Adapting to Change—Part One

Being a journalist today is difficult. As technology changes daily, it can sometimes seem impossible to keep up. From broadcast news to newspapers and magazines, everyone wants to know what the next big trend will be.

The SPJ 2011 Spring Conference provided valuable training to help journalists adapt to changes within the industry.

To help us all get a sneak peek into the future of our industry, the Society of Professional Journalists hosts annual spring conferences that deliver great insights into the state of journalism today. This weekend, I travelled down to Erlanger, Kentucky to attend the SPJ Regions 4 & 5 Spring Conference at the METS Center. This year’s topic was appropriately titled, “Adapting to Change.”

In coming posts, I will highlight some of the breakout sessions I attended and will also provide links to information I think you should know. To begin, I listened to freelance journalist Tara Puckey present a session titled Website Roulette: 50 sites in 50 minutes. Tara, a military media reporter and member of the SPJ national board, showed us how to add some real pizzazz to our stories with great online tools, some of which I already use, but many I have never even heard of! Below are some of her favorites.

Muck Rack helps journalists see what is happening right now in the world of journalism. This site shows what is trending for everyone. They’ll even send a synopsis of trends to your inbox!

Storify helps journalists create stories using social media! It collects photos, tweets, videos, comments and more from various sites and puts them in one place so we can utilize them to write compelling stories, regardless of our media affiliation.

Addict-O-Matic allows users to “inhale the web” by instantly searching the Web for buzz on any topic, then it creates a custom page based on your inquiry.

HARO makes finding a source easier than ever! This site offers the largest repository of mainstreet and expert sources who will respond directly to queries from reporters. Best of all, it is free for journalists.

Evernote is a wonderful sharing tool and makes it easy to remember everything. Users can capture anything, including pictures, ideas, videos, audio streams and more. They can also download a desktop program, use it as an application on their iPhone or iPad, or access their information directly on the Web.

Trying to synchronize multiple schedules for various people can be a headache, but Doodle makes scheduling a snap. Simply poll participants, find what time works for everyone, then send out a free invite via e-mail.

Mezzoman makes meeting a friend for dinner, a colleague for a meeting or a source for an interview easier than ever. By inputting the locations of two or three parties, this site will locate the center of the mapped points to calculate a place to meet that is convenient for everyone.

These are only a few of the sites covered during Puckey’s presentation. To see all 50, watch her Prezi presentation or visit her site and enter password: SPJ2011.

I’ll check in again soon with more about the conference and to feature exciting news and tools for today’s journalist.

Best,
Jathan

© 2011 Jadeworks Entertainment.