Every writer knows the KISS rule: Keep It Simple, Stupid! But too many writers forget to apply it, loading their stories with so much information that the viewers' eyes glaze over. KGO reporter Wayne Freedman compares the way writers over-stuff stories to the way travelers cram …
It's the latest "must have" gadget for TV news, or so it appears from all the references I've heard lately to the GoPro camera. Small, rugged and light-weight, it shoots in HD and sports a wide-angle lens so it goes where other cameras can't. It's often used …
I'm of the belief that planning makes stories stronger, and I often talk about planning as the step that comes between reporting and writing that is too often skipped. An outline like the one on the left--just a few words jotted down in a notebook--helps …
I love reading what other journalists have to say about their work and sharing their insights here, but sometimes I find myself in a bit of a quandary. What to make of this comment? "You're in the wrong job if you think that political journalists …
Some corporate logos have stood the test of time. Coca Cola's iconic red script and General Electric's GE-in-a-circle have been around since the late 1800s. But Betty Crocker sure doesn't look like she used to back in 1927. And NBC's logo has gone from xylophone to …
Let's say you've been a journalist for a while but you feel a bit out of the loop when it comes to using social media and multimedia. OK, not just out of the loop--totally overwhelmed. And you're worried some kid just out of college is …
We all know by now that social media are meant to be, well, social. It's not enough to post links on Twitter and Facebook to something you've written and consider the job done. What you really want is for people to retweet, like and comment on your …
A good source is worth every minute you put into cultivating him or her. A source can tip you off to stories you might not find any other way, steer you in the right direction and keep you from making embarrassing mistakes. But reporters need …
Facebook is giving me a headache but not for the reason you may think. Sure, it’s annoying when services you’ve grown accustomed to shake things up for no apparent reason (see the new Delicious, for example). But that’s their prerogative and we’d better get used …
Andy Carvin of NPR is a Twitter rock star. His social media reporting during the Arab Spring has made @acarvin a go-to source for information about uprisings from Tunisia to Yemen. He describes his role as that of a "Twitter anchor," vetting sources, verifying information and …
Whoever said news about important subjects doesn't sell? CBS News chairman Jeff Fager is happy to contradict them. The ratings for 60 Minutes, he says, make it clear that Americans are hungry for that kind of reporting. His goal now is to make the rest …
How's this for a new way to train journalists? An Australian company is working on a new first-person video game that puts players in a war zone armed only with a camera. In Warco (short for "war correspondent"), players document a conflict that echoes recent events …
