Author Archives: JeanetteAbrahamsen

How to plan and execute creative and active reporter stand-ups.

Beat reporting, as opposed to general assignment reporting, gives journalists the opportunity to focus on one area. Many beats are defined geographically, others focus on important issues like health, education or the environment. Beat reporters develop in-depth knowledge. They get to know experts related to their beat and create a thorough contact list of peopleContinue reading “Beat Reporting”

New technology is allowing journalists to tell stories in memorable new ways. Multimedia storytelling is an immersive and interactive tool to give your audience control over which mediums they prefer. Some stories let audiences pick if they’d rather listen to audio, watch video, look at an infographic or read text. When audiences experience stories usingContinue reading “Multimedia Storytelling”

One of the best ways to sharpen your TV news skills is to watch and learn. Let’s analyze some award-winning videos to see how you can improve your storytelling.

What’s The Point? Why do journalists interview people? The basic interview question is meant to confirm facts. This is often where credible information comes from. But, the real story comes from emotions. Traditional journalists should remain objective in their stories. So, we rely on real people to convey real feelings. Quotes that come from interviewsContinue reading “Tips For Conducting Meaningful Interviews”

Journalists rely on their credibility. One of the best ways to maintain credibility is to use data to back up claims. In this lecture, we will learn how to evaluate data for journalism. Data Journalism Handbook The Data Journalism Handbook is a free resource. It shows you how to gather data, how to understand it,Continue reading “Data Journalism”

As you prepare to become a journalist, it’s important to mentally, emotionally and physically prepare for the demands of a competitive and relentless field. I never could have predicted the stress I would endure when I became a journalist. Now that I made it through the other side, I want to share some tips toContinue reading “Health Advice For Journalism Students”

The role of the media is to hold the powerful accountable because sometimes the powerful lie to the people. The point is to give a voice to the voiceless and to inform voters so they elect people who will serve their best interests. Though trust in the media is shaky, independent journalism is growing. In 2016, DirectorContinue reading “All Governments Lie”

Al Tompkins is a journalist and senior faculty at the Poynter Institute. He wrote the textbook, “Aim For The Heart.” In the following video, Tompkins highlights some elements from his book. He explains how to make your audience care and remember your story.

This is the tragic and inspiring story of “The Internet’s Own Boy.” Before he killed himself in 2013, Aaron Swartz was a child prodigy who helped create RSS, Wikipedia, Creative Commons and Reddit. In his 26 years on Earth, he fought harder for freedom of information than most journalists will in their entire careers. PoliceContinue reading “The Internet’s Child Soldier”