Most of us have covered more than one trial in our careers.  We go through the same steps–go to the trial, watch the players at work, write what is said and done in the courtroom and meet our deadline. 

London Free Press reporter, Kate Dubinski took it one step further.  She recently used Twitter during a high profile case to give readers a play-by-play on what was going on during the trial. Here a few key points from an article she wrote for The Canadian Journalism Project. 

 1. She started with a few dozen followers and in the end had more than 1,000 followers on Twitter.

2. The newspaper had to assign two reporters to the case: One to tweet and the other to report it for the paper.

3.  Dubinski learned quickly how to prioritize information because she could only tweet 140 characters.

4.  She used links to Google images to show readers images of such things as the type of gun used in the crime.

5.  She also used links to direct followers back to the London Free Press website.

6.  Dubinski also says some of the followers became sources who gave her background information.

 Here’s Kate Dubinski’s story Tweeting a Trial which can teach many of us another way to use Twitter and get more readers interested in our news coverage.

 Rebecca Aguilar is a multiple Emmy Award winner.  She’s has spent much of her 28 years in journalism in television, but is now a freelance multimedia/online reporter based in Dallas. She can be contacted at aguilar.thereporter@yahoo.com

Reporters: Ever think of a record or document you’d like to get hold of and say to yourself, Wait — haven’t I already FOIA’ed that?

You’re not alone.

In response to a question that someone posed on the FOI-L listserv, let’s talk about some ways you can use technology to help you keep up with your records requests. We’ll look at some pros and cons of each approach.

The simple text file: The most basic way to do it is with a text file on your computer — or, on a shared folder on a server on your network, if you’re trying to share with co-workers or a team. Problem is, only one person can access that document at any one time — which could be a pain if you’re trying to share with a large group or your entire newsroom.

And, if your newsroom’s network is like any of the ones I’ve worked on, you can kiss goodbye the hope that anyone outside your building can ever access the document on the server — that cuts out your statehouse bureau, your guys at the cop shop, or any reporter who ever leaves the office with a laptop. Which is just about everyone these days.

Some better approaches:

Create a Google Doc. Google will let you create and share documents for free if you have a Google/Gmail account — create a word processing document and then “invite” your co-workers to share it. No, you aren’t sharing it with the whole world, just with the invitees. More than one person can be in the same Google Doc at a given time, and it’s easily accessible to people outside the office.

(I should also note: You don’t have to do your FOIA list as a word processing document. You can also store them as a spreadsheet file, with columns for date sent, agency FOIA’ed, description of document requested, status of request, contact person, etc.)

Create an intranet for your team/workgroup as a Google Site. Google also lets you create free sites that you can share with a limited number of invitees. You can create new “pages” in your site, including one using the “list” template, that will allow you to create columns and pull-down menus for the headers I listed above. You can also upload attachments, such as .doc or .pdf files of the actual requests, in case you need to review how you worded something.

Create a wiki, either for yourself or your team. No, setting up a small wiki doesn’t require any coding knowledge or server space — sites including Mindtouch’s Deki Wiki and PBWorks’ PBwiki will let you set up a wiki for a few users for free, which they host themselves and which you administrate entirely through their Web interface. (At my shop, Texas Watchdog in Houston, we have a Deki Wiki for FOIAs, as well as having a Google Site intranet.) The idea is that everyone goes to the wiki and updates it every time they file a FOIA request, giving an accurate reflection of what has been requested and where it is in the pipeline.

You can also try notebook-type storing solutions such as Evernote, which offers free accounts with a maximum monthly upload limit (pay users get more storage), Springnote or even Google Notebook — which still works, even though Google says it’s stopped active development on it.

Again, multiple people can access these repositories at once, and they’re easily accessible to people outside your office, as long as they have an Internet connection. (The caveat: These are only helpful if people take the time to update them with info about their newly filed FOIAs. If that doesn’t happen, well … that’s a human error, not the computer.)

So, how do you keep up with your FOIA requests?

Jennifer Peebles is deputy editor of Texas Watchdog, a nonprofit news site in Houston, and yes, she sends a lot of FOIA requests. Contact her at jennifer@texaswatchdog.org or on Twitter: @jpeebles.

A funny thing happened when I was learning all about WordPress this month at their WordCamp in New York City: I stumbled upon a new Windows desktop application available for download that was created to make blogging easier.

As WordCamp attendees stampeded to an SEO workshop, I attended a Live Writer (beta) presentation by Dani Diaz, a Microsoft developer out of Philadelphia.

The first question Dani posed to the audience was: “How many of you time-out of your online session and lose your material when you are blogging?” My hand shot up.

With WYSIWYG authoring, Live Writer allows bloggers to create posts on their desktop with all the capabilities of blogging software. The settings allow users to transfer posts from Live Writer to major blogging software accounts, fully formatted to that software. That is, you can set Live Writer, for instance, to WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, etc., formatting and when you have completed your post, just send the whole thing over and it will be posted to your account. You can do this with countless blogging accounts by adjusting the Live Writer settings to tell the post where to go.

Here’s how the company explains it on their blog:

Windows Live Writer is a desktop application that makes it easier to compose compelling blog posts using Windows Live Spaces or your current blog service.

Blogging has turned the web into a two-way communications medium. Our goal in creating Writer is to help make blogging more powerful, intuitive, and fun for everyone.

Among the features:

• integrate text and multi-media to the working Live Writer page
• integrate live links. Frequently-used links recur automatically as you type them.
• set publishing schedules. (This one was popular with the crowd)

Live Writer was also built for full compatibility with Windows Live application.

Jessica Durkin is a member of the SPJ Digital Media Commmittee, the Region 3 director for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and is a big advocate of entrepreneurial journalism. Jessica is based in Scranton, PA. She started http://inothernews.us to track online comunity news start-ups. She’s @jessdrkn.

It takes two to tango. It also takes two to Wave.

As my blog-colleague here at Net Worked Amanda Maurer wrote recently, Google Wave is out and the invites are going around. I lucked into one and I’ve messed around a little bit with it.

Wave integrates elements of e-mail (er, Gmail), instant messaging, chat and interactive documents. It looks very, very cool.

I think Google Wave has the potential to revolutionize how large newsrooms large and small share information. It could create the ultimate collaboration system that opens the creative process to everyone involved in producing the daily news report — reporters, editors, designers, copy editors, photographers and Web producers.

The problem is, reporters, editors, designers, copy editors, photographers and Web people aren’t on Google Wave. At least not in my newsroom. Indeed, not in most newsrooms I know of. Not yet, at least.

I only know 3 people on Google Wave, and, while they’re fine folks, I don’t work with any of them. So I can’t tell you for certain whether Google Wave is really as cool a newsroom collaboration tool as I think it might be. I’ve never had to share a story or a presentation or a spreadsheet with any of my three contacts on Google Wave. Or haggle with them over a headline while the copy desk chief looms over my desk, smoke spewing from his ears, and says, “We have to have that story NOW!”

And it’s not just me. I sense there are a bunch of folks out there who got Google Wave invites but, because they don’t have any other contacts on Wave (or any other contacts they care to Wave at/with), they sit and look at their monitors and think, “What the heck do I do with this dang thing?”

I asked one of my digital sherpas, Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle, when will other people I know get on Google Wave? He could not offer me much consolation, saying Google is slowly rolling out the invites. Darn.

If I can ever use Google Wave in a real, rubber-hits-the-road newsroom environment, I’ll put it through its paces and see if it’s really as cool and as barrier-breaking a collaboration tool as I think it could be. When I do that, I’ll offer a full report here. Until then, all you’ll get from me is the sound of one hand Waving.

Jennifer Peebles is deputy editor of Texas Watchdog in Houston, Texas. She’s @jpeebles on Twitter and jpintn@googlewave.com. Please Wave at her. She’s lonely.

A CMS is a content managment system, but more helpfully now, a CMS is an application that lets you create, edit and publish various documents (text, video, audio, etc).

CMSs seek to alleviate a great deal of the complexities of publishing content online. This puts it in the hands of a great number of people that would normally have to hire someone to do it for them.

Each web-based CMS has it’s own set of features, issues and price. Being a tech guy, I’m a big fan of many of the free, open-source options. They tend to be a little more work, but the price is nice. Along those lines, the ones I recommend are: Joomla, Drupal and WordPress.

There are (almost endless) philosphical debates about which is better. Here’s my one sentence about each. Joomla tends to give you more bang for the buck just out of the box, but as you want more and more features it falters. Drupal is more tech heavy earlier on, but once that hurdle has been jumped it stands up pretty well. WordPress has in the past tended to be more of just a blogging platform, but it’s very easy to use and over the last year of updates has become a more and more full featured CMS (including an iPhone app).

So where do you get started?

Unless there is some “I can’t live without it” feature that one gives you over another, I think the main factor in choosing a CMS to start palying around with should be convenience. The hosting provider you are using may already have one installed. A friend of yours may already have installed and configured one of them. If that fails, you can always check these links out. They are almost all free at their basic level. If you want more features they charge for upgrades.

• TopCities.com – Zero risk to start playing around with a large number of open source tools, including the three CMSs mentioned in this article.
• WordPress.com – A hosted version of the open source package where you can start a blog in seconds without any technical knowledge.
• DrupalCafe.com – A quick way to set up a free account and get started with Drupal.
• Axishost.com – So this is the one link that isn’t free to start. If you don’t like the above links and are looking for something that will grow with you, this is what I would pick. They have a relatively easy installation for the three CMSs in this article. They are the hosting provider I use and have had very good experience with them. The plus side to choosing this one is their starter plan is less than $6/month but they offer a wide range of higher plans.

Steve Fosdal – steve@fosdal.net

The opinions expressed here are my own. Any similarity the may have to another opinion, either living or dead, corporate or private, is purely coincidental and does not represent any form of endorsement or sponsorship.

The reality is we’re all becoming  what’s called a one man band reporter. Also known as a mobile journalist (mojo), a backpack journalist  or a digital correspondent.  We’ll do it all; shoot video, take photographs, interview, report, write, video edit, Twitter and blog.  I’ll be honest it can be overwhelming, especially if you’re being asked to provide  a video story with your print or online story. 

Bonnie Gonzalez is a one man band reporter for an Austin television station.  She’s given us a few pointers to share with everyone who finds themselves in the same situation; having to shoot video for a story.  Here’s a simple list we’ve put together.  One that we hope you’ll put in your back pocket and use.

1. Check Your Equipment Before You Head Out The Door

*Batteries-make sure they’re charged.

*Tapes/Memory Cards-bring extras

*Audio equipment-lav, stick mic, receivers for the wireless mics and wind screens.

*Tripod

*Light kit-make sure you have extra bulbs.  Throw a flashlight in the kit. It comes in handy.

*Laptop computer and connections to ingest or capture video at any location.

*Flip Camera for emergencies when your video camera is not cooperating or crashes.

*Rain cover for your video camera.  You don’t want it getting wet, because that causes big problems.

*Lens cleaner

2.  Protection for Yourself.  You never know where you’ll end up.

*Sunscreen

*Insect repellent

*Rubber boots-for rainy, muddy days

*Rain jacket

*First aid kit

*Water

*Ruler-just in case you have to measure snow or water for a story or size of hail.

*Extra change of clothes

*Extra notebooks

 3. Communication Equipment

*Work cell phone-make sure it’s charged

*Personal cell phone

*Car cell phone charger

*Phone numbers and notes for your story.

*Phone book- you never know when you’ll need the yellow pages.

4. Basic Equipment and Short Cuts

*Pen and notepad:  You should always have these basic tools with you, especially if your equipment breaks down.

*Write down time codes: Save yourself time by writing down the time code of a sound bite or quote you plan to use in your video story.

4. Manage Time Wisely

*Pre-interview people before you meet them.  You can just jump into the interview when you get with them face-to-face and not waste time warming them up or wasting tape.  The less tape you use, the less video you have to capture.  Remember computers capture video on real time.

5.  Don’t Hesitate to Ask for Help

* You’re on breaking news and you’re carrying all your gear. It’s ok to ask someone to help carry the tripod.  You’ll be surprised how people will volunteer to help.   They will even hold the microphone if you want them to during an interview. 

Everyone has their own style, their own pace, and their own methods.  This is just a short checklist to get you into your groove.  Good Luck!

Rebecca Aguilar is an Emmy Award winning freelance multimedia reporter in Dallas. She produces videos, digital slideshows along with her reports.  She is currently working on an Associate’s Degree in Multimedia Development.

I’ve been doing video for more than a year, and now I’m teaching it?  But wait: I’m still learning.

Go figure.  This is the world where we work.  More on that in a bit.

Every time I work with video, I learn more.  That’s not surprising. But it’s what I’m learning that surprises me.  Not only is it sharpening my skills, increasing my speed, but it’s also teaching me more about the people around me and what they will.

That’s one reason I love journalism: the reaction.  You used to get it eavesdropping in coffee shops or the breakfast café: reader voyeurism.  You’d see where they paused as they turned the pages of the newspaper and listened to their comments about the stories. If you were lucky, you’d hear something about your story.  Good or bad, at least they were talking.

“What are people talking about?” an editor used to say, as a way of spurring story ideas.

“Well,” I would answer, “if it’s not what we wrote in the paper this morning, we’re not doing our jobs.”

Now, we don’t have to lift our butts out of the chair.  We can track our page views and time spent and see exactly what draws attention.  Usually, it’s a cat playing a piano on You Tube (10 million and counting) or as we found locally, yodeling cats.

We can read their comments, right on the computer.  They can talk to us.  OMG!

I carry a video camera with me as a part of my day, now.  I don’t do as many videos as I would like, but I’m ready if something presents itself.

What I’ve learned:

• In addition to cats, people like stories about fire, even if it’s set on purpose.  I was sent to do a quick daily story on a controlled burn at one of our prairie preserves. Because I had a video camera handy, it was a natural.  And I thought the video turned out better than the story.

• People like stories about animals (hence popularity of cats).  But they also like snakes wrapping around people’s necks. I was sent out to cover a wildlife exhibition on a Saturday morning.  I remembered a lesson from Angela Grant about video illustrations, using only natural sound and images to convey the story.  I tried it, and people watched.

• People will watch a murder. I earlier blogged about a bizarre murder trial where the crime was caught on tape by a convenience store security camera.  I picked up the two videos by plugging into the video pool in the courtroom. The same footage appeared in clips on the local television stations, but we could show whole segments.  It gave me nightmares, recording, editing, watching these repeatedly.  Others watched, too.  They were among our most popular videos that month.

• I learned there’s an audience for courtroom videos.  I posted a couple on my beat blog at work, and another local blogger noticed and linked there.  At a local meeting of Twitter users (a “tweetup”), the author, Bobby Rozell, said it made him feel like he was at the trial.  I took note.  I’ll do those more.

Those videos have different elements, used different styles and drew audiences for different reasons.  I’m learning there’s not just one way to shoot video.

But my favorite is the interview, illustrated by detailed shots.  It’s simple but I think effective.

Both my recent efforts revolved around race and racism.

My editor Jill Cohan put me in charge of wrangling up multimedia for our team.  She also wanted me to teach other reporters. I started with Christina Woods, our cultural affairs reporter.  Christina is in that generation of journalists who are young enough to be excited about multimedia, but in mid-20s old enough to just have missed multimedia training in college.  So just like old guys such as I, she has to learn from scratch.

On our first effort, we couldn’t get our schedules together. I went solo to shoot a video on an Obama campaign sign defaced by racial slurs. Although Christina’s story dealt much more in depth about the role race is playing in the presidential election, the story about the sign added depth of knowledge that wasn’t in the story and illustrated what she was talking about.  It added another layer.

For the 50^th anniversary of the nation’s first lunch counter sit-in, Christina was on her first video assignment.  I had her watch me set up and camera and hook-up the wireless lavaliere mic. I rolled, while she conducted the interview that would serve as the foundation of the video.  She then acted as producer, telling me how to structure the interview, while watching me go through the motions in Final Cut Pro to construct the timeline.

Within a couple of hours, we had this video to go along with her story.  We thought it turned out pretty well.  Others must have, too.  People watched it.

This is my lesson plan with other reporters: you watch me do it, then you do it with me, then you do it on your own.  I think that’s a good way to get people comfortable with new skills.  We’ll see.

Christina, for one, is excited about finding her next video. She’s acting like I even taught her something.

My next project is a veteran reporter, who some might call a curmudgeon.  He’s a talented narrative storyteller. I’ve told him with his experience and gift for structuring a yarn, he’s a natural for video.

I pulled me aside the other day and said he was ready to learn video.

Watch out:  fire may soon be raining from the sky.

I’ll keep you updated on our progress.

I spent last week wading in data for our second biennial package “Judging the Judges.”

It’s a survey I helped develop two years ago with our local bar association, getting lawyers to help evaluate judicial performance.  We also elect state judges in Wichita but rules on judicial ethics prevent candidates from campaigning or really saying much. So we also evaluate the performance of attorneys who are running for office, and it’s become an important guide for voters.

We started this, in part because special interest groups were doing their own evaluations and endorsements, and we wanted to provide a more objective tool.  No one knows judges better than the lawyers who face them.

I really works well on the web. From my spreadsheets, content producer Katie Lohrenz built an interactive feature allowing readers to compare scores between judges and candidates.  You can see, we kept the copy short, because the real star is the data.  We only had a week to prepare from the time we received the raw data until Sunday’s publication.

It’s rated among our top web features so far, both Sunday and today.

Good tips are worth remembering and repeating.

Here are some from Bill Dunphy of Web U (via Mindy McAdams)

1. Are there original documents you can link to?
2. Are there any photographs (related videos, sound files, slideshows)?
3. Can you map it?
4. Can you gather past stories together and link to them?
5. Can you post the audio or video of an interview or a performance or a meeting?
6. Can you direct readers to an authoritative (external) site for more info?
7. Can you invite comment or start a conversation?

Dunphy has good descriptions and explanations to go with each, like finding photos:

“You don’t have to own a file to share it with your audience. Need a photo of a coffee-addicted dog for a story on off-leash dog parks? Go to Flickr’s creative commons site and search for what you need.”

Easy and entertaining.

I listened to the podcast the Guardian posted the other day on The Future of Journalism: Blogging, Twittering and Live Video.

Fascinating and thought-provoking, it’s 87 minutes long, so download it to your IPod and take it with you to the gym/ Or just make time to listen. I’m going to count it as the training hours for this year.

A few highlights:

• Dave Hill, writer for the Guardian, said there was “sort of mischief element” as he covered a mayoral race on Twitter.  People get to see the news-making and reporting process in its rawest form.” Part of the fun of it for me is the demystification of serious journalism, if you like,” he said.
• Anna Pickard said when she began live blogging television shows such as “Big Brother” and “The Apprentice” people began sitting in front of their TV’s with their laptops, responding to her posts. “Conversation is the best thing about the Internet, I think,” she said. “…It’s introducing this idea of simultaneous multimedia. Everyone is taking everything in and splurging at the same time.”
• Andy Carvin of NPR called Twitter: “a conversation you keep in your pocket” and “the quintessential American diner.”

They also talk about workflow and problems they experienced. These all illustrate my experiences when I was covering the murder trial on Twitter, only they explain it much more eloquently.