Online Journalism: Theory and Practice

1. Online Journalism: Theory and Practice Week 7 Lecture 1 Summer 2011 G. F Khan, PhD Dept. of Media & Communication, YeungNam University,South Korea gohar.feroz@gmail.com

2. Last lectures… --Telling Stories With Pictures

3. This lecture… --Audio Journalism Mostly lecture notes are taken from the book: Journalism Next: Chapter 11: Building a Digital Audience for News by Mark Briggs

4. But, before lets talk about the midterm exam

5. What is audio journalism? • Reporting news and information with sound • Historically, audio journalism was exclusive domain of radio • Confined to the medium and restricted by time, programming constraints and geography. • But web changed everything • Still not wide spread (more opportunities?)

6. Why is audio Journalism important? • Sound can take a story beyond text (just as pictures can). • Sound gives to a story an added dimension that nothing else can duplicate. • Easy to produce • The equipment can easily fit into your pocket • Simple tools: microphone, recorder, free software • Mobile phone – publish a report from the scene

7. Why is audio Journalism important? • Listeners “see” with the mind • Intimate and personal relationship with listeners • Produced for ear instead of the eye • Writing for the ear is an art • Natural sounds and interviews brings great detail to the reports • Allows the audience to multitask. • Breaking news • you can file a quick audio report from anywhere by mobile phone.

8. Why is audio Journalism important? • Emotions enhance a story: • Tone of voice, expressions, Intonation, etc. • Atmosphere • Natural sound around the reporter or the source can enhance the message. • Weather sound, crowd sound, machine sound, etc. • Combine voice-over, natural sound and sound effects, including music makes the audio story more compelling.

9. Forms and formats • Podcasts • Broadcasting (audio or video) over the web and is broken up into parts or episodes. • Different than downloading • A list of all the audio or video files are maintained centrally on the distributor's server as a web feed • You can listen to the feeds using podcatcher that can access this web feed, check it for updates, and download any new files in the series • Commonly used audio format is MP3 • Examples • http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/r4report • iTune podcasts- http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/

10. Forms and formats • Sound supplement formats • Audio clip • It allows the audience to hear the voice of a source answering a question or making a salient point about the subject of the story. • E.g. http://tnjn.com/2006/nov/02/johnson-a-superstar-in-the-mak/ • Reporter interview • Interview of the person who covered the story • Kind of back story • Reporter round-table • Reporters who have interest and information on the same topic can tell what they know, ask each other questions and exchange views • Reporter round-up • This format allows the reporter to tell the story in a one- to two-minute sound clip, much like a radio version of the story.

11. Forms and formats • Sound dominant formats • Radio stories • Conventions and customs of radio • Mix of reporting, interviews with sources and ambient sound • Require high-quality sound and professional word and sound editing skills • e.g. National Public Radio and Voice of America. • Audio slide shows • A web-originated format that is growing in popularity. • Audio slide shows mix still pictures with sound • Audio slide shows require photography, writing, speaking and editing skills • Talk-show and call-in formats • Audiences are invited to participate • The talk-show format is a highly popular one for traditional radio, and it is growing in popularity on the web with the advent of sites such as TalkShoe.com.

12. Recording Interviews • Successfully recording an interview is crucial for audio journalism • Choose your location • Quite and comfortable-home or office is good option • Avoid traffic and crowed places • Record natural sound • Prepare your subject (the interviewee) • What is the story about? Who is the audience? How long it will take? What kind of questions will be asked? etc • Watch what you say & show interest • E.g. Really? I see. Interesting, etc will let the subject that you are listening & understanding. • Mark the best spots

13. Doing Voice-overs • Write a script • Warm up • Find operative words • E.g. what, how, why, when, where, etc • Keep it conversational

14. Device • Digital audio recorder • Consider quality, digital file format, price, and compatibility with your PC • Must have external inputs for MIC and headphone • Recording phone calls on computer • Needs a special device • You can also record with your phone or MP3 player • Ask permission before recording Records in popular Windows Media Audio (WMA) format.* The WS-400S has 1GB of internal flash memory.* Enjoy an amazing 272 hours of recording time.* The unique "USB Direct" design means you can connect it right to the USB port on your computer and download or transfer audio, music, photos and more.* Built-in stereo microphone.

15. Editing Audio • Understand formats • AIFF, WAV, MP3, WMA • Record in the WAV format • Uncompressed and high quality • After editing convert into MP3 format • MP3 is the best and can run on any device • Editing with Audacity – free download • http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

16. No class on Thursday • Prepare for midterm

17. Thank You Questions & Comments