Online Journalism

The Microsoft Word 2007 Intermediate course offered by George Mason University covers a variety of user topics such as:

• inserting dates
• inserting symbols
• adding Quick Parts (allows you to store a heading, title, certain piece of info, etc. and allows you to open it on various blank documents)
• using AutoFormat (formats a document as your type by analyzing your text)
• setting up, navigating and entering text into a table
• inserting a blank line
• hiding/showing gridlines in a table
• converting existing text into a table
• inserting Quick Tables (already-formatted tables for things such as calendars)

For me, the most helpful lesson out of all of the things we touched base on was learning about how to create a table. I have always had trouble getting the tables I make to come out correctly with the right number of rows and columns, however the instructor made it easy to set a table up. All you need to do is go to the “Insert” page, click on the “Table” button, and select the dimensions for your table. By then clicking on the “Design” button, you can create a design for your table and color-code it according to specific categories.

You can even convert your written text to a table automatically by highlighting the text and then clicking on the “Convert Text to Table” button. This is an easy option if you don’t know how many columns or rows you are going to have at the start of your table project.

For more Microsoft Word 2007 help, visit Word’s Help and How-to website or their Training website.

(Johnson Center, Room 311B)

Zotero is a free citation management program that was originally created here at George Mason University in the Center for History and New Media. The program allows you to “collect, organize, cite and share” your resources for various research projects and note taking.

Many college students may find this program useful as it allows you to:

• capture data
• search databases
• cite resources
• share Zotero libraries
• create timelines
• store files
• publish findings
• browse from mobile devices

Since most people do not do research on just one computer, you can create a Zotero username and interface that allows you to access your previous work so that you can sync with it and access it anywhere, even on a global scale.

However, when using a public computer, make sure that you log off after each time you access your Zotero account to prevent other users from uploading to your document library.

There are several different formats you can use when doing citations, for example Chicago Manual of Style, APA, MLA, etc. Every time you export, you can choose which citation style to use for easier exports.

You can also use Zotero to insert a bibliography citation directly into a Word document if you are using a ‘Works Cited’ page.

(Fenwick Library, Room A214)

Journalist and former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather, along with political news correspondent Tucker Carlson, appeared in a C-SPAN video conference with George Mason University. Both guests answered questions from students ranging from the current situation in Egypt to their careers in the media.

Rather stressed the importance of determination in young journalists and the ability to write well and quickly. He also emphasized that “curiosity is the bedrock of being a good reporter,” and it is absolutely necessary for young people to be interested in journalism. They must be able to relate to the emotions of the American people, while still striving for objectivity and putting up a strong front when needed in times of great uncertainty.

Rather went on to discuss the Watergate scandal and the assassination of President Kennedy, both events of which he covered in his tremendous career. At the time of the assassination, the media had “tremendous differences” compared to today’s media. Now, the dominant source of information in the Internet, while back then it was radio and television. We have so many more channels of information available to us today- you experience news almost everywhere. Television may be on the back-burner for many, but Rather says it’s strength is that it “can take you there.”

Regarding Nixon’s presidency, Rather said, “In America, presidents are not sun gods.” Rather stressed the importance of our political heads to be treated with “equal justice under the law,” exactly as every other person in America should be treated.

When asked about the current situation of news and reporting in the United States, Rather said, “American journalism needs a spine transplant!”

Carlson agreed with this statement, and argued that American journalists are “unwilling to take on figures of authority.” This can be seen with the Iraq War and former President Bush’s theory for ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ We as journalists need to weed out the ‘fishy’ information from the rest and dive deep into investigative journalism techniques to discover the truth behind big issues.

Carlson also stressed that each individual reading the news has a responsibility to sort out the information and decide what is fact and what is fiction. Believing everything that you see or hear is a huge fallacy that so many people commit.

Having the opportunity to participate in such a great conference with Mr. Rather and Mr. Carlson is something I will always cherish. As a journalist, I look forward to living by Mr. Rather’s words: “I’ll do my lead-level best to get as close to the truth as I can.”

Jon DeNunzio, User Engagement Editor at The Washington Post, visited our class for a lecture on how social media is impacting journalism today and how we can use it to our advantage.

DeNunzio gave us a list of a few social media website worth looking into:

• BlackBirdPie
• Intersect
• UMapper
• Buzzfeed
• StartUpLi.st
• AllOurIdeas
• Twiigs

He also stressed that “It’s not the media, it’s the social,” rather than “The medium is the message,” referring to a quote from Marshall McLuhan.

DeNunzio also gave some great advice for job interviews. In your cover letter, talk about how you can connect with users in journalism — it will set you apart from other prospective applicants.

For more information, check out Jon DeNunzio’s Tumblr account or follow his Tweets on his personal Twitter account!

Burt Herman, CEO and co-founder of the popular website Storify, joined us in class via Skype! He took time out of his busy schedule to talk about new media and how simple it is to share your ideas and create a masterpiece of of them.

Herman is literally “building the future of journalism” and “bringing together journalists and technologists” (courtesy of burtherman.com) with his new website, Storify. Storify is a news platform that lets you create and build your stories while adding in social media links like Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter to contribute to the growing story. You can also add in websites, photos and videos to make your story more appealing to a wider audience.

Storify may be one of the greatest new innovations in journalism that I have seen in the last few years. It is extremely user-friendly and it’s ability to give users so much interactivity is mind blowing.

For more on Burt Herman, check out his website here or visit his Twitter.