How to embed Getty Images free photos, and, what’s the catch?

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Mu Lin

The world’s largest photo service, Getty Images, just made many of its stock photos free to use. Here’s a guide on how to find images and embed them in a blog post or web page. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital tools and tips, Industry observation | 2 Comments

Conflicting stances of two elite U.S. journalism schools on direction of journalism education

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Mu Lin

In two recent developments, j-school at West Virginia University dropped “journalism” from its name, and j-school at University of California at Berkeley cut its sponsorship of a community news operation so as to focus on journalism. So, what shall we teach next generation journalists?
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Digital journalism internship opportunities abound at nonprofits

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Mu Lin

After student journalists have been scared straight by their professors about the harsh realities of landing a job in media, obtaining an internship is the top priority.  The majority of students focus on interning at a TV station or newspaper, but fail to realize that nonprofit experience is another way to kick start a budding journalism career by having the opportunity to work on digital projects in a flexible low-pressure environment.

This post  is contributed by Raymond Ruiz, founder of El Gato Media Network, a 501c(3) nonprofit in Houston that develops college students into media professionals.  Since 2008, Raymond has been working with the nonprofit community and traditional media outlets to provide opportunities to journalism and digital media students. Continue reading →

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Twitter advertising best practices: 5 tips from a Twitter Ads campaign

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Mu Lin

If you are interested in advertising on Twitter, the five tips from my trial of Twitter Ads may help you better run your own campaign. Continue reading →

Posted in Social media marketing | Leave a comment

Beyond student workers: Journalism internships in digital age

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Mu Lin

With faculty consultant and student interns, journalism schools can help develop and execute a content strategy for nonprofit organizations.
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Posted in Digital journalism education, Social media marketing | 1 Comment

How to use Storify for storytelling: Two examples of Obama SOTU address story

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Mu Lin

A curated story can be a good narrative piece with the collection of live tweets playing a supporting role; it’s less effective if the story is mostly a collection of “what he said, what she said.” Two Storify stories of Obama’s State of The Union address may serve to illustrate this point.
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Posted in Writing for the web | Leave a comment

Location- and time-based storytelling: Interactive maps with embedded photo, video and texts

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Mu Lin

I tested three free map tools to create custom maps that show multiple dimensions of a story: where (location), when (time), what (photos, videos, articles). The three tools are Meograph, StoryMap JS and Google Maps Engine Lite; the test and the reviews may help people choose the right tool to produce location- and time-based interactive stories. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital tools and tips | 8 Comments

Why there has never been a better time to be a journalism major

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Mu Lin

The explosive growth of digital technologies brings with it an ever-growing demand for contents, and content production is at the core of journalism training. At a time when everyone can reach out to a mass audience, people need journalistic skills to produce quality contents that engage target audiences.

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Posted in Digital journalism education, Industry observation | 4 Comments

How to embed video and photo in a Google interactive map

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Mu Lin

You can add photo and video to a Google Maps Engine custom map using two free tools: Flickr and Youtube. This is a useful feature for multimedia reporting, marketing or just personal use. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital tools and tips | 26 Comments

Free online course, Audio Photo Slideshow Storytelling, to start Feb. 10

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Mu Lin

A free 5-week online course in audio photo slideshow storytelling that teaches participants how to make a slideshow, which is two skills in one: create an audio slideshow, and tell a story using visual narrative techniques. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital tools and tips, Social media marketing | 3 Comments