Final Newstrack: Lessons Learned throughout JO 304

Recently I've started keeping a journal of little tidbits I learn on my journey to becoming a "real-life" journalist. It's become something to force me to reflect on my progress throughout each project, highlighting the ups and downs as I move forward. Since JO 304 was a big part of that process this semester, I thought it would be nice to share some of the lessons I've learned along the way for my final news track blog. Please note that these are all little scraps of fleeting information I jot down in a moment's notice, so some may not be perfect, but they've helped me nonetheless.

-- Are your batteries charged? Do you have extra memory cards? If not, what are you even doing here? Technology may fail in a single moment, but that doesn't mean the story will stop for you.

-- What good are connections if you don't use them?

-- Research beforehand, and be prepared for a story to fall through. It happens. Where's your backup? What are you going to do next? How much time did you leave yourself for mishaps like this? (which are bound to happen, btw)

-- Do not put things off until the last minute. You're only hurting yourself.

-- Don't be afraid to walk up to people and ask for their help. You're shy, we get it. And, yes, some will say no, but some will say yes. That's all that really matters -- (the others you can just ignore because BU is so big you'll never see them again!!)

-- Be confident. (See above.)

-- Take initiative. Put yourself out there. Get noticed -- it feels good. (See above).

-- You are doing okay.

Analyzing BBC News: Multimedia

Nowadays journalism is all about incorporating different multimedia into one story, utilizing photos, videos and audio to give readers a more personal look at an event or situation from anywhere around the world. As I analyzed BBC News this week, I found many of the same faults and successes I've relayed in my past news tracks -- namely, that the site does not do enough to integrate different kinds of media into one post.

BBC's success this week came primarily in the form of photos. Their article on the immigrants ignored in President Obama's recent executive orders incorporated six very different photographs within a medium-length post, which is the most I've seen since tracking the site. However, in this case, I believe that video would have supplemented the article more efficiently. The photos were simply portraits of immigrants mentioned in the article, but I think it would have been more informative and striking to see those immigrants speaking for themselves.

When I looked a little closer, I realized that there were videos that could have been included in the post. These were listed under a small section titled, "Related Stories." Sure, they weren't necessarily interviews with the immigrants themselves, but BBC has access to an entire page of videos portraying the general public's opinions toward Obama's address. Why weren't these included in the original article? Most readers don't like to search for information, and so they won't -- they will only read or watch what is right in front of them and is easily accessible. So why would you mask this related content (the box isn't that big, so it's not crying out for attention to begin with) and force them to click to new pages in order to see it? It doesn't quite make sense to me. BBC could definitely improve here.

I was again both excited and a little disappointed when I came across an audio report in BBC's article on the evolution of HIV. This is rare -- I've never seen an audio report woven into a story until today. However, BBC again tanked on the presentation front. The soundbite is from a professor at Mercyhurst University, talking about the caution needed when assessing this study -- very worthy information. Yet, the soundbite is almost hidden away because it's placed right next to the advertising column on the post. In fact, some of the advertisements are bigger than the audio report itself, attracting the attention that should be on the news, not on ads! I think BBC could have prevented this by justifying the edge of the audio report with the left side of the article (and away from the ads), and possibly making it span the entire column so that it demands your attention.

I'm generally a fan of BBC. I appreciate the quality of their articles and how they span the entire globe. Usually they are my first source for world news. However, I'm disappointed that such a strong organization could continuously make these fatal (and easy to fix) mistakes.

Analyzing BBC News: Interactivity

In class last week we learned about the use of Google maps, video diaries and other methods promoting interactivity between news networks and their readers. This week, when I took a look at BBC News, I realized they haven't quite hit that mark yet.

I quickly scanned through a few of the front page articles on their site only to find the same format: a cover photo, a ton of text, and maybe a few more photos here and there. It seems like BBC News is more text-heavy than anything else. One article about slavery around the world did include a graphic map highlighting the number of slaves per region, but I feel like this map could've been enhanced by allowing readers to zoom into the region they were interested in to find a closer look at where the numbers actually lay. Telling me that there are 17,459,900 slaves in all of South Asia is powerful, yes, but it's not as informative as if you could tell me which countries within South Asia carry these slaves -- and how many for each.

After a little more text, BBC News does list the top 5 countries with the highest proportion of slaves, but this time they're missing the map! I have no idea where the top two countries are -- they aren't big name world leaders -- and so I bet a handful of other readers would feel the same way. BBC could've avoided this confusion by marking these countries on their original map using some sort of coding system.

Scanning through some of the other articles on the site, I found the comment section. I'm not sure why this isn't available for each article -- it seems kind of counter productive to me to cut off reader communication, since that's who you're writing for -- but I did find their technique interesting. There are two tabs under the comments section: "Editors' Picks" and "All Comments." 

While it doesn't exactly say which editors or who is moderating the comments that appear under the "Editors' Picks" section, I still think that this is a smart move by BBC. It suggests that there are people at the news network reading the hundreds of comments their readers leave behind. It can give readers a sense that their voice is being heard. On the flip side, it also helps create a more compact section of comments for readers who just want to get the jist of comments left behind on a certain article -- instead of sifting through 500+ comments that may or may not all be relevant, they can now sort through 20-30 handpicked by the editors. I think that BBC could enhance their interactivity throughout the site by expanding this program to all articles, not just certain ones. 

Student Approved: 'Sargent Choice Test Kitchen' Finds the Balance Between Healthy and Tasty

Boston University occupational therapy professor Karen Jacobs helps students find the balance between healthy and tasty recipes in her on-campus apartment during her weekly "Sargent Choice Test Kitchen" hours. Jacobs and students work together to try out new nutritional recipes handed down from Sargent College to ensure that all of the dining hall's "Sargent Choice" menu items will be ones that students will enjoy.

Analyzing BBC News: Video

BBC News utilizes two types of video reporting: at scene live streaming and more packaged, documentary-like content with voiceovers and interviews. For this week's news track, I decided to find and analyze one of each to assess BBC's effectiveness in video reporting.

The first video story I stumbled upon was BBC's live and breaking news report on the explosion of a US rocket that was launched with supplies for six astronauts at the International Space Station. BBC intended just to cover the rocket launch, but were smart in using video to do so, as I don't think pictures would have given the same "inside look" with such a visual occurrence. Obviously, they set up the report without knowing that the rocket would explode, but I found the reporter's approach after the fact very calm and put together. She took a step back, allowing for the video and audio from the control center to speak for itself, but knew when she had waited long enough and didn't hesitate to give background on the issue.

 

The video was also enhanced later on the website by a full length article, complete with pictures, that allowed for more information on a piece of breaking news. Obviously, the reporter didn't have any information when the rocket exploded, but BBC ensured complete coverage of the issue by filling in these blank spots with the accurate information as it filtered in.

However, this was one area that BBC fell short in when announcing Victoria Beckham's spot on Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs through a documentary-like, packaged video. There is another post announcing and providing more detail behind Beckham's accomplishment, but the video and this article are in two different places, meaning viewers have to switch pages to get from one thing to the next. To reduce this "hopping around" effect and to keep viewers on a page longer, BBC should have embedded the video onto the original, longer article.

Additionally, when clicking on a video about Victoria Beckham winning an award, I expected to see Victoria Beckham. Instead, the video is entirely man on the street interviews intertwined with footage from her London store, with Beckham only appearing for a 2-second, one sentence clip that is ultimately interrupted and cut off by the reporter. While I appreciated the MOS interviews and the documentary feel, which gave me a sense of the public's reactions to her award, I also wanted to see a little bit more of Beckham, whether that be through her own interview or just clips of her at different events, working in the store, etc.

All in all, the website has a few kinks that they should consider when producing video content.

50 Years at the Head of the Charles Regatta

Boston's historic rowing event, the Head of the Charles Regatta, celebrated it's 50th anniversary Oct. 18 - 19 in the presence of over 11,000 athletes and their 400,000 fans.

Into the Woods and Behind the Scenes with Brittany Kamson

Take a sneak peek at Boston University's Stage Troupe's fall show, Into the Woods, as we follow actress Brittany Kamson around the set for exclusive, behind the scenes photos and a look into why she loves acting, Troupe, and more.