasted that a paper like the Star was falling down on breaking the biggest story that had hit the area in years. Admittedly, the coverage in the following days was fantastic and will probably win some awards around here. But still, it confounded the problem of getting to content on the Star’s page (NOTE: MT has rolled out a new service, so maybe I can embed images…stay tuned). If you want to find what’s going in today’s paper, you’ve got to scroll about 3/4 down the page.

The top of the page is cluttered with ads and other content, including breaking news and blogs. But it’s not separated. It’s a blur of stuff, and it’s totally confusing. I know they could do much better job with the site, which has hardly changed since I started reading it online in 1999.

Now the Tribune’s new design is a step in the wrong direction, says the reader in me. Others wiser than I have blogged about this already. It’s got more interactive content, which is cool, but I think it’s hard to navigate. It’s a mirror image of the Orlando Sentinel’s site (and maybe other Tribune company papers?); I think it’s a step back from the stately, signature site that the Tribune formerly called its own. I still can’t stop reading it though.

Now that I’m fully entrenched in Lawrence, I’ve got to give props to the local Journal-World,
which has a great looking site that’s easy to navigate. The University Daily Kansan has a good site too, and one that trumps my beloved Miami Student (potential new topic: College media?). The paper is a quality one too. I picked up first copy today and was impressed at the breadth of stories in the 100-plus page edition. Nicely done for a college paper.