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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”

In 2002, The Boston Globe’s investigative team published about 600 stories on the sex abuse scandal surrounding the Catholic Church. The reporters accused nearly 250 priests and brothers of molesting children in the Boston Archdiocese. The Boston Globe believes there are over 1,000 sex abuse survivors in Boston alone. In 2015, Open Road released the filmContinue reading “Shining A Spotlight On The Power Of Journalism”

Photographers and videographers in any genre can learn a lot from food photographers. The good ones capture depth using lighting and focus. They get close enough to show texture. The next time you take a photo or shoot b-roll think about your depth and texture. Use light to make colors more vibrant. Don’t be afraidContinue reading “Food Photography”

Over the past decade, journalism has been going through an exponential business and technology shift. Starting in 2016, the press faced an additional challenge, Donald Trump. It may be hard for young journalism students to get some perspective here because 2016 may have been the first time many even had the right to vote. RegardlessContinue reading “The Press And The Presidency”

The future of journalism oftentimes seems pretty grim to the thousands of newspaper reporters who lost their jobs in layoffs this past decade. But there’s hope and lots of potential in digital innovation. That’s where you come in. You are responsible for the future of our business. But before you can start planning how theContinue reading “The Business Of Journalism And Why You Need To Care”

  Fake news isn’t exactly new, but 2016 saw a historic rise in fake news as one of the most contentious presidential elections in history unfolded online and across social media platforms. The increase is forcing journalists to shift their focus from uncovering and telling news stories to debunking fake news. The media is spending moreContinue reading “8 Ways To Spot Fake News”

The USF library has a rundown about copyright and fair use. I highly encourage you to check out the library’s Open Use Media Resources Handout. This handout covers some copyright basics and lists websites for obtaining open use media resources for use in your projects. How can you use copyrighted work? You can link to the material. Continue reading “Copyright and Fair Use”