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Gear and software (RSS)

Tools for the job
Saturday, September 12, 2009 10:59 PM

From the Power to the Prezi

ATTENTION: This post is for all the journalists who find themselves manning a desk more than a beat. Here is a cool digital tool for your managerial toolbox.Are you dreading having to prepare yet another PowerPoint presentation?Ready to take your work
posted by HilaryFosdal | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, September 09, 2009 5:03 AM

Dimdim Web Conferencing

I'm sure at one point or another you have participated or hosted a web conference call at work. Web conferences are a great way to deliver your PowerPoint presentation to several colleagues spread throughout the nation and show them websites that express
posted by HilaryFosdal | 1 Comments
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Tuesday, September 01, 2009 9:24 PM

Sony, Canon, Nikon offer new tools to make multimedia news gathering easier

Three new products caught my eye recently that I believe will help lighten the load in multimedia journalists' backpacks: the Sony Webbie HD camera, the Nikon D300s, and the Canon EOS 7D.Let's start small. The Sony Webbie HD caught my eye because of its
posted by JeffAchen | 1 Comments
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Friday, September 19, 2008 11:32 AM

Hot links this week on online journalism

Normal 0 Jack Lail says "We'd get more readers if we gave them less frickin' news to read": “The news junkies, however, are the users that move the metrics and we focus even more on what they want because they are generating
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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Saturday, January 12, 2008 6:28 AM

Go all guerrilla on ‘em

My philosophy is get out there and get the job done.  Get the news and get in on-line.  And don't be afraid to shoot video. Don't let some accountant turned editor tell you it will break the newsroom budget.  It doesn't have
posted by RonSylvester | 2 Comments
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007 1:30 AM

No. 4: Multimedia

The KBI was envious. The special agents of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation were assigned to courthouse security in tiny Eureka, KS, for the capital murder trial of Scott Cheever.  Cheever was accused of killing the local sheriff. They
posted by RonSylvester | 15 Comments
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Friday, September 14, 2007 2:57 AM

Get in gear

I’m not a gearhead, although I sometimes play one in our newsroom. I’ve always thought it’s as important to learn how to do the best you can with whatever equipment is available than have the best, newest, shiniest, most expensive
posted by RonSylvester | 1 Comments
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Tuesday, September 04, 2007 3:05 PM

A million-dollar idea

To accompany a story about an increase in homes costing $1 million or more, The Des Moines Register created a cool multimedia project for the web. Be sure to watch the video flyover of the homes using Google Earth Pro. I can think of an array
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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Tuesday, July 31, 2007 5:56 PM

Almost live from Wichita

Inspired by Ryan Sholin’s running commentary, I thought trying to cover something live looked fun. So I gave it a shot. Armed with my new smart phone, I figured I do what I could to cover a news conference this morning as live as possible.
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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Friday, July 20, 2007 5:52 PM

If you get audio and no one hears it, does it make any sound?

The chemical plant explosion shook buildings. The call from our desk told me to go directly to the emergency command center, which was under the big cloud of black smoke the officials weren’t so sure we should be breathing. I was glad that
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007 5:21 PM

They Call Me MISTER Tripod

Hillman Curtis predicts in his book “On Creating Short Films for the Web” that video will take over from Flash as the main tool for driving on-line media. Curtis was one of the developers of Flash and one of the top web designers, doing little
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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Thursday, May 24, 2007 5:03 PM

Slideshows: They're not just for photographers

Fellow multimedia reporter Stan Finger was already grinning, when I walked into work this morning. He’d just found a slide show waiting in his in-box. A teenager had fallen into a river outside Wichita, and emergency crews staged a daring
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, May 23, 2007 5:00 PM

Way Cool Tool

Here’s something that fits everything multimedia into your back pocket with all the convenience of a notebook.It’s the Nokia 93I: the latest generation of smartphone. I don’t have one, yet, but it looks impressiveThe N93i has a screen that flips 160
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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Tuesday, May 22, 2007 4:34 PM

Docs to go

Wear a flash drive around your neck. That's the great advice of Mike McGraw, a Pulitzer-winning special projects reporter with the Kansas City Star. He stopped by Wichita for the National Writers Workshop here this past weekend, then gave another
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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Monday, May 21, 2007 4:27 PM

Is text a verb?

My wife and I use text messages all the time. She’s a lawyer. I cover courts. One of us is usually in a courtroom. We coordinate schedules, pick up kids, make plans. Did I mention we use them all the time? Then we got our monthly bill. I had 500
posted by RonSylvester | 0 Comments
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