J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism is an incubator for innovative news experiments that use new technologies to help people actively engage in critical public issues. Its core mission is to improve public life by transforming journalism for today and re-inventing it for tomorrow.
J-Lab spotlights dynamic news experiences and helps to develop interactive news ideas that not only educate people about public affairs but also invite their participation.
I suggest for you to follow 3 important websites to keep updated with issues related to online journalism.
http://www.interactivenarratives.org/ To keep updated with the latest articles or features supported by multimedia, Flash and interactivity tools .. this website is the perfect place to follow .. find daily links to excellent interactive pieces made in American and European newspapers and web portals.
Interactive Narratives is designed to capture the best of online visual storytelling as practiced by online and print journalists from around the world. Their goal is to highlight rich-media content, engaging storytelling, and eye-popping design.
http://onlinejournalismblog.com/ Paul Bradshaw Bradshaw is a Senior Lecturer in Online Journalism and Magazines at Birmingham City University’s (UK) School of Media, where he teaches on the degrees in Journalism and Web and New Media, and the Masters in Television and Interactive Content.
Bradshaw’s Blog is one of the best sources you can find to update your knowledge about online media and new media in general. Mindy Mcadams http://www.macloo.com/
http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/ A pioneer in online newspapers, she was No. 15 on the Online Journalism Review's list of 50 "Names to Know" in new media in 1998. For 11 years she worked as a copy editor -- on The Washington Post's Metro desk, at Time magazine, at a technology business newspaper, and at Dell Publishing in New York.
Macadams is a knight chair professor in University of Florida, I met her during my visit to USA in 2007 .. beside her nice and friendly personality .. her blog is like an online journalism encyclopedia .. at these links you will find her lessons and tips about the best online applications and digital journalism.
First Day 3 hours What is interactivity? Explanation of the concept with examples from spots websites and calculation for the time users spend on these websites
Why it is important to my work? discussion about the benefits of interactivity and how it could be used to support hits and sales
From a news piece to a news story (serving users instead of informing them) + Excercise Use examples to show editors complete news stories and weak news pieces then trainees start to suggest ideas of how to serve the user by adding value and rewarding the user through exercise
Information gathering Questions create stories not answers .. an open discussion about getting the right answer from your source using questions followed by a practical exercise
Second Day 3 hours
How to raise a debate? Use examples showing trainees different methods of engaging users into debates through direct and indirect ways + exercise where the trainees will supposed to suggest ideas
Photography and video story telling for internet? Explanation using examples for how to gather still photos or video clips to tell stories for internet users
Project : Producing a multimedia package story with photos or video creating a story implementing all the skills they learned during the course
