1) Make the project matter

The best way to learn a new skill is to work on a project that you truly care about. For me, I wanted to produce this site because it was something I enjoyed doing and I thought it could do some good. As a result, I picked up some new skills in the process. If you can find a project that you’re personally invested in, it becomes more rewarding to try new things and spend the time to make it great.

2) Software isn’t scary

It’s usually the technological limitations that prevent journalists from embracing new forms of storytelling, but that’s ridiculous. Too many journalists limit what they’re capable of learning by assuming the skills they need are out of reach. A couple books and a date with Lynda can even the playing field. It’s hard to imagine starting from scratch with a piece of software and making something that looks presentable, but similar skills from other platforms will carry over.

3) Target your weaknesses

Identify your weaknesses and work them into your next project. This will lead to a more well-rounded project and you’ll be a better journalist for it. If you’re not learning and growing, then you’re falling behind.

4) Set a deadline

Working on deadline is the fastest and easiest way to learn. I was fortunate to have an external deadline (a grade), but it also helps to pitch the project early. Tell you friends when they can see it and let them bug you until it’s live. There’s nothing that makes you move faster than a deadline.

5) Find an expert

With any project, it is extremely important to find an expert who is willing to help you through the project. This shouldn’t be used as a crutch, but rather a lifeline. There’s inevitably going to be problems and it’s important to find someone with the skills to get you through the rough spots. This person can help keep you on task and hold you accountable if you drop the ball.

6) Make the time

Finding spare time is tough so allocate the time you have accordingly. Set aside a couple hours each week to read or work on something new. Finding the time shouldn’t be a problem if you picked the right project.

7) Plan an attack

Producing an interactive multimedia site is great, but then what? How will you audience access the site? And how will you measure its success? Building a site and launching it are two different skills. Be prepared for both.

Think business

Try to think like a business major (in moderation). If you’re not, just fake it for a while. You might accidentally learn something extremely valuable. As an example, when I finished Times of Recession, I decided to market the project to local news organizations. I sent emails to online editors across the state and offered to sell them exclusive rights to the highest bidder. I was able to create competition between the organizations and help make the project more marketable. Thinking from a business perspectives can create new opportunities to do the work that you love.

9) Journalists can advertise too

Once you’ve identified your audience, don’t be afraid to advertise. I created a Facebook advertising campaign for less than $10 dollars that targeted online editors and multimedia producers (and places I wanted to intern). I was able to use a highly targeted ad campaign to get my site to the people with the power. The ad campaign left about 25,000 impressions on about 20 Facebook accounts. Pretty awesome stuff. In addition, many of the targeted users overestimated its distribution (because I was “advertising”) and were more likely to pick it up. Spending a few dollars on targeted advertising now will be worth it later.

10) Take a risk

Do something so ridiculous that people think you’re crazy. This doesn’t mean do something stupid, but make it a project that you can learn from. There has never been a better time to experiment. The biggest risks have the best rewards.

And #11, since every other list has 10…

11) Get started now

If you really want to “wow” somebody, it’s not going to happen in an email. Trust your instincts and be willing to learn. Plus, it’s a very different conversation when your boss knows what you can do. Many projects never happen because of the details. If the project matters and you can learn something new, then get started now. You can work out the details along the way.

A couple weeks ago, David Brauer (@dbrauer) and Taylor Carik (@_taylor_) hosted the Other Future of News conference, a response to Minnesota Public Radio’s Future of News event in mid-November. The conference was divided into three sessions, including organizational change, tech tools and content. I’ve included a couple highlights from the first session and will upload more videos later this week.

New brands for old organizations

Star Tribune reporter Michael Rand (@RandBall) discussed the organization’s decision to create Game Face MN, a niche site for prep sports coverage. The site currently has user-generated content, social media components and assorted multimedia content. The idea behind the site, according to Rand, was to create a separate online community that would be appealing to advertisers. The site utilizes social networks through Facebook connect and Twitter integration, and allows more users to interact with the content because it’s a smaller community than StarTribune.com.

This concept seems like a promising approach to future coverage and has significantly more advertising potential. It would be interesting to evaluate the strength of the Game Face brand, in comparison to the Star Tribune’s, and monitor the site’s effectiveness in engaging new users. In addition, the next logical step would appear to be full Facebook integration to appeal to younger audiences, such as Facebook applications or Facebook Connect. The University of Minnesota’s Christine Greenhow considered this option in more detail in the next presentation.

Integrating news with social networks:

University of Minnesota researcher Dr. Christine Greenhow (@chrisgreenhow) suggested the use of Facebook applications as a new way for news organizations to connect with younger consumers. The University of Minnesota’s site, Hot Dish, was built entirely within Facebook and included information on environmental science. The site included incentives for engagement and interactivity through the use of an “action team.” Users were encouraged to comment and receive challenge points for redeemable prizes. Most importantly, the study said the application allowed them to interact because they were already used to sharing and commenting in the Facebook environment.

“Building a niche application around an issue, like politics, environmental science, entertainment or health, could be a real opportunity, perhaps, for the future of news media.”  – Christine Greenhow

According to the study, the creation of the action team was extremely effective in creating a highly engaged segment of active participants. Most interesting, many of these challenges continued offline, such as signing a petition, contacting a congressman or visiting a specific location, that could not be completed online. The application showed the potential to connect with a highly engaged segment of the population through a reward-based system. In addition, incorporating news content onto a Facebook page appeared to be a way to “fish where the fish are” rather than waiting for them to swim to you.

Interesting findings:

60 percent of the articles were read
Two-thirds of the site’s content was user generated
Only 10 percent of referred friends signed up

Here’s a link to Greenhow’s full presentation from the Other Future of News conference:

Although Greenhow did not specifically mention the MN Daily application during the presentation, the University of Minnesota’s school newspaper also partnered with News Cloud and launched a similar application. Those findings, also prepared by Greenhow, re-affirmed that users felt more comfortable expressing their opinions within the Facebook application compared to a mainstream news site. Therefore, increasing interactivity may be significantly more effective within the Facebook framework or through the implementation of Facebook connect. The study also suggested that student interest in the University of Minnesota community also increased through the use of the application, primarily related to information on local issues and education.

New roles for journalists

Tom Elko (@tomelko), news director at Bring Me The News, discussed three emerging roles for journalists at the Other Future of News.

1) Journalists reporting for corporations
2) Journalists working as programmers
3) Journalists serving as news curators

First, he suggested the potential evolution of reporting positions to fill gaps within large corporations. For example, this could include large corporations, such as 3M, wanting journalists to report directly to investors on events in China or other corporations hiring reporters to uncover new trends and competition. Second, Elko suggested the emerging role of journalists as programmers. Journalists could use their storytelling backgrounds to program new technologies and help bring those technologies to the news room. Lastly, he stressed the importance of future journalists serving as news curators to gather information, which Elko does at Bring Me The News.

Other #OFON presentations on organizational change included:
1) “Changing the AP” – Dave Pyle, Associated Press
2) “Social media in big organizations” – Amy Nelson (@AmyPioneerPress), Pioneer Press
3) “Who cares about Google? / Why sideways traffic is problematic” – Jim Bernard (@bernardjim), Marketwatch
4) “Changing a non-metro paper” – Jim Santori (@JPSantori), Mankato Free Press
5) “Going rogue after radio!” – T.D. Mischke, City Pages

Times of Recession

I don’t think newspapers can compete with the well-oiled TV machines at their own game. Instead, they can win the stories of the day by using their additional resources and context. The Knight Foundation’s Matt Thompson recently wrote five concrete steps toward improving the news. In the post, item number one said: “Don’t ‘win the morning.’ Win the story.” I think that mentality is the future of online video.

On Saturday, I covered the University of Minnesota’s first game in their new football stadium. The home opener took place around 6:00 PM with roughly six TV stations (including the Big Ten network), a couple online outlets and myself covering the video elements of the story. Each TV station had at least two videographers and one reporter covering the game and it finished around 9:00. During the post-game interviews, the TV crews stayed for the head coach’s press conference and then slowly started leaving to make deadline. The number of cameras in the room dropped from seven cameras to two (the guy live steaming and me).

The next day, I visited each station’s Web site to watch their coverage of the event. Here’s the best TV story that I could find online:

Did you notice how all the footage was shot before the game ever started? All of the TV stations had access to the field and could record the game, but they only had time to use a few of the big plays later in sports. So, what happened to all of that great footage that wasn’t ready for deadline? It sits on a shelf as part of history that most people will never see. To win this story, online news organizations need to consistently beat this style of story.

WCCO-TV did a nice job pulling together this nat sound story with game footage later in the broadcast. Also, here’s the story that StarTribune.com ran the next day:

Instead of running stories when they are suppose to run – newspapers can run stories when they’re ready. It becomes a whole new story when you hear from coaches and players at the 10:00 press conference, and see how the team actually did in their home opener. This online video environment provides an excellent opportunity to engage users in high-quality storytelling if organizations are willing to invest in the resources to make these stories possible.

UPDATE: Kare11 recently aired this story as part of their Extra segment a couple days after the stadium launch. Awesome to see a local TV station following up with a big story.

The awards will be announced on September 26 as part of the Emmy Awards ceremony in Minneapolis. Thanks again to everyone who helped make this site possible.

- McKenna

Also, here’s a link to the press release and the other nominees.