Convergence in action

11 Dec, 2008 in Journalism by Jackie Hai

Here’s an example of the kind of cross-organization cooperation that characterizes trends in convergence, played out today across student media at UMass.

On Tuesday, the Student Government Association sponsored a town hall meeting for students to talk about the university’s budget deficit.

The Daily Collegian, UMass’ daily print newspaper, published a write-up of the meeting:

The crisis entails an anticipated $38 million deficit facing the University next year. The deficit comprises of a $20 million cut of state funding, an anticipated $2 million for the operations of the new recreational center, $3 million spent on fringe benefits for University employees and $6.5 million from a decline in investment income.

UVC-TV 19, the campus television station, filmed the meeting and will be airing it today at 4:00 and 11:00 p.m.

The station shared footage with AmherstWire.com, which cut together a 3-minute highlight reel for viewing on the web.

Each platform for distribution delivers an aspect of the story in a way that harnesses the strengths of its respective medium. Details and analysis in text. Long-form video on television. Quick and easy access to information on the web. Links between all three complete the circle and give readers and viewers a full, well-rounded experience.

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Harnessing classroom ideas

27 Nov, 2008 in Education, Journalism by Jackie Hai

Fifty-two pages.

That’s how much feedback I’ve received so far regarding ways to improve and grow The Amherst Wire’s interactive opinions section.

The comments, which range from suggestions about usability to ideas for viral marketing campaigns, come from students in one of Dr. Martha Fuentes-Bautista’s communications courses who were asked to analyze our site for a homework assignment.

For me and the rest of the AW staff, these are 52 pages of gold because the students who wrote them, representing a fairly diverse cross-section of the campus population, tell us exactly what our target audience wants to see.

For the students in Professor Fuentes-Bautista’s class, the assignment was an exercise in putting theory into practice, and they’ll get the satisfaction of knowing that what they learned inside the classroom will have an immediate, real impact on the world outside.

A win-win situation for all involved.

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