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.”
Writing
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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“Free” at UF / Newsies.Gainesville.com
Published to Newsies.Gainesville.com on 2/28/2007.
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The Pink Plague / The Undertone
Published to The Undertone on 2/14/2007.
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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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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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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.
