the kdmcinfo weblog

Blog posts in "Industry thoughts"

Alberto Cairo Presentation for May 4 Data Journalism Symposium

By Guest Blogger, May 7, 2013

Visual communications expert Alberto Cairo shares his slideshow presentation on the art of infographics.

LIVE Storify: Complexity & Context Data Journalism Symposium

By Guest Blogger, April 30, 2013

Journalists, technologists and civic leaders talk trends and implications for the future of data journalism.

Q&A with Alberto Cairo: Exploring the art and ethics of infographics

By Mitzi Mock, April 18, 2013

Alberto Cairo on the art of infographics and the ethical dilemmas that come with the field of data visualization.

Q&A with Catherine Bracy: Technology, innovation and the public sector

By Mitzi Mock, April 12, 2013

Catherine Bracy of Code for America wants to bring 21st century technology and innovation to the public sector.

Our First Ever Data Journalism Symposium

By Mitzi Mock, March 20, 2013

Data Symposium at kdmcBerkeley-transforming the way we tell stories with data. For data journalists, non-profits interested in new ideas for communicating information, and higher education professionals.

Custom Trainings: Supporting the Next Generation of Broadcast Media

By Mitzi Mock, December 10, 2012

How can television and radio stations effectively adapt their content for the web, especially new mobile platforms? We can help.

Beyond Infographics: 12 Ways to Visualize Data

By Guest Blogger, October 30, 2012

Guest blogger Patrick Winfield looks beyond the basic pie charts and infographics to explore other techniques and tools that can help visualize data.

TJ Kelly: Social Media and The Impact of Storytelling

By Mitzi Mock, October 28, 2012

Social media marketing expert TJ Kelly has worked with some of the biggest clients in the world (eBay, HP, Charles Schwab). Here he shows journalists, educators and public affairs experts how to use the same strategies to engage their communities.

Social Media Influence: An experiment in information mobilization

By Mitzi Mock, October 9, 2012

influence chart 

This year we’re hearing a lot of buzz about the potential influence of social media in the upcoming election. It makes sense: more than a third of us are turning to social networking sites for political news.  But how successful are we really at using these sites to raise awareness about particular issues—especially those that lack a sensational ...

Technology to Cast a Scientific Lens on Storytelling

By , August 1, 2012

In the future, technology will cast a scientific lens on storytelling. Good storytelling won’t be done merely by honing an intuitive art. David Pescovitz, the storyteller and ponderer of things to come, predicts that pervasive data collection will change all that.

“Not only are people starting to tell their own stories, but things are starting to tell their own ...

Storify Envisioned as The Associated Press of the Future

By Lanita Pace-Hinton, June 28, 2012

Burt Herman was a heralded foreign correspondent for The Associated Press. He spent a decade covering conflict, culture and business from far-off locations as disparate as Berlin and Uzbekistan.

Today, Herman applies the same dauntless sense of enterprise required to become a chief correspondent for one of the world's leading news agency to creating a wire service for the ...

Do You Want To Be A Multimedia Rockstar?

By Vickie Hammarstedt, May 22, 2012

Multimedia Storytelling Institute

Tweets from the White House: A Veteran Journalist's Uncommon Path to Success

By Ashwin Seshagiri, November 7, 2011

15 years ago, Paul Brandus helped launch MSNBC. Now, he makes his living by reporting in 140 characters or less.

The iPhone 4S and Mobile Reporters: Is this iPhone for you?

By Jerry Monti, October 4, 2011

iPhone 4S: Enough value to upgrade? Do you use your iPhone for mobile reporting? Here's my take.

Experimenting with Facebook Ads to Promote Stories

By Ashwin Seshagiri, October 3, 2011

How an ad that got almost no clicks taught us something about branding and exposure on the social network.

Branding Content Curation at Reuters

By Jerry Monti, September 13, 2011

Did your last 5 stories include great curated content?

Steve Jobs and change

By Jerry Monti, August 25, 2011

What do you think is Steve Job's greatest legacy at Apple?

Can Quora Become a Useful Tool for Journalists?

By Scot Hacker, January 25, 2011

Quora is an interesting combination of social network and knowledge base, optimized for finding answers to hard questions. But how useful is the site for working journalists?

Online News Association key training points

By Jerry Monti, November 4, 2010

ONA looks at where journalism is headed. KDMC supports and attends the conference to share what we know and to learn from industry leaders. KDMC will build many of the ideas we gather into upcoming workshops. Here's my list of key points that will get covered in our workshops. What would you add?

URL Shorteners: Handle with Care

By Scot Hacker, October 25, 2010

URL shorteners have become an essential tool on the modern web, but they come with their downsides. Scot Hacker explains when (and when not to) to use URL shortening services.

Flash vs. HTML5: What should journalists learn next?

By Jeremy Rue, October 20, 2010

There is a small war brewing in the multimedia journalism world between Flash and HTML5, and I'm not sure where things will end up.

Data, journalism and your career

By Jerry Monti, October 11, 2010

What can a journalist do that provides high value to the news organization? What is the next tech skill that you can learn that will make you a "keeper" if there are more cutbacks? One answer to these questions is Data.

Is Your CMS a Bottleneck to Innovation?

By Scot Hacker, September 30, 2010

The biggest barrier to innovation in news publishing may not be time, money, or will, but the content management system itself.

Can iPhone 4 shoot news video?

By Len De Groot, July 14, 2010

The iPhone 4's new HD camera and iMovie app are a potent combination. The iPhone can be a serviceable web video camera in breaking news situations or unplanned interviews.

Two Takes on Minimalist Content

By Scot Hacker, January 4, 2010

Bad for ads and monetization, great for readers? arc90's "Readability" bookmarklet lets users strip away web clutter. Meanwhile, New York Times' "Skimmer" view has similar goals, but without ceding control of page layout and advertising.

Mobile Coupons Show Promise

By Jeremy Rue, March 18, 2009

One fashion retailer has shown some very impressive results from a mobile coupon campaign recently. Could this model work for other businesses?

Turning Off the Presses at the P-I

By Jerry Monti, March 17, 2009

Celebrating the end of the print edition of the Seattle P-I... 

New York Times Goes Local

By Jerry Monti, March 2, 2009

New York Times goes hyper-local and actively seeks UGC. What is your publication doing?

Five Ways Newspapers Can Improve Online Ads

By Jeremy Rue, February 27, 2009

I truly believe online advertisers need to get out of this mindset of bargain tabloid-style ads that flash and basically annoy people, and start thinking about ways they can offer a service to the communities they serve. First we must ask ourself one question; why don't online ads work?

Convenience in News Delievery

By Jeremy Rue, February 11, 2009

Craigslist made is simple for people to post classifieds; iTunes made is simple for people to buy music. How can we make it easier for people to advertise, post classifieds or just get the news and information they want?

Design Notes from the NY Times

By Scot Hacker, April 22, 2008

The NY Times has posted an interesting interview with Design Director Khoi Vinh, who discusses some of the more  obscure/hidden aspects of the Gray Lady's online presence.  One of the things that's always struck me about nytimes.com is its choice of a large-ish, serif'd font - something about that choice has always seemed a bit anachronistic ...