1. HOW TO GET AHEAD IN JOURNALISM
DISPATCHES FROMTHE FRONT PAGE (AND PAGES 29, 36 &THAT ONE
AFTERTHE CLASSIFIEDS NO ONEWANTSTHEIR BYLINE ON)

2. Journalism...
● “... is organized gossip”
● “...is the ability to meet the challenge of filling space.”
● “...is the first rough draft of history.”
● “... is history on the run.”
● “...largely consists of saying "Lord Jones is Dead" to
people who never knew that Lord Jones was alive.”
● “...a tension between getting it first and getting it right”
● “...is the evidence of a society that has got at least one
thing right”

3. It can be...

4. But it can also be...

5. And it’s by committee more
often than you might think

6. Journalism tools
Essential tech and kit
 LAPTOP
 MP3 RECORDER
 MIFI/WIFI HOTSPOT GENERATOR
 VIDEO – HD, FLIP ETC
 NOTEPAD AND PENCIL
 LARGE FREEZER BAGS
 WELLINGTON BOOTS
But... If I could only take on piece of kit out of
the office, I’d take my smartphone

7. Journalism tools
Online apps and sites
● Data visualisation – Flowchart
● Data collation –Tableau
● Collaboration –Google Docs
● Photography – Flickr
● Video –Vimeo andYouTube
● Word clouds –Wordle
● Word trees - ManyEyes,
● Strip panels – Stripgenerator
● Animation – Xtranormal
● Online surveys – SurveyMonkey and
Ask500people.com
● Livestreaming (mobile) -
Bambuser/qik
● Liveblogging – Coveritlive
● Audio – Ipadio/Audioboo
● Uploading multi-site content in the
field – Pixelpipe
● Interactive timelines – Dipity
● Maps – Google Maps, Umapper
● RSS mashups –Yahoo pipes

8. Putting it into practice
THE SALE OF LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL
CLUBALLOWED USTO EXPERIMENT
WITH MULTI-PLATFORM
STORYTELLING
WE REPORTED LIVE ONLINE,
ENGINEERED NEW PRINT
DEADLINESTOALLOW MAXIMUM
TIME FOR STORY-GATHERING,
HARNESSEDCROWDSOURCINGAND
SOCIAL MEDIA
WE ALSO SPENT MORETIME INTHE
OFFICETHAN AT HOME...

9. It was worth it

11. STARTING OUT: Getting your
foot in the newsroom door
● Make yourself a brand and market yourself
● Access the experts
● Make your CV multimedia (and don't restrict it to A4)
● Look for the gaps to create content (a hyperlocal
blog, a niche website, a podcast, internet radio etc)
● Embrace Creative Commons
● Participate through comments or offer reviews
● Ensure your skills are part of you, not just what you
do

12. Work Experience
● Do your research – house-style, running stories, the editor's
name...
● Don't ask if there is anything to do; ask if you can do X
● Spend time in all departments
● Phone the newsdesk and introduce yourself in advance
● Get your rss and alerts set up on Day 1
● Don’t be constrained by print space
● Retain perspective, and a sense of your own worth

13. Journalism quotes:
RoyalWelsh Show photo

14. Hyperlinks for useful sites
 ManyEyes
 Flowchart
 Dipity
 Bambuser
 Qik
 Flickr
 Vimeo
 Wordle
 Tableau
 Coveritlive
 Audioboo
 Ipadio
 Pixelpipe
 Umapper
 Stripgenerator
 Xtranormal

15. Alison Gow, Executive Editor, digital,TM
Merseyside
0151 2395944
alison.gow@liverpool.com
Twitter: @alisongow
Blog: Headlines and Deadlines
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/alisongow