ExplainThis has two parts. One is an open system through which anyone can ask and answer questions and vote on them. The second part involves “journalists standing by.”
Portfolio
Below are my published works along with a few other projects.
Ask me about freelance writing, multimedia and Web development!
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Jay Rosen’s Explainthis.org Would Have Journalists Answer Users’ Questions / Poynter E-Media Tidbits
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RSS readers reviewed / BeatBlogging.org
No, I’m not going to try to explain how a feed is tracked in terms my mother would understand. Instead, let’s look at some different RSS readers and some more recent players in RSS-land.
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How Programmer/Journalists Craft Their Own Study Programs / PBS MediaShift
I spoke to six college students who are combining self-taught programming with elements of journalism education.
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Journalists use RSS to track rivals, news, tweets & other info / BeatBlogging.org
I spoke to three journalists about how they use RSS for research and reporting. They also each gave one really good tip for diving into RSS.
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Live By Request: John Fogerty / PBS
Handled Twitter, Facebook and YouTube postings and requests.
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Harris Field Contaminated / Norwood News
Heavy metals have been discovered at Harris Field in Bedford Park during the park’s reconstruction, the Norwood News has learned.
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Can Programmers, Journalists Get Along in One Newsroom? / PBS MediaShift
How do you merge the culture of the programming environment with the culture of the newsroom?
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Harris Field Contamination Slows Construction / Bronx News Network
The discovery of heavy metals contamination during construction at Harris Field in Bedford Park has slowed progress and put the project over budget.
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The Art of Attraction / MediaStorm Workshop
New York street performers Tic and Tac began their careers at the age of seven, break-dancing in the subways.
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Washington Post’s ‘Post Alert’ Offers Breaking News, Special Projects Updates to Users / Poynter E-Media Tidbits
Post Alert is a good example of what news organizations can do to promote content once they’ve lured people in.
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Espada Sits Down With Local Business Leaders / Norwood News
State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. met with leaders of the Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District (BID) to discuss economic development opportunities and community needs.
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‘Apps For America’ Shows Innovative Ways to Display Government Data / Poynter E-Media Tidbits
As government agencies and third parties place a high priority on sharing information that’s key to public discourse, news organizations may benefit from observing how they put data online.
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In Search of the Perfect Skillset for a Programmer/Journalist / PBS MediaShift
Although not all programmer/journalists started with CAR, that skillset is still the basis for any programmer/journalist.
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An Interactive Guide to the Bronx’s City Council Races / Bronx News Network
A Google Map of Bronx City Council Districts, created from the Department of City Planning’s shapefiles.
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How Computer-Assisted Reporters Evolved into Programmer/Journalists / PBS MediaShift
And that’s the key connection between CAR and programming in journalism: data. Published August 7, 2009.
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How AP’s News Registry Will (and Won’t) Work / Poynter E-Media Tidbits
Published online as top story August 7, 2009 at Poynter.org.
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Toast to Dads / Handstand Kids Cookbook Company
Developed Handstand Kids Toast to Dads site using Wordpress. Launched 6/2/2009.
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NYPD Buys Guns, but Residents Doubt Effects / Norwood News
Published in the May 14, 2009 edition of the Norwood News.
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Reflecting on the NYPD’s Gun Buy-Back Program / Bronx News Network
I wanted to know if people in the community thought the program would reduce gun violence.
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Handstand Kids website / Handstand Kids Cookbook Company
Redesigned and developed Handstand Kids site using modern Web standards.
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60 Seconds: See them. Know them. / The Miami Herald
I collaborated on building this XML-loading Flash video player in AS3 with Stephanie Rosenblatt.
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Represent Helps New Yorkers Track Their Politicos / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
Represent tracks the media and political activities of your elected officials.
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Laid-Off Arizona Journalists Start Online-Only Publications / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
The Arizona Guardian and Heat City are two examples of web-only news sites started by recently unemployed journalists.
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How I Got Laid Off / Greg McGunagle
Developed a Wordpress site where people who had recently been let go could share their stories.
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Keeping CSS Code Clean and Optimized / Bright Hub
Clean CSS code will help you get around browser compatibility issues as well as making files easier to read and web pages faster to load.
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Washington Post’s ‘Web Ninjas’ Build Map – Timeline Combo / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
TimeSpace, a Washington Post project, is a coverage mapping framework that displays content from multiple sources in space (via a map) and time (via a timeline).
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Algonquin Hotel’s Matilda’s 13th Birthday / Quinn & Co., Public Relations
The Algonquin Hotel’s famed resident cat, Matilda, celebrates her 13th birthday with a birthday bash and feline fashion show to benefit North Shore Animal League.
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BronxRhymes Uses Locality, Maps to Track History of Hip-Hop / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
The history of hip-hop is illustrated through rhymes and plotted on an online map.
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ProPublica Puts Spotlight on Tracking TARP Money / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
The site shows institutions that have been approved for assistance and keeps a running total of the number of institutions, the amount committed, and the amount invested so far.
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Quinn & Co. web site and The Purple Lounge blog / Quinn & Co., Public Relations
Redeveloped and performed SEO on company website in addition to building a company blog in Wordpress.
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Innovation in Inauguration Coverage / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
This week, instead of focusing on one innovative journalism project, I’d like to highlight some of the many projects that came up covering Barack Obama’s inauguration.
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File Sharing Between Your Mac and PC / Bright Hub
Follow these easy steps to share files between a Mac and PC by creating a local network.
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Contributed Blog Posts / News Videographer
I have been a contributing writer for News Videographer, a blog about news video by Angela Grant, for several years. The posts I have written are compiled here.
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California Schools Guide: Database of Scores With News Hook / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
California Schools Guide from the Los Angeles Times is a comprehensive data-based guide to private, public and charter schools in California.
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Using CSS and JavaScript to Create Columns of Equal Height / Bright Hub
This JavaScript function is one of the easiest solutions to this problem.
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Big Pictures Help Tell Big Stories at Boston.com / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
The Big Picture is a large-format photo-blog operated by the Boston Globe.
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Manage Your Bookmarks Online / Bright Hub
Advantages of online bookmarking and reviews of various sites.
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How to Download and Install Older Versions of Internet Explorer / Bright Hub
A few reasons you might need older versions of Internet Explorer, and how to get them on your computer.
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Choosing a Desktop Bookmark Manager / Bright Hub
If you have trouble keeping your favorite links organized, one of these utilities might be the answer to your problem.
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Neighborhood Watch Puts Florida Home Sales on the Map / MediaShift Innovation Spotlight
St. Petersburg Times’ Neighborhood Watch is a database application that tracks weekly house sales in Pinellas and Pasco counties, Florida.
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How to Use a Zune as a Portable Hard Drive / Bright Hub
While the iPod works as a hard drive no matter what you plug it into, the Zune doesn’t act as a hard drive without some tweaking.
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Top 5 Laptop Messenger Bags / Bright Hub
Five rugged, roomy and pocket-y laptop messenger bags.
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The Beginner’s Guide to PHP / Bright Hub
What is PHP? Plus, five great tutorials for beginners.
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Sharing an Internet Connection Through Your Mac / Bright Hub
How to share an internet connection through your Mac.
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Print to a Network Printer on a Mac / Bright Hub
How to set up your Mac to print to a network printer.
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How to Create an Impromptu Network of Macs / Bright Hub
Want to connect your Macs without all the cables? Create a wireless network you can all connect to!
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Decoration vs. Communication in Web Design / Bright Hub
Great design is important, but never let it come between your content and your viewers.
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An Introduction to the Uses of Adobe Air / Bright Hub
All about Adobe AIR, its uses and why its getting so much hype.
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Highlights from MEET THE FOOD, WINE + SPIRITS HSMAI media panel / Quinn & Co., Public Relations
Video highlights from “Meet the Food, Wine + Spirits” media panel on behalf of HSMAI Greater New York Chapter.
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The Races for U.S. Congress / The Miami Herald
I built a Flash infographic for the congressional elections: select a district from the map of Florida and view bios of the various candidates as well as demographic information.
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Guantanámo Bay: A Timeline / The Miami Herald
This timeline was created by Jennifer Jenkins, but I did the updates during my internship at The Miami Herald.
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Borrowers Betrayed / The Miami Herald
I did the coding for this story package in one week and loaded new stories for the series. I also wrote a blog post about this project.
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Portraits of a “Shit-hot Sexy City” / Berlin Study Abroad
This audio slideshow was the final project for my photojournalism class in Berlin, Germany.
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Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project / University of Florida
Worked on updating and redesigning this site, which uses legal research to examine the laws controlling open meetings and open records in the 50 states.
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A Night of Dancing and Culture / The Independent Florida Alligator
Video of different acts from the V.I.S.A. talent show at the University of Florida.
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International Students at UF / The Independent Florida Alligator
International students have to find housing, face educational challenges and adapt to a new culture.
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Scott Weingart, Juggler / The Independent Florida Alligator
Scott balances school, glass balls and flaming torches.
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International Students Month: Potluck / The Independent Florida Alligator
Students gather to enjoy foods from different cultures prepared by various student groups.
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A Rugby Prom / The Independent Florida Alligator
UF Women’s Rugby team plays in prom dresses for charity.
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Dance Marathon 2008 / The Independent Florida Alligator
UF’s Dance Marathon raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network.
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Time-lapse: Original Butt Sketch / The Independent Florida Alligator
Artist Pjae Adams comes to UF’s Gator Nights to sketch butts.
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Union Street Farmers’ Market / The Independent Florida Alligator
The Union Street Farmers’ Market is about more than fresh, local food. It’s about people. Part of the Gainesville Explorer series.
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Gainesville Shows / The Independent Florida Alligator
A list and map of upcoming Gainesville shows. It’s the ‘ville, go out and have a good time!
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Gainesville Restaurant Inspections / CAR Independent Study
This is a three-part project I submitted for my Independent Study on Computer-Assisted Reporting.
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Underage drinking in Gainesville / The Independent Florida Alligator
I edited this video after two colleagues collected several nights worth of tape.
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Florida Democratic Party decides not to hold revote / The Independent Florida Alligator
Published in the Independent Florida Alligator on 3/18/2008.
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Kurtz and Sons: Grass-Fed Cows / Applied Interactive Newspapers
A video project I did for class about a dairy farm.
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Admissions website / University of Florida
I spent about a month assisting the the redesign and recoding of the University of Florida’s Admissions Web site.
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Gainesville Explorer / The Independent Florida Alligator
Gainesville Explorer is a collection of stories, multimedia and maps showcasing places to go in Gainesville as well as day-trip locations.
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Gator Alumni Map / Reporting and Writing for the Web
Map of Gator Alumni Associations done as part of a group project for Reporting and Writing for the Web.
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UF Campus Tour / Reporting and Writing for the Web
Final project from my Reporting and Writing for the Web class. A Google map of some important buildings on campus, with embedded videos.
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The Servant of Those Who Bring Victory to Krishna / Introduction to Photojournalism
The Hare Krishnas in Gainesville serve lunch daily on campus during the semesters so I thought it would be cool to show what people don’t see every day.
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Tampa’s Converged Newsroom / Advanced Reporting for Interactive Media
I went on a class trip with my Advanced Reporting for Interactive Media to see the TBO/Tampa Tribune/Channel 8 newsroom.
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Less Than Jake at The Venue / The Independent Florida Alligator
Now that The Alligator has some equipment, I was able to take the video camera out for a spin. This is my second attempt at getting good video out of a concert.
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Avail at The Venue / The Independent Florida Alligator
An experiment capturing and editing video from The Fest VI on a Canon PowerShot A70 IS. Edited with iMovie.
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The Fest VI / The Independent Florida Alligator
A colleague and I compiled coverage of an annual concert. People travel from all over the country for The Fest, but it never seems to get much coverage.
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Sportscasts / The Independent Florida Alligator
Each week I captured and edited an audio sportscast from our sports department.
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Student Government Elections / The Independent Florida Alligator
A colleague and I compiled coverage of the elections for seats in Student Government. This included live blogging, previous coverage and a slideshow.
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Don’t Tase me, bro / The Independent Florida Alligator
A colleague and I compiled coverage of this issue and continued to update it as the story unfolded.
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Governor Charlie Crist visits the ethanol lab at UF / The Independent Florida Alligator
Published to The Independent Florida Alligator Web site in August 2007. I contributed photos to this slideshow.
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The Independent Florida Alligator
I was part of a small team that redesigned The Independent Florida Alligator Web site during the summer of 2007, in preparation for the implementation of a Content Management System.
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New Student Edition 2007 Map / The Independent Florida Alligator
The New Student Edition of The Alligator contains articles about where to eat, shop and have fun. I hand-coded (using javascript) and a colleague designed this interactive map of all mentioned locations with links to related articles.
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Gainesville resident finds a hobby in blogging / Newsies.Gainesville.com
Published to Newsies.Gainesville.com on 6/4/2007.
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The Boss is just like you and me / Newsies.Gainesville.com
Published to Newsies.Gainesville.com on 5/25/2007.
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The Newsies Speak Out in Favor of Academic Funding / Newsies.Gainesville.com
Published to Newsies.Gainesville.com on 5/02/2007.
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Interactive Package with Photos / Advanced Online Media
An exercise in using photos, animation, buttons and text as well as planning and executing a longer and more complex package.
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Society of Women Engineers / Newsies.Gainesville.com
Published to Newsies.Gainesville.com on 3/22/2007.
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Spring Break Anecdotes / Newsies.Gainesville.com
Published to Newsies.Gainesville.com on 3/20/2007.
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Mars Orbiter News Package / Advanced Online Media
A sample news package using a movie clip (scrolling stars background) with a sliding credits box. The package is divided into three sections, controlled by buttons.
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“Free” at UF / Newsies.Gainesville.com
Published to Newsies.Gainesville.com on 2/28/2007.
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Three Animations / Advanced Online Media
Three separate animations are controlled by the user with three scripted buttons using ActionScript.
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The Pink Plague / The Undertone
Published to The Undertone on 2/14/2007.
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CSS Positioning / Advanced Online Media
Using the position, margin, padding and width properties in CSS, you can perfectly align divs in a Web site.
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Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas / The Undertone
Published to The Undertone on 2/8/2007.
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Dating Ideas / The Undertone
Published to The Undertone on 2/7/2007.
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Colors and Navigation / Advanced Online Media
Here we learned how to control color with CSS, design links and navigation.
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Style Text with CSS / Advanced Online Media
This was an exercise in using CSS to control the appearence of text by manipulating font families, sizes, weights, line height, letter-spacing and other text properties.
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What NOT to do with your Computer / The Undertone
Published to The Undertone on 1/19/2007.
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Where Were you When UF Became National Champions in Football? / The Undertone
A collaborative article documenting the various activities and attitudes of Newsies on the night UF won the National Championship.
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Creative Commons Gainesville / Communications on the Internet
This project required some research and reporting. For my topic I chose Creative Commons licenses and their application in Gainesville.
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Auction alleviates medical bills / The Independent Florida Alligator
Published in the Independent Florida Alligator on 11/7/2006.
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5 professors join ranks of distinguished teachers / The Independent Florida Alligator
Published in the Independent Florida Alligator on 9/29/2006.
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Sinkholes / Writing for Mass Communication
This was written 6/19/2006 and I never submitted it for publication.
