I worked in newsrooms as a staff writer for nearly seven years, and in one week, the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute transformed me into a digital journalist.
The multimedia training for Chips Quinn Scholars and alumni that I received from Val Hoeppner, manager of multimedia education for the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, Anne Medley, multimedia journalist, and Danese Kenon, photojournalist with The Indianapolis Star, far exceeded my expectations. They and the Freedom Forum have equipped me with the skills I need to survive as a journalist in a digital age. The five-day training program led by Hoeppner was comprehensive, organized and well orchestrated.
I came to the seminar with no experience in producing digital projects. Nada. It almost seems surreal that after one week of intensive, hands-on training, I can use Final Cut Pro, Audacity and other software programs to produce video and audio slide shows.
I leave Nashville, Tenn., with a brighter future because I now have means in addition to print -- video, photography and sound -- by which to tell compelling stories. That is a tremendous amount more than I had before.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Becoming a multimedia storyteller
Coming into this program, I was overwhelmed by the bad news that has overtaken the industry. It was tough knowing that I would be graduating with a degree in journalism and this was the environment I would be entering. Needless to say, I’m feeling better about it now.
Jack Marsh, Freedom Forum vice president of diversity programs, was amazing to listen to when he spoke (and sang, for those of you lucky enough to hear him at the Wild Horse Saloon). CQS program Co-founder John Quinn was always there for great conversation and inspiration—along with a good laugh. Val Hoeppner and Anne Medley of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute’s multimedia team and Danese Kenon of the Indianapolis Star were always there for some of the best mentoring I’ve experienced. In fact, everyone I’ve met at the Diversity Institute has been incredible.
Before I arrived, I knew nothing of multimedia aside from taking a few mediocre shots on a small digital camera. Now I know how to shoot an event, download it and make a story. I even tried Twittering—which is not as terrifying as you might think.
I will never forget my fellow Chipsters, working on the stories, compiling videos, being a world champion, visiting B.B. King’s diner and everything else that I loved about this experience.
Jack Marsh, Freedom Forum vice president of diversity programs, was amazing to listen to when he spoke (and sang, for those of you lucky enough to hear him at the Wild Horse Saloon). CQS program Co-founder John Quinn was always there for great conversation and inspiration—along with a good laugh. Val Hoeppner and Anne Medley of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute’s multimedia team and Danese Kenon of the Indianapolis Star were always there for some of the best mentoring I’ve experienced. In fact, everyone I’ve met at the Diversity Institute has been incredible.
Before I arrived, I knew nothing of multimedia aside from taking a few mediocre shots on a small digital camera. Now I know how to shoot an event, download it and make a story. I even tried Twittering—which is not as terrifying as you might think.
I will never forget my fellow Chipsters, working on the stories, compiling videos, being a world champion, visiting B.B. King’s diner and everything else that I loved about this experience.
Looking ahead
I arrived at this orientation and training without expectations. Today I leave with a set of goals and enthusiasm that I would have never been able to generate on my own. I feel refreshed and inspired, and most important, resilient.
I found out this morning that I was rejected for a prestigious, competitive fellowship that I had applied for. After the initial disappointment (following a two-month application process), I feel excited to have a door open again that had been hinging on this decision.
A lot of reporters who went through the multimedia training this week have said that they are no longer afraid to tinker with equipment that once intimidated them. I no longer feel intimidated by the application process. I have the most specialized equipment in the world -- good contacts, editors and mentors -- to guide me.
Being uncertain about where I'll end up in the next couple of months is kind of exciting. I know that after this experience, I won't only have help in applying for future internships and jobs. I'll also have a lot of different couches to crash on in many different places. And that's just as important to me.
I have learned so much and love you all.
I found out this morning that I was rejected for a prestigious, competitive fellowship that I had applied for. After the initial disappointment (following a two-month application process), I feel excited to have a door open again that had been hinging on this decision.
A lot of reporters who went through the multimedia training this week have said that they are no longer afraid to tinker with equipment that once intimidated them. I no longer feel intimidated by the application process. I have the most specialized equipment in the world -- good contacts, editors and mentors -- to guide me.
Being uncertain about where I'll end up in the next couple of months is kind of exciting. I know that after this experience, I won't only have help in applying for future internships and jobs. I'll also have a lot of different couches to crash on in many different places. And that's just as important to me.
I have learned so much and love you all.
Graduation
The feeling in the pit of my stomach is not unlike the one I had when I graduated from college. It's strange to compare eight days with four and a half years, but very fitting. We have learned lessons and tools that will help us with what's ahead. We have built contacts and lasting relationships. We’ve spent long nights glued to a computer screen and gained 15 pounds eating at the cafeteria.
I feel as if we're ready to take on the world. I could have gone into an internship without being part of the Chips Quinn Scholars program and still have done fairly well, but nothing compares to the knowledge we have gained here and how much more we can do with it. Nashville, you will be missed.
I feel as if we're ready to take on the world. I could have gone into an internship without being part of the Chips Quinn Scholars program and still have done fairly well, but nothing compares to the knowledge we have gained here and how much more we can do with it. Nashville, you will be missed.
Renewed commitment
When I arrived in Nashville, I was scared.
I found myself weary about the future of journalism, about why I still wanted to pursue it, and wondering if maybe I was on the brink of insanity for wanting to plunge into this industry despite all the warnings.
That’s no longer the case. And I know I'm not alone, thanks to the training, laughs and fun I've had in eight short days. Even though I'm more sleep-deprived than ever, I'll never forget this experience. I'll use the information I've learned and communicate with the friends I've gained for the rest of my career. I can return to Oregon with a new sense of purpose for myself and my newsroom. I've said this over and over, but now I'm armed with the tools and the energy to be a great intern and an even better journalist.
I'm going to volunteer for everything I can, work on audio and my photography in my spare time, and make sure every story I tell is fresh.
It may sound corny, but I'm also going to keep the little pieces of energy from each of you close to my heart, where it belongs. Thanks for the inspiration.
I found myself weary about the future of journalism, about why I still wanted to pursue it, and wondering if maybe I was on the brink of insanity for wanting to plunge into this industry despite all the warnings.
That’s no longer the case. And I know I'm not alone, thanks to the training, laughs and fun I've had in eight short days. Even though I'm more sleep-deprived than ever, I'll never forget this experience. I'll use the information I've learned and communicate with the friends I've gained for the rest of my career. I can return to Oregon with a new sense of purpose for myself and my newsroom. I've said this over and over, but now I'm armed with the tools and the energy to be a great intern and an even better journalist.
I'm going to volunteer for everything I can, work on audio and my photography in my spare time, and make sure every story I tell is fresh.
It may sound corny, but I'm also going to keep the little pieces of energy from each of you close to my heart, where it belongs. Thanks for the inspiration.
Avoiding the swamp
I sit in Swamp Central, USA, at my newspaper.
To my right: "I have nothing, no family, no wife, no kids. What will I do if I get laid off. My dogs are getting too old to hike."
To my left-rear: "Oh kiddo, let me tell you something about how newspapers used to be."
Behind me: "Honey, you're still young. You can go back to school for another degree. You have to be looking into that."
It's hard to keep my chin up at work and stay focused. I find myself checking requirements for nursing school while waiting for my stories to get edited.
After spending a week at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute my attitude has changed. I'm recharged and ready to go back.
This time, I'm going to get out of the office as much as possible -- with a video camera.
After five days of working with Val Hoeppner and Anne Medley of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute’s multimedia team, and Danese Kenon of the Indianapolis Star, in "Multimedia Boot Camp: Bet-you-wish-you-didn't-go-out-last-night," I have learned more than a semester of video class in college and a semester of small videos for the local paper.
I say that I'm excited to hit the ground running with video when I get back, but without a plan and attainable goals, I won't be producing any videos at all.
My plan is to spend my Fridays shooting and editing, get in with the photo crew, offer my audio skills for any big event that multiple photographers are sent out on.
I'm going to start Sunday with Cardinals fan reaction.
To my right: "I have nothing, no family, no wife, no kids. What will I do if I get laid off. My dogs are getting too old to hike."
To my left-rear: "Oh kiddo, let me tell you something about how newspapers used to be."
Behind me: "Honey, you're still young. You can go back to school for another degree. You have to be looking into that."
It's hard to keep my chin up at work and stay focused. I find myself checking requirements for nursing school while waiting for my stories to get edited.
After spending a week at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute my attitude has changed. I'm recharged and ready to go back.
This time, I'm going to get out of the office as much as possible -- with a video camera.
After five days of working with Val Hoeppner and Anne Medley of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute’s multimedia team, and Danese Kenon of the Indianapolis Star, in "Multimedia Boot Camp: Bet-you-wish-you-didn't-go-out-last-night," I have learned more than a semester of video class in college and a semester of small videos for the local paper.
I say that I'm excited to hit the ground running with video when I get back, but without a plan and attainable goals, I won't be producing any videos at all.
My plan is to spend my Fridays shooting and editing, get in with the photo crew, offer my audio skills for any big event that multiple photographers are sent out on.
I'm going to start Sunday with Cardinals fan reaction.
A ‘great gift’ to the Osage Nation
Multimedia skills being used on a Native American reservation…?
That is a foreign concept to all but maybe 10 tribes of the hundreds that exist in America. And only two tribes have independent news organizations with functioning Web sites -- the Navajo Nation and the Cherokee Nation. That isn’t enough.
I don’t know if the multimedia instructors and adjunct faculty at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute know of the great gift they gave to the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. Currently, the Osage Nation tribal government communicates with its members through a monthly newsletter. Tribal citizens demand this newsletter and defend it when it is threatened. Just think of the service a multimedia news site would bring to the tribe.
Showing the some 16,000 tribal members worldwide the Soundslides and video segments I am now capable of producing will change our culture. It will be a communications step forward in our tribal history that I think everyone is ready for.
I have to thank the following Freedom Forum leaders, staff and instructors: Jack Marsh, Karen Catone, Val Hoeppner, Danese Kenon, Anne Medley, Michelle Hedenskoog and Angie McDade, along with the fellow students I worked with and learned from (if I left anyone out, my apologies). The instructors broke down the tasks to the basics and ethics of what we wanted to accomplish with Soundslides and video. Doing so made it easy to learn the skills. Yes, it was a six-day explosion of multimedia, but I gleaned as much from the sessions as possible.
It helped that the experience was hands-on. From the beginning, the instructors put a camera and video camera in our hands and let us loose. We learned on the fly as well as from instruction.
What produces a warm feeling is that the instructors are on call for when I might need them, and I am looking forward to using my new skills. It was a real privilege.
That is a foreign concept to all but maybe 10 tribes of the hundreds that exist in America. And only two tribes have independent news organizations with functioning Web sites -- the Navajo Nation and the Cherokee Nation. That isn’t enough.
I don’t know if the multimedia instructors and adjunct faculty at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute know of the great gift they gave to the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. Currently, the Osage Nation tribal government communicates with its members through a monthly newsletter. Tribal citizens demand this newsletter and defend it when it is threatened. Just think of the service a multimedia news site would bring to the tribe.
Showing the some 16,000 tribal members worldwide the Soundslides and video segments I am now capable of producing will change our culture. It will be a communications step forward in our tribal history that I think everyone is ready for.
I have to thank the following Freedom Forum leaders, staff and instructors: Jack Marsh, Karen Catone, Val Hoeppner, Danese Kenon, Anne Medley, Michelle Hedenskoog and Angie McDade, along with the fellow students I worked with and learned from (if I left anyone out, my apologies). The instructors broke down the tasks to the basics and ethics of what we wanted to accomplish with Soundslides and video. Doing so made it easy to learn the skills. Yes, it was a six-day explosion of multimedia, but I gleaned as much from the sessions as possible.
It helped that the experience was hands-on. From the beginning, the instructors put a camera and video camera in our hands and let us loose. We learned on the fly as well as from instruction.
What produces a warm feeling is that the instructors are on call for when I might need them, and I am looking forward to using my new skills. It was a real privilege.
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