Convergent Journalism: An Introduction, 2nd Edition

Convergent Journalism: An Introduction, 2nd Edition

by Vincent F. Filak
Released October 2014
Publisher(s): Focal Press
ISBN: 9781317681588

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Book description

Convergent Journalism: An Introduction is a pioneering textbook that will teach you how to master the skills needed to be a journalist in today’s converged media landscape. This book shows you what makes a news story effective, and how to identify the best platform for a particular story, whether it’s the Web, broadcast or print. The bedrock tenets of journalism remain at the core of this book, including information dissemination, storytelling, audience engagement. After establishing these journalism basics, the book goes into great detail on how to tailor a story to meet the needs of various media.

Vincent F. Filak has brought this second edition completely up to date through:

  • A thorough reorganization of the chapters, which provides a newer, more practical approach focused on "how to do convergent journalism," rather than simply observing the current state of converged media.
  • A number of new pedagogical features to improve learning and retention, including examples, exercises, breakout boxes and more.
  • Coverage of additional topics such as issues of law and ethics in digital media, and also writing for mobile platforms and social media.
  • A companion website with links to additional examples of quality text, images and multimedia for students, as well as an instructor site with a test bank, suggested exercises and discussion questions.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Table of Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. 1 Defining Convergence
    1. Introduction
    2. Convergence Defined
    3. Convergence in Education
    4. Why Convergence Matters
      1. Ever-increasing media usage
      2. Audience demands
      3. Time is of the essence
      4. Self-interest
    5. How to “Do” Convergence
      1. The consumer comes first
      2. Right tool, right job
      3. Tell stories
    6. Final Thoughts
  8. 2 Writing Across Platforms
    1. Introduction
    2. What Are You Trying To Say? Well, Write That
    3. Write for Someone Other Than Yourself
    4. But There Are Some Differences ... Sort Of
    5. Writing Guidelines
      1. Sentences, words and phrasing
      2. Verb tense
      3. Style
      4. Stylebooks
      5. Attribution
      6. Punctuation
      7. Numbers
      8. Quotes/soundbites
      9. Story form and length
    6. Final Four
  9. 3 Finding Stories
    1. Introduction
    2. The Audience Principle
    3. Beat Reporting
      1. Follow the beat
      2. Talk to other people
      3. Look at the competition and outdo them
      4. Localize the news
      5. People on people
    4. Beyond the Beats
      1. Read everything
      2. Sourcing yourself
      3. Stop tuning out
      4. View things with wonder
      5. Be nosy
    5. Final Four
  10. 4 Reporting Beyond the Basics
    1. Introduction
    2. Reporting vs. Writing
    3. Information Hunters and Gatherers
      1. The Internet
      2. Organizations
      3. Social media
      4. “Real People” vs. “Public Officials”
    4. The Value of Information
    5. Online Reporting
    6. Access to Information
      1. Breaking news scenes
      2. Other access issues
    7. Final Four
  11. 5 Structure and Storytelling
    1. Introduction
    2. Basic Rules of Storytelling
      1. If you wouldn’t read it, don’t write it
      2. Right tool, right job
      3. Show, don’t tell
    3. Structuring Your Stories
      1. Beginning: Make me care
      2. Middle: Make it matter
      3. End: Find closure
    4. Final Four
  12. 6 Photography
    1. Introduction
    2. Cameras and How They Work
    3. Inside the Lens
      1. Apertures
      2. F-stop numbers
    4. Inside the Camera Body
      1. Shutter vibration and sound
    5. Choosing the Right Tool for the Job
      1. The cell/mobile phone camera
      2. Compact camera
      3. Mirrorless and DSLR systems
    6. The Photographer’s Vision
      1. Design basics
      2. Faces
      3. Patterns
    7. Color and Grayscale
      1. Light as color
      2. Old-school pop
    8. Framing
      1. Playing by the Rule of Thirds
      2. Perspectives
    9. Putting the Image Together
    10. How to Construct a Picture Series
    11. Multimedia Photojournalism
    12. Final Four
  13. 7 Information Graphics
    1. Introduction
    2. The Power of Words and Visuals
    3. The Role of the Graphics Reporter
    4. Graphics Typology
      1. Simple charts
      2. Maps
      3. Diagrams
    5. Interactivity and Graphics
      1. Instructives
      2. Narratives
      3. Simulatives
      4. Data visualization
    6. Working Across Platforms
    7. Collaborating with Graphics Reporters
    8. Final Four
  14. 8 Audio and Video Journalism
    1. Introduction
    2. Writing for the Ear
    3. Show and Tell: How It Helps the Audience
    4. Word and Picture Overlap
    5. Audio
      1. The reader
      2. The wrap-around
      3. The package
    6. Video
    7. Video News Story Formats
      1. The on-cam reader
      2. The VO
      3. The VOSOT
      4. The package
    8. Video in a Converged Environment
    9. When Not to Use Video
    10. Video Quality
      1. Sound issues
      2. Lighting problems
      3. Visual interest
    11. Video on the Web
    12. Final Four
  15. 9 Data-driven Journalism
    1. Introduction
    2. Thinking with Data
      1. Types of data
    3. Data Journalism
    4. Getting Data
    5. Working with Paper Data
    6. Digital Data
      1. Searching
      2. Scraping
      3. How to write a simple scraper
      4. The legal implications of scraping
      5. FOIA requests
    7. Working with Data
      1. Normalization
      2. Formatting
    8. Using Spreadsheets
      1. Bringing in formulas
    9. Visualizing Data
      1. The LATCH approach
      2. Visualization formats
    10. Final Four
  16. 10 Social Media
    1. Introduction
    2. Observing Trends
      1. User-generated content
      2. Seeing consumers and producers
      3. Using mobile devices and apps
      4. Seeking media uses and gratifications
      5. Posing challenges and opportunities
    3. Producing News Content
      1. Brainstorming for story writing and visuals
      2. Finding and verifying sources
      3. Checking the pulse of social conversation
      4. "Crowd-sourcing” information and citizen status updates for stories
      5. Researching and interacting with groups
    4. Using Online Writing, Visual and Social-sharing Tactics
      1. Writing online to compel interest and social sharing
      2. Increasing use of visuals, pictures, infographics and short video
      3. Promoting social sharing across platforms
    5. Understanding and Engaging with Audiences
      1. Presenting yourself as a professional journalist on social media
    6. Final Four
  17. 11 Multimedia Journalism
    1. Introduction
    2. Getting Started in Skill Development
      1. What the pros are doing
    3. How to Get Going
      1. Putting skills to the test
    4. How to Get Ahead
      1. It’s not all about the tools
      2. Build your brand, establish your credentials
    5. Final Four
  18. 12 The Law and Convergent Journalism
    1. Introduction
    2. The First Amendment
    3. Defamation
      1. Publication
      2. Falsity
      3. Defamatory
      4. Statement of fact
      5. Harm
      6. Awareness
    4. Defenses
      1. Anti-SLAPP protection
    5. Privacy
      1. Embarrassing private facts
      2. Trespassing
      3. Intrusion
      4. Confidential sources
    6. Copyright
      1. What does copyright not protect?
      2. Infringement
      3. Fair use
    7. Final Four
  19. 13 Ethics in the Digital Age
    1. Introduction
    2. Ethical Codes
      1. Seeking the truth and reporting it
      2. Minimizing harm
      3. The right to privacy and the right to know
      4. Independence
    3. Accountability
    4. Voice to the Voiceless
    5. Final Four
  20. About the Authors
  21. Index

Product information

  • Title: Convergent Journalism: An Introduction, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Vincent F. Filak
  • Release date: October 2014
  • Publisher(s): Focal Press
  • ISBN: 9781317681588