Podcasting 101 with (left to right): Terry Bell, Larry Hansen, Dylan Brogan

“Flying cars didn’t happen but your iPod automatically hooks up with your car radio,” said Isthmus staff writer Dylan Brogan, explaining the increasing popularity of audio podcasts.

“Journalists have to meet people where they are,” said Terry Bell, a 15-year Wisconsin Public Radio veteran who now teaches reporting classes at Madison College.

Brogan and Bell were joined in the opening session of the podcast training by Larry Hansen, Madison College journalism instructor. The training session was held at Madison College on Friday, May 6, 2016.

Hansen said the technology is “stupid simple,” and very easy to use for any iPod owner. As he uses podcasts in his teaching he has discovered that students seem to like the intimacy that the podcast offers. And as participants later discovered, creating a podcast is also pretty simple. Listen to the Podcasting 101 podcast on SoundCloud.

James Mills (far left) is the creator of “The Joy Trip Project” podcast. Katie O’Connell is producer and host of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s “Behind the Headlines” and “Unsolved” podcasts. Jason Galloway is the Wisconsin State Journal Badgers football beat reporter and host of “The Red Zone” podcast.

Podcasting is taking place in Wisconsin newsrooms. A panel of journalists who produce podcasts gave three perspectives on how they developed their own style, decided on content, determined the length of their podcast, find music for backgrounds, and actually make a living doing podcasts. Listen to the Best Practices in Journalism podcast on SoundCloud.

Terry Bell demonstrates Garage Band (left). Rebecca Wasielesky, an editor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Barry Adams, a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, work on their podcast.

In the final session, Terry Bell led participants through the process of recording audio and then editing the audio in Garage Band, a program that comes with every Apple Mac computer. The produced podcasts were then uploaded to Soundcloud for listening and evaluating.

According to Larry Hansen, 50 million Americans listened to podcasts each month in 2014.

To help Madison and Wisconsin journalists improve their data skills, the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is offering a one-day training seminar on the subject Friday, May 8 at Capital Newspapers, 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison.

The session features Urban Institute researcher and UW-Madison graduate Jon Schwabish and Madison-area journalists who use data. It is free for SPJ members and students; the cost is $30 for others. Lunch will be provided. To register, go to our Eventbrite page here.

The session lineup:

9-9:30 am: Registration

9:30-10:30 am: The Growing Importance of Data Visualization
We live in an era where the amount and importance of data is expanding swiftly. Changes in technology are changing the way people interact and consume that information and data. And as producers of content, we need to be visual because—simply put—people are visual. That visual content needs to pair well with our audience and their needs, striking the right balance between truth, beauty, and content. Effectively visualizing data is one means by which content producers, researchers, and storytellers can tap into this new wave of data and people’s changing ways of receiving information.

With Jon Schwabish, Urban Institute, @jschwabish

10:30-11:45 am: Teach Yourself to Be a Data Reporter
Learn how to build your data skills from scratch with the most essential tools necessary.

With Todd Milewski, data reporter, Capital Times, @ToddMilewski  and Nick Heynen, data reporter, Capital Newspapers, @NickHeynen

11:45-12:45 pm: Lunch and Networking

12:45-1:45 pm: Open Refine
Learn how to use this nifty program that helps you quickly and efficiently find and fix errors in your messy data. Find and root out data entry inconsistencies, misspellings and other mistakes with this powerful tool.  We’ll teach you how to get started, and point out where to go to learn more.

With Nick Heynen

1:45-3 pm: Tableau Public Demo
We’ll demonstrate how to use this free program for Mac or PC to make data visualizations — first to find out what the story is and what’s wrong with the data, and then to tell a story through a pretty interactive graphic. No programming skills required; mere mortals can learn this.

With Kate Golden, multimedia director and reporter, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, @wiswatchkate

To register, click here.

For more information contact Mark Pitsch, SPJ Madison president, at 608-252-6145.

Joel Christopher – Gannett Wisconsin Media

An SPJ digital news gathering workshop, was held on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Friday, October 17, 2014, our fall journalism training event. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin State Journal co-sponsored the training workshop.

Session One: Going Digital First in the Newsroom

Steve Buttry, Lamar Visiting Scholar at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, and Joel Christopher, Digital Editor with Gannett Wisconsin Media on how news operations have made the shift to digital-first and what you need to know to do the same.

Listen or download

Social Media Strategies: Jeff Bollier, Nick Heynen, Jessie Opoien, and Michelle Li with moderator Lauren Hasler.

Session Two: Social Media Strategy

Jeff Bollier, reporter for the Oshkosh Northwestern; Nick Heynen, social media coordinator for Capital Newspapers; Jessie Opoien, political reporter for The Capital Times and Michelle Li, news anchor for WISC-TV on social media strategy and the practical tools needed to effectively use social media not only to promote your work, but also to report and engage with your audience.

Listen or download

Nick Pensenstadler

Session Three: Mobile Newsgathering

Steve Buttry, Lamar Visiting Scholar at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, Nick Penzenstadler, reporter for the Appleton Post-Crescent and Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team cover the tools and skills you need to turn your mobile device into an all-in-one reporting kit.

Listen or download

Joel Christopher, Kate Golden, and David Hyland

Session Four: Content Presentation on the Web

Joel Christopher, Digital Editor for Gannett Wisconsin Media; Kate Golden, Multimedia Director and Reporter for Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and David Hyland, Director of Online Content at Wisconsin Public Radio discuss the benefits and challenges of publishing your content on the web, including how to optimize your content, experiment with new forms of storytelling, and build the best web experience for your audience.

Listen or download

The field of journalism education is changing, just as the field of journalism is changing but the need for people who can communicate continues because the hunger for information continues. The hunger remains even as the vehicles for information distribution continue to change and expand in number.

The September 24, 2014 panel discussion at Edgewood College, sponsored by the Madison Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Simpson Street Free Press, offered insights from college and high school level educators.

Download or Listen to the Audio of this Forum  (90 minutes)

Kim Hixson

Kim Hixson, chairman of the UW-Whitewater Communications Department, expressed the concern that downsizing in the news media is a danger to democracy. Thus it was important that journalists continue to be well-prepared for the jobs that they would hold. But because of the changes in news distribution, the UW-Whitewater Communications Department has added new courses covering journalism for the web, and social media.

Jon Netzler

Jon Netzler, journalism teacher at Stoughton High School and adviser for The Norse Star student newspaper, said that the Stoughton student journalists  are excited about working on their newspaper because they have the freedom to report on what they want. “That one thing is everything,” he said. He also observed, “Students are communcating in new ways that people don’t always understand.”

Deidre Green

Deirdre Green,  managing editor of the Simpson Street Free Press, noted that their journalism model for improving student performance is working well. “When kids write well they go to school motivated and prepared,” she said. “Students improving academic skills are learning job skills.”

Linda Frank

Linda Friend, adjunct faculty in the Edgewood College English Department and former public television producer, said that the Edgewood College student newspaper is no longer offered in print because it became too expensive. Students are now posting their stories online. Edgewood works with the Simpson Street Free Press and each SSFP student is mentored by an Edgewood college student, one on one.

Hemant Shah

Hemant Shah, director of the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said that journalism does have a future because journalism school grads are still getting hired. Studnets still need to receive sound training in the fundamental communcations skills. The University of Wisconsin is integrating journalism with strategic communications in order to offer a broader training to students.

In the question and answer session that followed the presentations, one educator in the audience noted that students who write well and love to write still have lots of outlets available. “Many organizations are news organizations that never were before, such as non-profits,” he said. Non-profiits are producing a lot more stories about their activities and need staff who can write those stories. There are still jobs for journalists.

Journalism Education Panel

A class exercise in the SPJ Workshop

A workshop to help journalists avoid stereotypes and caricatures in news coverage of minority communities, and include more minority representation in news coverage, was held at the Pyle center on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus on April 11, 2014. The workshop was presented by the Madison Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, with support from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, WISC-TV-Channel 3, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Wisconsin State Journal.

Session 1 – How diverse are your sources?

Professor Hemant Shah

Listen to the audio file from this session.

Download Professor Shah’s Powerpoint presentation.

UW-Madison journalism professor Hemant Shah presented his research on race in the media. He offered numerous examples that highlighted a lack of fair representation of minority communities.

For example, in one 2006 study of local TV news in Los Angeles, news coverage of minority communities was compared with crime rates. Crime in the black community was overcovered but crime in the Latino community was actually undercovered.

A 2008 analysis of network news found that 75 percent of sources used by white reporters were white, while 50 percent of sources used by minority reporters were minorities.

One of the solutions to poor coverage of minorities has been increase the diversity in newsrooms. However, professor Shah said the evidence for the effectiveness of this approach has been mixed. Community outreach efforts, sending more reporters into minority communities, has been more effective. He also noted reports that Race & Media forums held in Madison in years past expanded minority coverage because as reporters’ social contacts expanded, so did their sources for stories.

Session 2 – Lessons from the minority press.

Deana Wright, Derrell Connor, Ray Allen, and Luis Montoto.

Listen to the audio file of this session.

“The purpose of the Madison Times, the oldest minority community newspaper in Madison, is to fill the void,” said Madison Times publisher Ray Allen. “We provide a voice.” Luis Montoto, the owner of LaMovida Radio and Voz Latina newspaper, added, “We are not the Latino voice, were are a Latino voice, one of many, a beacon of information to the Latino community.

Montoto said that even if another Spanish language radio station came to Madison, he would still consider Facebook and Twitter his main competition, because his potential advertisers are using social media instead of his media outlets to reach customers.

Deanna Wright, who hosts and produces Madison Magazine: The TV Show, said, “We aim to serve the communities we try to reflect. I feel a sense of responsibility; sometimes it’s a heavy burden.”

Derrell Connor, the host of the Outreach radio program on WIBA-AM, was invited to begin his show after he expressed concerns about the lack of minority media coverage in Madison. “I wanted to bring more positive stories of people of color doing good things,” he said. “As board chair of the Urban League I had access to a lot of people who have those stories.”

Derrell’s advice to media members who want to improve minority coverage is to attend minority community activities. “To build trust just show up, and keep showing up,” he said.

A black woman who attends UW-Whitewater asked the panel if they ever get tired of being the only minority person in the room. The panelists all urged her to persevere. “You have to be there to educate others,” said Wright.

Ray Allen added, “Take it as a compliment that they cared to ask you. If you’re not on the table, you’re on the menu. If they ask you, you’re at the table.”

Session 3 – Enriching words and images, sources and stories.

Brenda Gonzalez, Peng Her, Anne Thundercloud, and Nichelle Nichols

Listen to the audio file from this session.

“If you really want a good source on immigration, come to me,” said Anne Thundercloud, former spokeswoman for the Ho-Chunk Nation and the owner of Thundercloud communications. Her comment was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the stereotyping that often results in Latino news coverage involving just the one issue.

Thundercloud and the other three members of the panel noted that they all like to share their culture. “Be respectful and remember there are human beings behind the headlines,” said Peng Her, a former vice president with the Urban League. Nichelle Nichols, chief academic officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County, and Brenda Gonzalez, community marketing equity manager for Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, said there are many good stories to be told but the non-profits that work in the minority communities often don’t have the extra resources to push the stories out to the media.

Session 4 – Media Case Study: The Capital Times

Jason Joyce & Katie Dean

Listen to the audio file from this session.

The final session featured Capital Times city editor Katie Dean and news editor Jason Joyce discussing the recent decision to make the newspaper a public forum to discuss race relations. “We don’t typically hand over our cover to someone to tell their own story,” said Dean about the December first person article written by Madison pastor Alex Gee. “It kind of blew us away, the effect it had.”

Subsequent meetings and news coverage focused on building trust with the leaders of the Madison black community. Joyce admitted that the Capital Times has taken some heat for the lack of minority representation in the newsroom. They’re working on it. “Take a step back from making excuses and realize it won’t be easy,” he advised. “You may be the only white person in a room of minorities. Work on developing sources and establishing rapport.”

The Capital Times is sponsoring two upcoming events with Keith Woods, National Public Radio’s Vice President for Diversity. A training event for journalists will be held on April 23rd, co-sponsored with Wisconsin Public Radio, and a community discussion will be held April 24th at First Unitarian Church. A website is also being built to continue the special coverage.

More photos from the Minorities Community Workshop

Authors Panel: Bill Lueders, Jason Stein, Ron McCrea, and Craig Schreiner.

There’s no single path to turning journalistic expertise into a book, and few easy ones.  But journalists are well-positioned to become book authors because of the vast knowledge they accumulate in their work.

That’s a key message from journalists-turned-authors and book publishers featured at “Turn Your Beat Into a Book,” a training session hosted Tuesday, Aug. 20, by the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and attended by about 40 people. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation sponsored the training, which was held at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Madison.

The free training featured Bill Lueders, money and politics reporter, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and author, “Cry Rape,” “Watchdog” and “Enemy of the State;” Jason Stein, state Capitol reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, co-author, “More Than They Bargained For;” Ron McCrea, former Capital Times, Washington Star, and Newsday editor, and author, “Building Taliesin: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home of Love and Loss;” and Craig Schreiner, UW-Whitewater campus photographer and former Wisconsin State Journal photographer, and documentarian of “One Small Farm.”

Laurie Scheer, director, UW-Madison Writers’ Institute, former vice president for programming at WE: Women’s Entertainment, and author of “Creative Careers in Hollywood;” Kevin Reichard, owner of August Publications in Middleton; and Sheila Leary, director of the University of Wisconsin Press, also shared their expertise.

Publishers panel: Sheila Leary, director of the University of Wisconsin Press; Kevin Reichard, owner of August Publications in Middleton; and Laurie Scheer, director, UW-Madison Writers’ Institute.

“Old School Journalism Ethics in a New Media World” will take place Friday, March 15, in the auditorium of Capital Newspapers in Madison, 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison. It will begin at

10 a.m. and conclude at 3:15 p.m., with registration beginning at 9:30 a.m. It is free for SPJ members and students; there is a charge of $30 for non-members. Lunch and snacks are included.

The training session schedule is as follows:

10-10:10: Welcome

10:10-10:45: Media Ethics 101: What Every Journalist Should Already Know, But Not Every Journalist Does Know

Avoiding conflicts of interest, minimizing the use of anonymous sources and verifying information are the basics of good and ethical journalism. We will review key aspects of the ethics guidelines of the Society of Professional Standards.

Presenter: Mark Pitsch, assistant city editor of the Wisconsin State Journal and president of the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

10:45-12:15: The Wild West: Maintaining Ethical Standards Amid a Changing Media Landscape

As newsrooms shrink, bloggers, partisans and citizen journalists have stepped into the void. Sometimes they are the only ones covering the government meetings that used to be the province of traditional journalists. But do new media follow ethical guidelines for reporting? How do reporters and editors ferret out the legitimate news from sources that may have an agenda or do not verify findings before hitting “publish”? The Kyle Everett Wood story provides a good launching pad for this discussion.

Presenters: Tom Bier, vice president and general manager, WISC-TV, Channel 3000 and Madison Magazine, and inaugural winner, Anthony Shadid Ethics Award; Judith Davidoff, news editor, Isthmus; Mark Pitsch; Matt Kittle, bureau chief, Wisconsin Reporter; Christie Taylor, reporter and editorial board member, Dane 101

12:15-1:00: Lunch/Networking

1:00-2:00: Case Studies

Led by journalists using real-life examples, the audience will discuss and debate how to approach pursing a story; when there is enough evidence to go online, on air or to print; and the practical ramifications of our work.

2:00-3:00: Real People Roundtable: Crime Victims, Children and Other Vulnerable Populations.

How do media organizations balance their duty to inform the public and be sensitive to the victims of crime? How do media organizations tell compelling stories about how public policy affects people’s lives while also protecting the privacy of ordinary people? Those who work with vulnerable populations will discuss these sometimes competing priorities.

Presenters: Shannon Barry, executive director Domestic Abuse Intervention Services; Joel DeSpain, former television reporter  and Public Information Officer for Madison Police Department; Jill Karofsky, executive director of the Office of Crime Victim Services, Department of Justice; Bob Jacobson, communications director, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families

3:00-3:15: Wrap-Up

To register, SPJ members should contact Mark Pitsch, SPJ Madison chapter president, at [email protected] or 608-252-6145. Journalists who are not SPJ members should register at https://spjmadisonethicstraining.eventbrite.com/#

Journalists can also join the Madison chapter of SPJ for $75 annually and attend the Journalism Ethics training and future training opportunities for free. Go to www.spj.org to become a member. College and high school journalists can apply to SPJ for complimentary registration. On-site registration may be available depending upon advance registrations.

Capital Newspapers does NOT have universal wireless access. Attendees may want to consider bringing a wireless air card or hot spot.

If you have questions, please contact Mark Pitsch at 608-252-6145.

Katie Harbath

“It just launched today,” she said, describing the new service, Graph Search. “As a journalist, this could be really exciting.”

Graph Search allows more personalized searches for information that has been shared by the searcher’s social connections. It’s still in beta, and is a work in progress. Go to https://www.facebook.com/about/graphsearch for more information, and to sign up for the waiting list for the service.

An article specifically for journalists on how to use Graph Search has also been posted online. Graph Search capabilities have also raised new security concerns.

Use of Facebook by journalists continues to grow. “During the presidential campaign we saw journalists for the first time posting behind-the-scenes photos from the campaign trail on Facebook,” Harbath said. As politicians and other public figures start to post statements on Facebook and Twitter, journalists are now quoting those statements instead of press releases.

More and more Facebook users are getting their news via reports “liked” by their friends, increasing online media consumption virally. Facebook likes the increased usage and so do the media outlets. “It’s a win/win for everyone involved,” Harbath said.

Facebook groups can be a particularly handy tool for reporters. Harbath said that a journalist covering a beat can find groups to join that creates easy connections to others involved with the same topic. Or they can create an interest list on any topic that they’re interested in. “We use groups a lot at Facebook internally, to give updates to each other.”

Two of the top ways to successfully use Facebook are: 1) Keep the tone conversational and 2) encourage a response. Harbath noted that some journalists, such as Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times, post about where they are traveling and solicit story suggestions.

Any media with over 5,000 fans can also target their posts by age, gender, interests, location, and other factors. National Public Radio has seen a stronger engagement with its stories when it uses geo-focusing. Both the Romney and Obama campaigns also used targeting. “You may have seen stuff in Wisconsin that no one else was seeing,” she said.

To get the full presentation, checkout the Audio track posted online and Katie Harbath’s slide presentation (may take a while to load).

Madison Pro Chapter president Mark Pitsch opens the day-long workshop. Also shown, Assistant Attorney General Mary Burke and Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders.

Wisconsin’s Open Records Law
Listen to the audio recording of this session.

“Our public records law is one of the strongest public access laws in the country,” said Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Mary Burke, in the opening session of SPJ-Madison’s workshop of government accountability on Friday, November 30, 2012. “The law has a presumption of complete public access. But some limits are built into the law.

Bill Lueders, the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, joined Burke in the opening session. Lueders proclaimed the Declaration of Policy that introduces Wisconsin’s Public Records Law (enacted in 1982), “the four most beautiful sentences in the English language.” He proceeded to read the Declaration:

“In recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the public policy of this state that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them.

“Further, providing persons with such information is declared to be an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties of officers and employees whose responsibility it is to provide such information.

“To that end, ss. 19.32 to 19.37 shall be construed in every instance with a presumption of complete public access, consistent with the conduct of governmental business. The denial of public access generally is contrary to the public interest, and only in an exceptional case may access be denied.”

Mary Burke and Bill Lueders

Lueders said that reporters don’t have to know everything about the law. He advised reporters looking for information to make their requests and let the government officials be the experts.

But he also recommended that reporters try informally asking for the information first, or telling the officials what is being sought and asking their advice on what records should be requested. “We are emissaries of the public when we make an open records request, so we have an obligation to be polite,” he said.

The application of the Open Records law to changing technologies such as twitter feeds and texting has been challenging. But Burke said the law’s intent is clear. “Whatever the medium, if public business is being discussed, then there must be access.”

Burke said that locating and redacting information can be a time consuming process for public officials, depending on the size of the request. Lueders said, “We are seeing delays as a huge problem. I’m troubled by how long it takes to get records in many cases.”

Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law
Listen to the audio recording of this session.

“The Open Meetings Law is different from the Open Records Law in the way it developed,” said Assistant Attorney General Bruce Olson. While the Open Records Law has been fine-tuned by litigation that interprets the statutes, the Open Meetings Law has been defined mainly through Attorney General opinions which advise governmental bodies.

Bruce Olsen and Christa Westerberg

Attorney Christa Westerberg of McGillivray, Westerberg and Bender spoke on exemptions to the Open Meetings Law. She noted that governmental bodies often mistakenly transgress the law in an attempt to avoid controversy. “The courts have said that on controversial issues you need the <most transparency,” she said.

Olson was questioned on whether it was permissible for an attendee at a closed meeting to discuss details of the meeting with a reporter. “A closed session is not a gag,” Olson said. “You don’t need to substitute your own diligence for their lack of it.”

Using the Open Records Law
Listen to the audio recording of this session.

Two veteran investigative reporters shared their award-winning techniques in using the Open Records Law. “Anything on a piece of paper is a record,” said Dee Hall, of the Wisconsin State Journal. “I have literally asked for sticky notes.”

Patrick Marley and Dee Hall

Patrick Marley, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said, “I like to request text messages a lot because I don’t think a lot of public officials are thinking of them in terms of open records.”

The two reporters differed on making requests for email records. Hall often makes requests including all emails “mentioning or regarding” her search topic. Marley tends to ask for more specific search terms. “I want the records back quickly to see what I’ve got and then go from there,” he said.

Marley said, “Be willing to modify your requests,” and Hall added, “Officials almost always ask for clarification.”

Jina Jonen, Jennifer Sloan Lattis, and Bill Cosh

Custodians Respond
Listen to the audio recording of this session.

Three officials, who have dealt with a lot of Open Records requests, closed out the daylong session.

Jennifer Sloan Lattis, senior system legal counsel for the University of Wisconsin System, said that the most common request she gets is for Bret Beliema’s contract. She refers all athletic information requests to the UW Athletic Department. “You guys [in the media] are usually well behaved and don’t ask for things we don’t want to give you,” she said.

Lattis said that attorneys and political organizations were more demanding on her time than the media. She expressed her openness to working with media to answer information requests. “Really what I want is to manage my workload,” she said.

Bill Cosh, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said that he was a strong believer in openness. “The advice I give to our lawyers and staff is that if it’s a public record, it goes out,” he said. “I view reporters as customers and we want to give good public service.”

Cosh advised reporters to be sympathetic to the volume of requests that many state agencies receive. “The amount of requests we get from the media is small compared to what we get from the public or from legal cases,” he said. His best tip for a faster response: “Keep it from becoming a formal request in the first place. Just tell me what you want and I’ll try to get it for you.”

Jina Jonen, in-house counsel and human resources director for the Oregon School District, said that some smaller school districts rarely get Open Records requests and may not have experience dealing with them. “Give them the benefit of the doubt,” she said. “It’s helpful to give them a deadline and understand that redactions take time.”

Jonen also said, “The more you can tell us about the context of your request, the more helpful it is to us.” She suggested reporters ask to be told the cost of complying with the record request in advance.

Questions from the audience.

The session was well attended, with more than 40 participants. The Madison SPJ Pro Chapter would like to thank the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association for sponsoring lunch.

More photos on Facebook.

The Madison Pro chapter of SPJ devoted a day to Social Media for Journalists, with workshops held on May 11, 2012, at the Capital Newspapers auditorium.

Event hashtag: #spjmadisontraining. Follow SPJ Madison Pro chapter on social media: @spjMadison and https://www.facebook.com/MadisonSPJ. Photos from the day have been posted on Pinterest.

SESSION AUDIO:

Session #1 – Why Social Media, featuring Katy Culver (@kbculver), UW-Madison journalism professor; Jill Courtney, WKOW News internet director; Chris Keller (@ChrisLKeller), digital audience developer, Madison.com.  https://yourlisten.com/Player.swf?id=130307   Social media is both an opportunity and a threat to journalists. Journalists must use their traditional skills with these new tools. “If you’re a journalist and not reading the comments on your stories, you’re missing a wealth of information.” Of course the comments section often is a social cesspool of hostility. However some media have found that requiring commentators to sign in through Facebook is taking care of some of that problem.

Session #2 – Detecting Online BS, featuring Sue Robinson(@suerobinsonUW), UW-Madison journalism professor.  https://yourlisten.com/channel/content/130363/SPJ_Madison_WhySocialMedia2?rn=78vvqwrhywow   Always independently confirm anything you read on a social networking site. People who are not journalists are using terms that journalists use, adopting the wording without necessarily understanding their meaning. Don’t just push your story via URLS, build you brand with other links. Your story is no longer the final product, it’s the beginning of a conversation. It’s no longer a product but a process.

Session #3 – The New Facebook, featuring David Douglas (@News3David), WISC-TV, and Nick Heynen (@NickHeynen), social media director for Capital Newspapers. https://yourlisten.com/channel/content/130366/SPJMadison_WhySocialMedia3?rn=nkgowp9vel8g  To get feedback, ask a question. They will respond. Being engaged is how you get your posts out further. It’s a much tighter feedback look than any other media.

Session #5 – Media Fluency for the Digital Age, featuring Greg Downey (@gjdowney), Chair of the UW-Madison Department of Journalism and Mass Communications. https://yourlisten.com/channel/content/130370/SPJMadison_SocialMedia4?rn=xr3zen3h9slc   Search is still a big part of social media. The average online user has 28 different online identities. Watch out for Facebook because you never know when they’ll try something stupid.

Session #4 was not recorded due to equipment failure.

Thank you to lunch sponsor Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and to our hosts for the day, Capital Newspapers.