Tanya Ballard was already a veteran Web editor when she decided to attend a workshop to beef up her technical skills.
Ballard, who oversees investigative projects for washingtonpost.com, said that although her work does not require her to create multimedia elements, she felt that gaining experience with certain software and tools would help her create better packages online.
She opted for the Knight Digital Media Center, jointly run by University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Southern California School for Communication. The center offers a variety of week-long workshops focusing on new media thinking, tools and techniques. Ballard’s initial goal was to learn Flash, a program that allows its users to create animation and interactivity on Web pages. Instead, Ballard said, she “came away with a keen awareness of how exacting that program is and how much effort is needed to created a Flash project.”
On the other hand, she was able to quickly learn to use some of the less complicated software and tools. “I learned how to shoot and edit photos and videos, how to design pages in Dreamweaver and how to create Cascading Style Sheets, among other things,” Ballard said.
Vikki Porter, director of USC portion of the program, said the programs are extremely popular, but each only accepts 20 to 24 participants a session. The more tools- and software-oriented program offered by UCB gets about 200 applicants for each workshop.
Lanita Pace-Hinton, director of the Knight center’s multimedia training program UCB, said most of the applicants she sees “are journalists who are enthusiastic about the opportunity the Web offers for new forms of storytelling and content delivery. Typically, they are print journalists who have dabbled with either video, audio or photo slideshows, and have a sense of the story presentation possibilities they can achieve by integrating the use of all the mediums – video, text, audio, photos, etc. The program is designed as an introductory course. So the preferred applicant would be a journalist who has solid traditional reporting skills, with some experience working in another medium.”
“Fellows come away with an understanding of how to plot out and plan a multimedia story. They’ll have developed some basic video and audio skills, and knowledge of how to publish an interactive multimedia story using Flash graphics,” Pace-Hinton said of the UCB program. “Beyond the hard skills, we strive to instill the fellows with a sense of the unique nature of the Web, and the idea that it is its own medium. And most return to their newsrooms motivated to experiment with some of the ideas and forms we’ve shown them, and many have gone on to create new models of storytelling.”
Porter added: “Understanding the technology takes away a lot of the fears folks have of the changing newsroom landscape. And, frankly, both programs are aimed at helping good journalists survive and foster journalism excellence in whatever environment digital evolution takes us.”
Freelance photographer Aaron Roberts* was just transitioning into a career as a photojournalist four years ago when video really began taking the industry by storm. However, by the time Roberts applied for his first newsroom jobs, he said he felt his skills seemed somewhat obsolete. He knew that if he were going to be a viable job candidate, he needed to pick up more multimedia skills.
Roberts had already taken semester-long courses in Photoshop and digital photography at a community college, but he subsequently signed up for day-long workshops through continuing education programs. In addition, Roberts looked at some of the more intense multimedia training being offered around the country. He attended workshops run by the Society of News Design and other organizations, but he said he found the bootcamp run by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to be the most valuable of the workshops he’s attended. During the week-long program, Roberts learned about interactive graphics, audio and video gathering and editing, basic Flash animation, photo editing and Web design.
The bootcamp cost $1,200, which does not include lodging, travel or parking on the campus, but Roberts said it was well worth the cost. He said that the skills he learned are valuable but that he cannot begin to put a price tag on tapping into the collective wisdom of leading new media journalists such as J. Carl Ganter of MediaVia, Brian Storm of MediaStorm and Emmy-award-winning videojournalist Travis Fox of washingtonpost.com. UNC runs the bootcamp twice a year, and a lot of times, there is a waiting list for the limited number of slots available.
“It’s a constant change in the industry, and because of that, you have to keep educating yourself to keep up with all the demands,” Roberts said. “Even with going to school, there aren’t any guarantees you’ll get a job because the market is hot right now.”
Stephanie Crockett, a senior programming manager at America Online, took a more long-term approach to expanding her skills. Crockett decided going back to school would give her the time to step back from day-to-day work and consider what she was doing and why.
“My job is consistent; consistently updating, consistently building, consistently publishing and producing, so it leaves very little time for innovative thinking and growth,” Crockett said, adding that because of her background in reporting she decided to focus more on the technical skills.
“There’s a thick line between the tech side — all the backend stuff people never see — and the programming side — all the stuff people see when they come to a Web site. It seems like once you choose your path, tech or programming, there’s no room to learn the other side without stepping down a title or two,” Crockett said. “Although I did have some technical skills as they related directly to my job, they were generally proprietary. I wasn’t learning universal publishing programs that would help me if I left to go to another job.”
Crockett chose to enroll in American University’s graduate program in interactive journalism. Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for two years, Crockett joined a small group of professionals in honing her technical skills — in Web page building, shooting and editing video, Flash animation, etc. — while working toward a master’s degree. The graduate programs accept a limited number of students each year – usually no more than 18.
“I’ve used everything! It’s funny to me, too; one class, our video class, wasn’t particularly interesting to me and then what happens? AOL Personals’ decides to use video to do man on the street interviews about different love topics. And guess who was in charge of the encoding process?” Crockett said. “It really does pay to keep one eye on the moving parts of the Web all the time. You just never know what you’re going to need to know.”
Jill Olmstead, associate journalism division director at AU, said there are two kinds of students who consider AU’s programs. The new media studies program mainly appeals to working journalists looking to advance their careers or move into teaching. The interactive journalism program attracts working journalists with traditional backgrounds who want to move into new media or people looking for a career change.
Olmstead said the key for working journalists looking to fit a program such as AU’s into their schedule is commitment and time management. “Just like one does in journalism, it’s best to plan ahead – to prioritize your work, school and home life….” she said. “You can’t control everything and just have to do the best you can in the time frame you have.”
In describing AU’s appeal to journalists of all stripes, Olmstead said, “There really is no such thing as a ‘non-Web’ journalist anymore. The caveman drew pictures on cave walls in order to tell stories, so storytelling will always be evolving because of technology, bringing new forms to life that we can’t contemplate today. There really is no choice [but to keep learning new skills] for people or news organizations who want to stay in the information business.”
For mid-career journalists and others looking for ways to makes themselves new-media ready, there are many other options. Below is a list of just a few of the training programs available:
Knight Digital Media Center
The center holds new media seminars for digital journalists and workshops for those looking to gain or enhance their technical skills in Web building, video and audio gather and editing, etc. There are two distinct tracks, one run by the USC and the other by UCB. Cost: No fee for seminars or lodging. Participants must cover their own travel.
http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/
National Press Photographers Association
NPPA holds both short courses and immersion workshops during the year. The short courses travel around the country and offer practical sessions in the how-tos of new media. The four-day multimedia immersion workshop is held before the organization’s annual conference. This year’s is May 27 to 30 in Louisville, KY. Cost: The workshop is limited to 80 people. Cost: Varies
https://www.nppa.org/professional_development/workshops_and_seminars
Society of News Design
SND holds a two-day New Media Quick Course for beginners. The hands-on session, which introduces participants to Flash, focuses on the basics of multimedia storytelling, including choosing a project, setting up your team and developing effective workflow. The workshop is usually limited to 20 participants. Cost: Varies depending on membership status but non-member professionals will pay $400 and non-member students and educators will pay $200. Travel and lodging are separate.
http://www.snd.org/events/events.lasso
Poynter Institute
Poynter offers numerous sessions throughout the year focused on online journalism. There are sessions in video editing and shooting, blogging, photo editing and writing for the Web. Cost: Varies and sometimes the tuition includes the fee for lodging. Travel is separate. Poynter also offers Web-based training through NewsU.
http://www.poynter.org/seminar/topic.asp?id=149
Multimedia Bootcamp at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
UNC’s six-day workshop focuses on audio and video gathering and editing, multimedia and digital storytelling, and introduces participants to Flash, Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools and Photoshop software tools. Cost: $1,200, which includes all the sessions, breakfast, five lunches and four dinners. Lodging and travel are separate.
http://www.ibiblio.org/bootcamp/Bootcamp.swf
Online News Association
ONA offers day-long training sessions in video gathering and editing and Flash ahead of its annual conference. The organization began offering some regional training events last year and has plans to expand its training this year. Cost: Varies.
http://journalists.org/news/archives/cat_calendar.php
National Association of Black Journalists
NABJ’s Media Institute provides training for its members throughout the year. The programs vary, but there has been a focus on online training. Cost: Varies.
http://www.nabj.org
Colleges and Universities
Like American University, many colleges and universities offer continuing education programs that focus on technical schools. Community colleges offer a mix of one-day workshops and semester-long evening or weekend classes focused on technical skills. Check the colleges in your area to see what they offer.
Self-Training
Open-source software, self-directed online tutorials and the increasingly lower prices on hardware and software make it easy for journalists to train themselves. Check many of the organizations listed above for tutorials as well as others readily found on the Web.
This article originally appeared in the NABJ journal. Ju-Don Marshall Roberts is a member of NABJ, a board member of the Online News Association and managing editor of washingtonpost.com.
*Related to the author.
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