Print, Pixels & PeopleIdeas for today’s

student journalistLogan Aimone, MJE, executive director

National Scholastic Press Association

Print, Pixels & People

PrintWhat’s working?

Print, Pixels & People

Print• For generations, the printed page has been

the dominant medium in scholastic journalism.

• Although it has faced challenges from broadcast media, it remains the most common, widespread and portable form of mass media.

Print, Pixels & People

Print: Benefits• It’s pretty inexpensive.

• It’s relatively easy to produce in a basic form.

• It’s portable.

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PrintWhat’s not working?

Print, Pixels & People

Print: Drawbacks• It’s more expensive than it used to be

• It’s not easy to teach the skills necessary to produce quality.

• It’s hard to get people to pick it up and read it.

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PixelsWhat’s new?

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Pixels• While the printed page has been the

dominant medium in scholastic journalism, online publishing has started to take off.

• More student newspapers — and even magazines and yearbooks — are turning to the Web for a variety of reasons.

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Pixels: Benefits• The Internet allows for instant publishing

of content rather than the infrequent publication of print.

• Compared to the expense of printing an edition of the newspaper, a Web site is dramatically less expensive — maybe even free.

Print, Pixels & People

Pixels: Benefits• Online tools allow a media staff to combine

multiple media to deliver content in the most appropriate format: text, audio, images or video.

• Online networks like MySpace, Facebook, Delicious and Twitter allow users to build a community and to customize and share content.

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PixelsWhat’s not working?

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Pixels: Drawbacks• Students and advisers may not have the

necessary skills beyond the basics of uploading text.

• It’s easy to get caught up in the behind-the-scenes system administration.

• Technology limitations: cost, availability, time to produce.

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PeopleWhat’s it all about?

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People• Ultimately, it’s the content that matters.

• You have to be in a position to deliver the content in the most appropriate format and platform.

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Putting it together

What does today’sstudent journalist

need to think about?

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Convergence!• The term convergence means a “coming

together” — and that’s what you have available to you today.

• Members of Generation Y (that’s you!) are comfortable with and operating in a converged media environment.

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Social Media• Because teens are comfortable in this

environment, you need to shift your focus to take advantage of where your readers/viewers are.

• Engage your readers in a way that helps them (they get news) and helps you (you get tips for more news).

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Social Media• Do you have any idea how big of an impact

social media are having on every aspect of our lives?

• Let’s watch a short video and see…

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Social Media• A few highlights from the video:

• Nearly all of you (96%) are on a social network.

• That’s the #1 Web activity.

• More than 300 million people are on Facebook.

• Fastest-growing segment is women 55-65 (that’s your mom or grandma!).

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Social Media• More highlights from the video:

• 80% of Twitter use is by mobile device.

• That’s instant discussion, good or bad.

• Studies show Wikipedia is more accurate than Encyclopedia Brittanica.

• But that’s not an excuse for using it as your sole source.

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Social Media• More highlights from the video:

• 78% of people trust peer recommendations. Only 14% trust ads.

• 25% of Americans watched a short video in the last month on their phone.

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13 Things you should be doing

Improving your operation in 2009-2010

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1. Be excellent• It probably goes without saying, but I’ll say

it anyway: Strive for excellence.

• Excellence isn’t settling for pretty good.

• Good enough is not good enough.

• Set goals to improve with each edition or deadline.

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2. Get out there• You can’t really get a story unless you get

out and talk to people. In person.

• Yes, in person!

• You can always tell the difference when a writer has observed and interviewed in person.

• E-mail or chat interviews fill a need, but they are not as effective as being there.

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3. Find stories• Establish a solid beat system in place to

gather the routine news.

• Expect that each beat will yield some briefs and longer stories.

• Demand enterprise from reporters (editors, too). That means digging around to find something newsworthy and writing it in a compelling, interesting and useful way.

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4. Show us• Probably the most widely read (and most

liked) stories are those that tell interesting stories about people.

• Your school and community are full of these stories.

• Localize national issues with the stories of people around you.

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5. Get a Web site• There’s really no excuse today for not

having at least a basic Web site

• Basic: You could post a PDF version of the printed paper.

• Advanced: You could update news throughout the school day.

• An online presence opens up a new universe of multimedia opportunities.

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6. Get social• MySpace and Facebook accounts are free.

• You can use the pages to interact with your readers not just by posting links to stories but by getting tips from them.

• Ask them to let you know about events occuring outside the school (or at school but not known).

• Let them submit photos, letters, etc., to you through these pages.

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7. Start Tweeting• Twitter is a free “microblogging” site that

works in 140-character messages.

• As you gather “followers” you will be able to pass along messages to a wide group of people. That means instantly informing your followers when news happens (sports scores, lockdown, free burritos at Chipotle).

• Use hashtags (#word) to label and search.

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8. Get Delicious• Delicious.com is a social bookmarking site

that is, guess what, free.

• You can post links there that will be useful to others.

• The links can be labeled and sorted in a number of ways.

• This is a way to enhance content beyond the printed page.

• You can also see what others bookmarked.

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9. Do multimedia• With a Web site, not only can you update

news and information as frequently as you want, you can improve the content.

• The newspaper can showcase one or two images from an event. Online, you can have dozens — with audio and captions.

• Yearbook staffs can promote the book through “sneak peeks” or extras that are posted online.

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10. Be the #1 source• Be serious about being the top information

source for all things about your school.

• If someone wants to know a fact, score, date, record, time or whatever — be the place they turn for that information.

• Own sports stats, especially JV and lower squads.

• Scoop the local paper. Doesn’t it feel good when that happens?

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11. Do fewer…• Horoscopes and advice columns

• Superficial columns (carpe diem, senioritis, slow drivers, etc.) that could be in any year

• Double-truck stories on “hot topics” that aren’t tied to a news event. Make sure you have a news peg if you’re committing that much space.

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12. Follow the law• Obey copyright.

• Only use “fair use” images or get permission.

• Use copyright-free music unless you pay a royalty.

• Saying it’s “for education” doesn’t let you off the hook.

• Know privacy rules.

• Know your rights. In Kansas you have more!

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13. Remember…• Your role on campus is to inform and

enlighten your audience.

• You have a responsibility — an obligation, even — to take that seriously and to do it well.

• Your audience needs you to tell them the things no one else will tell them.

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SummaryTime to wake up if you

have been sleeping!

Print, Pixels & People

PrintKeep doing it.

• It’s perfect for long stories.

• People can pick it up and take it with them.

• It’s permanent. (You can’t tape a Web page in your scrapbook.)

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PixelsGet more digital.

• It’s instant.

• You build a community.

• Readers expect you to be online.

• If you don’t someone else will.

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PeopleIt’s always about them.

• Whether in print or online, it’s the story that matters most.

• Find the platform that is most appropriate.

• Converge multiple platforms to experiment.

• Be excellent.

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Thanks!Twitter: @NSPA

Facebook:National Scholastic

Press AssociationAny questions?