STL Tomorrow from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Journalists, point to what makes your protest coverage credible

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 16:35:24 -0500

Journalists, point to what makes your protest coverage credible:

One of the tips: Be human, and ask for help

Free Google tools training

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 13:17:22 -0600

Time to learn new tools from Google! SPJ is sending us a trainer for an in-depth training session in Google Tools via the Newslab. We’ve had these trainings in the past, but it’s been four years since the last one and things have advanced significantly!

Our SPJ trainer is Mike Reilley, a lecturer at the University of Illinois-Chicago in digital and data journalism as well as founder of the Red Line Project and co-founder of MediaShift Training Network and Penny Press Digital Consulting. Mike will introduce us to some new Google Earth and verification tools with search shortcuts, as well as data scraping tools, visualizations with Google Flourish, Google Dataset Search, Public Data Explorer and new techniques with MyMaps. These tools can help supplement and support your data collection and help you find new ways to draw audience.

SPJ and the Google News Initiative teamed up in 2015 to provide free training to journalists around the U.S. looking to apply these tools in their news gathering, reporting and storytelling. The programs are provided by talented, personable, knowledgeable SPJ members who have been trained by the Google News Initiative. They are journalists, not Google employees.

Funding for this program is provided through the national Society of Professional Journalists and Google News Initiative. Many thanks go to our friends at St. Louis Public Radio for agreeing to host us for this seminar.

This training is FREE to St. Louis journalists, whether or not you are a member of SPJ! (Though we are always glad to help you join; click here for more information or email St. Louis Pro President Elizabeth Donald.)

Please RSVP at EventBrite! Clicking “interested” on the Facebook event does not reserve you a spot.

Hope to see you in February!

Trust Tips: Use social media profiles to communicate your trustworthiness

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 11:05:52 -0600

Trust Tips: Use social media profiles to communicate your trustworthiness:

Does you bio on Twitter include what you do, how readers can contact you? What about your public-facing Facebook profile/page?

How to Start Taking Digital Security More Seriously

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 17:23:09 -0500

How to Start Taking Digital Security More Seriously:

Remember: just by committing any act of journalism, you are worthy of a data breach. You may be thinking, “well I only have a small Twitter following, no one is going to notice and target me,” but in the current climate, any story has the potential to go viral and bring unexpected attention to the news organization that published it, as well as the individual journalist behind the byline.

#ONAStL meeting - Mental Health + Self Care for Digital Journalists

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 10:35:18 -0500

#ONAStL meeting - Mental Health + Self Care for Digital Journalists:

You do not need to be an ONA member to attend the meeting.

Ethical use of social media: Quote tweeting and doxxing

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 15:48:41 -0500

Ethical use of social media: Quote tweeting and doxxing:

Not saying that quote tweeting is bad, but the context of your tweet can be important.

“Kuenssberg and other political reporters may not be aware of doxxing culture — but they should be, and the debates surrounding it, because their own reporting is part of the political communication landscape across which it increasingly takes place.”

Digital Forensics: Using Social and Online Tools to Find Great Investigative Stories Tips

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 13:58:58 -0500

Digital Forensics: Using Social and Online Tools to Find Great Investigative Stories Tips:

List of site to help you dig deeper into social media posts and website data. From an #ONA19 session

MAY 23 ONA event -- Investigative Journalism: How to boost watchdog reporting

Wed, 01 May 2019 15:36:07 -0500

MAY 23 ONA event -- Investigative Journalism: How to boost watchdog reporting

SEO and Online Analytics: What Journalists Need to Know Now

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 09:45:37 -0600

SEO and Online Analytics: What Journalists Need to Know Now:

I’ll be presenting!

St. Louis SPJ Facebook Journalism Training

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 09:45:06 -0600

St. Louis SPJ Facebook Journalism Training

A free app to help with transcribing interviews

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 14:42:44 -0500

A free app to help with transcribing interviews:

Did I mention it’s free?

If you have a Twitter account, and you do NOT have two-step verification set up, DO IT NOW

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 12:05:03 -0500

If you have a Twitter account, and you do NOT have two-step verification set up, DO IT NOW

A new manual for writers and journalists experiencing harassment online

Sun, 29 Apr 2018 13:17:51 -0500

A new manual for writers and journalists experiencing harassment online

How To Engage In The Comments: A Journalist’s Guide

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 14:01:10 -0500

How To Engage In The Comments: A Journalist’s Guide:

There are at least four good reasons for a journalist to engage in the comments on their articles.

To improve the quality of the comments
To create a loyal audience for your work
To increase people’s trust in your work
To find new story ideas, sources, connections

Why Are Newspaper Websites So Horrible?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 13:53:49 -0500

Why Are Newspaper Websites So Horrible?:

Why has the online face many newspapers show the world grown uglier even as the need for advertising dollars from the web has grown more urgent?

What Research on 'Measurable Journalism' Tells Us About Tech, Cultural Shifts in Digital Media

Mon, 16 Apr 2018 14:28:31 -0500

What Research on 'Measurable Journalism' Tells Us About Tech, Cultural Shifts in Digital Media:

“The analytic tools are constrained by what they can measure and rely on likes, shares, number of comments and other audience metrics to define engagement. In this sense, it is user activity and behavior that becomes a proxy for the voice of the audience. This is a limited understanding of the audience, let alone having a dialog with the audience.”

5 ways journalists can regain trust from readers

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 13:12:38 -0500

5 ways journalists can regain trust from readers:

Tip No. 4: Don’t assume people understand the process of journalism.

The Seattle Times is making it everyone’s job to grow digital subscribers

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 17:37:06 -0500

The Seattle Times is making it everyone’s job to grow digital subscribers:

A lot of variables lead to people subscribing, Chan said. It’s never really just one story. But those stories that are leading to subscriptions show her a few things:

- People want local, in-depth news.

-They care about government accountability and transparency.

- And they want to know how their region is changing.

An analytics question: What are your readers not reading?

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 12:30:16 -0500

An analytics question: What are your readers *not* reading?:

Let the data tell you a story about where your effort is going unappreciated by your audience, and invite that data to help you reprioritize.

What some reporters get wrong about the First Amendment

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 15:42:11 -0600

What some reporters get wrong about the First Amendment:

A dozen media law professors and attorneys share what they consider common misunderstandings that journalists have about the First Amendment and media law.