Emily Cadman from Financial Times mentioned in her talk at News:Rewired Excel is a good “gateway drug to data”. This idea was also discussed extensively at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia. Dr Ken Blake from Middle Tennesse State University School of Journalism agrees and through his YouTube-based Data Journalism course, he takes you from ‘the basics’ to ‘maximizing’ Excel.
In practice
I downloaded Dr Blake’s datasets for Introducing Excel and Rates ranks and filters in Excel then I loaded the videos into VideoNot.es (reviewed here). You can take a look at the timecoded notes here for Introducing Excel and Rates, ranks and filters from here. I also let Dr Blake know I was going to do this and he plans to supply these notes for all of his videos in the next few weeks.
How it helps you
Dr Blake’s tutorials look at using Excel specifically for Data Journalism, and he uses examples of sources which you may use in a newsroom including crime figures and population statistics.
Drawbacks
These are drawbacks with Excel rather than the tutorials. Of course, being a Microsoft product the software is always updating and if they have a significant overhaul (as they did in 2010) then these videos will appear dated. Excel was never designed as a Data Journalism tool, rather as a small office spreadsheet system. It is worth keeping this in mind when working on more complex projects.
Summary
A set of good introductory videos to help you get around the concept of using Excel for as a way of training you for Data Journalism, something our own Times Online Data team are looking at.
VideoNotes (launched this month) is a simple online tool that allows you to write notes alongside videos from a variety of sources including Vimeo, YouTube and Coursera. It was developed by Unishared, a French education start-up but Journalism.co.uk pointed out how it would be useful for journalists.
One good thing about this application is that the notes are timecoded, so when you click through them it will take you to the right place in the video. This is particularly useful in conjunction with the YouTube’s own timecoded embeds. So, for example if the main focus of your article was the impact of Nate Silver on Data Journalism you could run the discussion from this point. The other great feature of this application is that it stores the information on Google Drive, so you can collaborate on note taking. I’ve shared these notes with News International so if you work there you can see them. For the rest of you I’ve written some notes alongside a few Data Journalism tutorials. I’ll post something on this soon.
How it helps you
Not only is this a good internal research application but it could potentially be expanded to encourage collaborative and open journalism. Notes could add further context and clarification to a video and allow your audience to understand a story.
Drawbacks
This video was created with my News International Google Drive, I think in future I will use my personal Google Drive as current business restrictions mean that I couldn’t allow public collaboration on this. Although the note making device is very simple to use, it would be good to see the time codes so that specific key quotes could be more precisely cited. At the moment any attempt to correct this deletes the time code completely.
Summary
A useful tool to help guide you through video with a real potential for collaborative journalism.
Many apps have been developed to enhance smartphones’ often impressive audio recording ability but FiRe was the first to really attempt to be a professional field recorder. Initially launched on the iPhone (at a pretty high price of £3.99) it did prove to be very reliable so much so that many commercial radio stations (including GMG) encouraged reporters to use it instead of a bulky Marantz. Last year Audiofile stopped supporting FiRe and instead offered FiRe 2 an upgrade of the recorder which required you (somewhat cheekily) to buy it for another £3.99.
How it helps you
Although there are plenty of apps on the market that are easier to use this one is not only professional but also extremely flexible. You can add your own metadata which prevents the audio getting lost and can help when adding further context to an online story. With FiRe 2 there is integration with Dropbox – blowing Dropvox out of the water by a considerable distance. A sub or producer could easier pick up a story and it is easier to configure than FTP. There are also some pretty nifty editing tools so you’re out in the field getting an interview anyway you can easily file the audio before the story. And there’s Soundcloud integration which in private could be a handy archive but in public could also mean that a story could be broken on the platform.
In Practice
To test this app thoroughly, I recorded an interview using a the new app, we recorded it onto the camera microphone in an echoey dressing room whilst the interviewee ate a satsuma. The sound wave monitoring is very accurate which means you can avoid distortion. The noise quality has always been good but there’s a few more EQ settings (powered by Izotope) and extended metadata you can add before downloading. I did try editing the audio using the app but it was very fiddly, and then it crashed. I trimmed the audio (particularly the satusuma sucks) using Audacity on my computer and then uploaded to Audioboo, you get space for unlimited Boo’s on Audioboo whereas I’ve already filled my free Soundcloud account.
You don’t need to have FiRe 1 installed to use FiRe 2 but, somewhat irritatingly it doesn’t incorporate the recordings you have already on the phone. There are a lot file format options on the new app but it does seem buggier than the first version.
Summary
An excellent field recorder – an average exporter – a pretty rough editor.
If This Then That (IFTTT) launched in September 2011 promising to be the “gaffer tape that holds the internet together”. This means various social media, cloud archives and even physical internet enabled products (a full list of channels here) can be connected together with simple instructions and without learning code.
In practice
Automated online activity which would require you to wrangle with the unwieldy Yahoo Pipes or the intimidating Mac Automator, is given a user-friendly interface. You can also share your favourite ‘recipes’ and allow people to use them. I use them a lot to allow for a more organic duplication of social media. For example, every image that I ‘favourite’ on Instagram automatically drops into Tumblr (under the Instagram tag) or when a new photo is uploaded by me to Flickr it also uploads them to a gallery on my Facebook page. Pictures are the currency of these social media channels and spreading them across platforms increases their exposure and engagement.
How it helps you
The reason I decided to post about this web application is because of the announcement last week Google is to discontinue its RSS Reader service after July 2013. Since I’ve been experimenting with Feedly as a replacement and implementing a process that doesn’t leave me relying too heavily on a single provider. News stories that I like are saved to Pocket from within Feedly and then from Pocket they’re piped with IFTTT to my Delicious and Pinboard bookmarks. This way I can organise my favourite stories and primary sources without depending on one web service. There are other recipes that could help your working life such as this which (once it allows for UK calls) would let you to effectively dial in a short story. If you were sending back photos or videos from a mobile phone you could speed publish across multiple platforms or notify a desk editor automatically. You can also sync certain documents with Google Drive or even use Google Drive to collect data on a single spreadsheet which might be useful for Data Journalism.
Drawbacks
Although there are 60 active channels on IFTTT with 433,065 tasks created by users in its first year it can be frustrating when you realise that your new app is not included. Particularly disappointing for me is Google Plus’s refusal to let people automate its updates (pages or personal) or Twitter’s restriction of their API. This platform really depends on an open internet.
Summary
A simple way of controlling your web and mobile activity.
Many of you who have worked with web content management systems or your own personal blog will have a basic understanding of HTML. Just by clicking on the HTML tab or by holding down CTRL+U you can get a grasp of what is going on behind any web page. But CSS can be a mystery as it is rarely placed within HTML (called inline). CSS stands for “Cascading Style Sheet” so instructions should be entered into a separate page within a website’s directory. As Online Journalist Mindy McAdams points out the excellent web-based coding guide Codeacademy often loses people at inline. This online tutorial takes about 20 minutes to run through and very simply explains the fundamentals of CSS.
In practice
I used what I’d learnt to completely change the overall look of a Tumblr website, also to stop to the Footer shooting up to the middle of the page when viewing this website in Internet Explorer.
How it helps you
If you use any website to collect together your stories, build feature ideas or grow an online audience, then knowing the fundamentals of CSS means you can customise your site to appear more professional. A basic understanding of HTML and CSS is needed if you want to scrape any kind of website, as Classes are often used to mark-up useful information and (as explained in The Data Journalism Handbook) can help convert a web page into a usable spreadsheet format.
Drawbacks
I would have liked more opportunity to try out the code. When you try and apply the CSS there is a missing link which has to be pieced together by reading this tutorial. I realised I needed to select the class by writing and using the correct “selector”. As with many of these tutorials, it’s going to slip straight out of your head if you don’t apply it a few times.
Summary
An easy to follow tutorial, which needs further joining up for application.
Tweetbot took advantage of Twitter’s relatively open API to develop an iPhone native app which easily outshone their basic mobile offering. Although Twitter significantly upped its game with a redesign last year (following the acquisition of Tweetie and its coder), Tweetbot broke free from some of Twitter’s more idealistic attributes – including the patronising and advertising heavy #discover option.
In practice
You can very easily flick between multiple accounts, lists and searches. Particularly useful is Tweetbot’s “gestures” – a simple swipe and you can view replies or conversations on any tweet. Tap once to view a link, hold down to use the link or save to any number of apps, or configure triple tap options for yourself.
How it helps you
For feeding back tweets and multimedia on the move it is very good, especially with the facility to upload in the background. Also, not only can you flick between multiple Twitter personalities (for example public and private you) but you can keep track of Twitter lists. You can even turn a Twitter list into your timeline of contacts’ tweets or monitor keep on top of a story by monitoring a hashtag.
Drawbacks
Although it can be always on you have to drag down to refresh your timeline. If you want to keep abreast of several areas you have to swipe around. Tweetbot only has column based filtering and searching in the iPad app. Both iOS apps come with a £1.99 price tag. And beware, if you like it and want to start using it on your Mac then it’ll cost you £13.99 – apparently raised by Tweetbot to discourage too many users after Twitter restricted its API. Perhaps because of this, we’re unlikely to see anything developed for Android or PC anytime soon.
Summary
A neat, fast and easy way to keep on top of Twitter on your iPhone.
Cowbird launched on December 8, 2011 and immediately became a place for people from the Occupy Wall Street movement to share their stories. Last year National Geographic used the website to help residents from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to tell their stories. It’s easy to see why it would appeal to National Geographic as it allows you to tell stories with strong images. A few weeks ago it was announced there is now an embed option, allowing you to place your stories on most websites.
In practice
I uploaded a photo and told a small story. Cowbird has a freemium model so one image is the maximum you can upload without paying $60 to become a “citizen”. Other advantages of being a citizen is the ability to link stories and further customise your stories such as adding your own handwriting, adding hyperlinks, changing the colour palate and further interacting with the community. But there’s nothing to stop you putting different stories in parallel in one post, but if you wanted to use the platform to collect other people’s stories around a subject then you’d have to pay. Although the embed (below) is nice, on Cowbird the story fills the screen and has a stronger impact.
The share (or “retelling”) facilities are pretty easy for Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr. Although, as with many inbuilt autopost functions they don’t embed natively to their platform or tag properly. I found it nicer to just use the embed function on my Tumblr page for example.
How it helps you
The stories that you can create are best accompanied by strong photo stories. You can also embed audio so there’s nothing to stop you from telling media rich stories. If you do decide to opt for citizenship then this could all be built into the platform and the multipage option would allow you to tell longer stories, even comic strips or data stories.
Drawbacks
All the best functions come at a price. The embed function is good but the mobile interface is less appealing. Although this is probably not the central aim of this site, it would be difficult to collate a breaking news story, as this requires citizenship.
Summary
A intriguing way to tell multimedia stories without learning any HTML.
Soo Meta is a browser based editing tool which according to the website blurb allows you to create multimedia stories in minutes.
How it helps you
As well as marketers and educators, this tool was created with journalists in mind “Viewers expect more and more visual content. It’s time to deliver short movies, rich-media stories in your posts! Your audience will love it!” Like with Popcorn Maker the idea is that you enrich your original media by adding more multimedia frills. The video demonstrates how to use the Google bookmarklet to collect words, video and images from around the web, this has the added advantage of allowing you to cite your sources.
In practice
It took longer than “a few minutes” to get to grips with this tool. This is because the demonstration video only shows how to grab material via the bookmarklet, yet it doesn’t show you how to install the bookmarklet. Once I’d worked that out I was well into my story. When I attempt to install in Chrome it crashed, I finally installed it in Firefox but was unable to view the video in this browser. I had to complete the edit in Chrome then add the images again (so it carried across the metadata) in Firefox. More than once whilst hopping about I crashed my browser and had to step back. Finally, here’s what I created:
Drawbacks
Aside from the browser malfunctions, there’s very little support for this tool and you are pretty much on your own when it comes to working out what’s wrong. Even more unhelpfully if you do try and Google “Soo cut” (the name of the bookmarklet) you get a load of “soo cute” images and chintzy Google aps.
Summary
A great idea which appears simple but can be frustratingly tricky in practice.
Originally posted on the Newsroom 360 website, I’ve decided to post the series on my blog starting with the most recent first.
History
The fact that this app’s name is pronounced I-pay-dio gives some clue to its origins. Long before the iPad was even a glint in Steve Jobs’ retina this tool was originally created to host IP Radio, making it easy for people to broadcast from their mobile phone. Instead of just being designed for the slick multimedia prowess of the iPhone, ipadio was way more utilitarian, enabling people to be able to broadcast on many mobile phones with a reception of 2G or less, and even from satellite phones. At news:rewired they announced the launch of an iOS app which like its Android equivalent also has the ability to livecast across a broad spectrum of social media channels.
How it helps you
According to ipadio’s CEO Dr Mark K Smith there are over 200 uses for ipadio but there are plenty of features useful for journalists. It’s particularly good for live news stories because of its efficiency in low bandwidth areas. The fact that you’re able to phone in your report also means it can get past internet restricted events, which is why it was used during the Egyptian revolution and is currently being used by someone climbing Everest. It also has a mapping function which makes it perfect for travel journalism or filing back reports from a march. Journalism.co.uk have also shown how this phone call function can be used as a conference call to record an interview – which is partially transcribed via Spinvox.
In practice
I installed the new iPhone app onto my phone and did a quick quiet test. The system is straightforward to use and you can attach up to four pictures before uploading.
I also uploaded an old John Paul Jones interview with pictures or “Phlog” to the site. This offered more customisation including the ability to add tags and alter the location.
After I’d done this Dr Smith (CEO) got in touch with me in person and said he liked the John Paul Jones interview and allowed me to video stream on my phone. I tested out this function with a video that was broadcast and also uploaded to YouTube almost instantly.
Although this ipadio video Flash embed (which is still in Beta) disturbs my the HTML on this page.
Finally, I tested the audio from both the iPhone recording function:
As expected, the phone-in audio was more condensed than iPhone but both uploaded very quickly, with the latter actually beating the former despite having to run through Spinvox’s transcription.
Further conversations with the very helpful Dr Smith led me to the discover the Beta Admin function which allows you to fully customise the privacy settings of each broadcast. This means you can keep your phone interviews private but can still report “as live” if need be. I was very impressed by the support community around this app including the blog and training videos.
Drawbacks
Only a few minor gripes, I’d say that the audio quality is not as good as Audioboo and that the video doesn’t allow you to add metadata on-the-hoof like Bambuser does.
Summary
A great tool for filing multimedia stories from the field no matter what device you’re on.
This week at Newsroom360 we were visited by Brian Storm.
Storm cut his teeth in MSNBC and Corbis before starting his own production company. MediaStorm works with journalists for a variety of news organisations, NGO’s and charities. Its style is longer form, non-perishable, universal stories with high production values. Although the films have beginnings in beautifully composed photo-journalism it’s the interplay between this and well rendered video composition which really give the stories an emotional impact and feeling of quality. Storm showed us “Harry and Helen” from Driftless as an example of this.
Borrowing from Hollywood
MediaStorm’s films take conventions from cinema rather than a vérité news style, using atmospheric music and dropped introductions to heighten dramatic impact and put people at the centre of the story. Even the way that his videos are marketed using teasers or “preludes” which resemble Hollywood trailers.
Based on 14 trips to Afghanistan between 1994 and 2010, A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan is the work of photojournalist Seamus Murphy. His work chronicles a people caught time and again in political turmoil, struggling to find their way. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/a-darkness-visible-afghanistan
Revenue Models
These promos are often used to raise funds through the Kickstarter crowd-funding site. For A Darkness Visible, $10,000 was raised privately in return for limited edition rewards. Even when making work for with clients Brian depends on his work’s virality, allowing sharing on social media and embedding for dedicated blogs helps build momentum. Book-ending this content with adverts is a significant revenue driver, although Storm concedes that CPM (cost for thousand impressions) for adverts in the US is higher than here. Interestingly longer stories retain the viewer if the film is interesting enough, Storm gave his own sites stats as an example: the average time on site is 16 minutes. Storm also recommended treading carefully and choosing advertisers and other streams such as sponsorship affiliation should also be explored.
Slow vs Fast
Brian’s message is you can be two things with online video: funny or quality. Journalists tend to be better at the latter. We have to consider how longer-tail in-depth production fits into the daily or weekly news cycle. Although, as a passing shot Storm also shared a three team collaboration of writer, photographer and film maker who managed to turn around a stirring documentary in a week.
A family is determined to give their disabled son a whole and vital life. In the midst of a great burden, one small child – with a seemingly endless supply of love – is the blessing that holds a family together. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/training/a-thousand-more
