October 6th, 2008 — posts
Friday was the last day of my extended internship with The Miami Herald. I will miss working with such forward-thinking journalists, so many people who, whether they understand the intricacies of the digital world, really want to know how to make things work.
It’s amazing how close people can become in just a few short months. I feel like I have a family at the Herald: the people I worked with were kind, supportive and enthusiastic.
The most important thing I learned has nothing to do with skill set or journalism in particular. It was learning to work with people who believed in me from the start, who saw what I could do and let me do my job. It’s a heady feeling.
I also learned that, no matter where you are, there are always those silly bureaucratic things that get in the way of progress. I ran into these at The Alligator, but the Herald is no different. Another important lesson.
At The Miami Herald I was given the opportunities to work on projects on my own and in a team. I was able to help people tell stories online. I got to write a little bit. I was even given point on a huge project: building a new Flash package for a video project in AS3.
My internship is over, and I’m starting a new life in New York City. It’s exciting and scary, but with my experience and the people who believe in me, I know I can make it all come together.
August 21st, 2008 — posts
A few days ago I got an email from Daniel Bachhuber, who is working with the Oregon Daily Emerald.
He wanted to know if I was interested in discussion content management system options for college media. After my time as online managing editor at The Independent Florida Alligator, struggling with a CMS that liked to fight dirty, I’ve daydreamed of building a modular open-source system myself.
The problem:
College Publisher is an inappropriate platform for student newspapers
but most newspapers don’t have the resources to custom roll their own
CMS.
The Alligator uses TownNews, but the idea is the same.
Daniel started a wiki, College News Press, as well as a mailing group to keep track of ideas and coordinate discussion. The wiki includes tasks, benchmarks and platform comparisons.
His vision:
- To create an easy to deploy, simple to use (open source?) content management system (CMS) with varying levels of sophistication that is specifically geared towards the student newspaper and local news market.
- To provide abundant knowledge resources to student newspapers interested in switching platforms that have minimal IT manpower.
Daniel is even submitting an application for the Knight News Challenge!
I’m really excited to work on this, even though I’m no longer a member of the college media sector. The two biggest problems with newspaper Web sites are site design and CMS limitations. Hacking a CMS should not be among the things we have to do to be innovative.
May 1st, 2008 — clips
Video of different acts from the V.I.S.A. talent show. Published at the Independent Florida Alligator on 4/21/2008.
May 1st, 2008 — clips
International students have to find housing, face educational challenges and adapt to a new culture. Published at the Independent Florida Alligator on 4/19/2008.
May 1st, 2008 — clips
Scott balances school, glass balls and flaming torches. Published at the Independent Florida Alligator on 4/15/2008.
May 1st, 2008 — clips
Students gather to enjoy foods from different cultures prepared by various student groups. Published at the Independent Florida Alligator on 4/10/2008.
May 1st, 2008 — clips
UF Women’s Rugby team plays in prom dresses for charity. Published at the Independent Florida Alligator on 4/07/2008.
May 1st, 2008 — clips
UF’s Dance Marathon raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network. Published at the Independent Florida Alligator on 4/07/2008.
May 1st, 2008 — clips
Artist Pjae Adams comes to UF’s Gator Nights to sketch butts. Published at the Independent Florida Alligator on 3/31/2008.
May 1st, 2008 — clips
The Union Street Farmers’ Market is about more than fresh, local food. It’s about people. Published at the Independent Florida Alligator as part of the Gainesville Explorer project on 3/03/2008.
