13 journalism blogs in English that you should know
Few professions are changing as quickly as journalism.
Gone are the days of simply typing up your story and submitting it for proofreading, or signing off from a program and disappearing into the ether.
With the ever increasing developments in multimedia and visual storytelling; data journalism and visualization; online security; finding sources on social media; and, publishing stories to different platforms, there’s only so much a humble textbook can keep pace of in modern journalism.
And while traditional text books (and eBooks) are important, as well as MOOC’s (massive open online courses), following blogs authored by big thinkers in journalism is a great way to learn essential skills, discover new trends and join the conversation on the future of our profession.
DW Akademie’s Natalia Karbasova has dived into the English speaking journalism blogosphere for onMedia and has surfaced with 13 blogs you should bookmark and read regularly.
This is an absolute must-have for your bookmarks. Paul Bradshaw runs the MA in Online Journalism at Birmingham City University and has authored a number of books online journalism and the internet, including the Online Journalism Handbook and Scraping for Journalists. As the name of the blog already suggests, Bradshaw writes on all things online, including digital security, data journalism and citizen journalism. You can also follow useful links he bookmarks on his Delicious account.
Here you’ll find all you need to know about data journalism, from news and analysis to best projects. The “Resources” section includes information on useful tools including OpenRefine and QGis as well as handy tips such as searching Instagram by time and location. There’re also useful posts covering colour theory and mapping.
Mirko Lorenz is a German information architect and data journalist and posts a lot of useful links in five categories: data, journalism, storytelling, websites and people. This is a great source of curated information for journalists, with useful tips and best practices from all over the world.
This is a blog devoted to the overlapping issues in journalism and technology. Now, don’t be afraid of this. Technology in this case means everything digital. For instance, social media, useful apps and crowdfunding. But you can also find blog posts on some traditional topics like interviewing techniques.
Mindy McAdams is well known among journalism educators and students as the author of the Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency. As the name suggests, McAdams’ blog focuses on how to teach online journalism. For example: how to make a blog out of your syllabus or a step-by-step guide on how to teach web video. Mindy McAdams tips are valuable as she tests out all the tools, apps and software she recommends. It’s a great blog not only for journalism trainers, but also for students and working journalists seeking to learn new skills.
Updated daily, journalism.co.uk is a very useful source of information on UK and global media, trends in journalism and skills. For example: learning how to use Google in a better way; exploring the social strategies of leading publications as The Economist; or, searching for the latest job offerings. The journalism.co.uk team also keeps track of new apps relevant for journalists and redesigns of news websites.
International Journalists’ Network
This is a good blog for journalists entering the industry. Here you will find news covering the latest developments in newsrooms from all over the world, best practices as well as jobs, competitions, internships and scholarships for journalists.
The Future Journalism Project describes itself as “a multiplatform documentary exploring the present state, current disruption and future possibilities of American journalism”. Contributors to this blog discuss the challenges and opportunities for the future of journalism. Short texts are spiced with quotes and links to exciting media projects. You’ll find news about social media, data visualization and other topics. There’re also some useful interviews with prominent reporters and media managers on the start page.
Mediashift is an American media focused blog ofering useful insights into the digital media revolution. The feature I especially appreciate are short link list with things you need to know.
Steve Buttry is doing a nice job on his blog by blogging and letting guest authors blog on journalism and newsroom management, promotion of journalist’s work and – last but not least – organisation of data journalism workflows in the newsroom.
This is a project of the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. You will learn all you need to know about the future of journalism and the latest apps and tools for journalists.
This is a blog which will help tech-savvy journalists. Although it doesn’t introduce you to the secrets of writing a report or exploring a data base, it helps you stay updated on the latest technology issues – for instance, which smartphone could beat Apple’s new iPhone 5S – an important question for mobile journalists. Other blogs dealing with technology and worth investing a couple of minutes a day are The Next Web and The Verge.
This isn’t really a blog for all journalists but rather for those most interested in visualizing information and data journalism. Alberto Cairo teaches Information Graphics and Visualization at the School of Communication at the University of Miami and is the author of The Functional Art: an Introduction to Information Graphics and Visualization. As you’d expect, Cairo blogs a lot about the latest visualizations and his posts are very useful for not only discovering what’s good, but also understanding what’s not so good in the world of information graphics and visual media. This will help develop your knowledge and skills for orderly presentation of information. Cairo is launching another free online course on data visualization in October.
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» 10 journalism blogs in English that you... | Wednesday 2013-10-16
[…] Few professions are changing as quickly as journalism.Gone are the days of simply typing up your story and submitting it for proofreading, or signing off from a program and disappearing into the ether.With the ever increasing developments inmultimedia and visual storytelling; data journalism and visualization; online security; finding sources on social media; and, publishing stories to different platforms, there’s only so much a humble textbook can keep pace of in modern journalism.And while traditional text books (and eBooks) are important, as well as MOOC’s (massive open online courses), following blogs authored by big thinkers in journalism is a great way to learn essential skills, discover new trends and join the conversation on the future of our profession.DW Akademie’s Natalia Karbasova has dived into the English speaking journalism blogosphere for onMedia and has surfaced with 10 blogs you should bookmark and read regularly. […]