When training journalists to develop their multimedia skills, I often say something to the effect of, “We’re laying the tracks as we shovel coal into the train’s firebox.”
By that I mean the craft is constantly evolving, and its direction is sometimes unknown, so we need to keep “shoveling” and keep up with new standards, ideas and changes.
A group of students at the University of Miami created a new resource, the beta version of which was launched on Monday, that should help us all shovel faster.
Rich Beckman, the legendary multimedia journalism professor who holds the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the University of Miami, led the 13 students who created this project.
Site producer Greg Linch blogged about the release and its core mission, saying:
“There are plenty of Web sites and blogs devoted to multimedia journalism, and many of them are great. But there’s no single hub to discuss, share, critique, rate and learn about the field — including in-depth thoughts from industry leaders. That’s the hole Multimedia Standards aims to fill. But what about the name: Multimedia Standards? The site offers none. Instead, we offer resources and opinions on everything from ‘what is multimedia’ to ‘what is good multimedia’ and beyond.”
The new site features a great breakdown of popular multimedia award contests, a useful journalism event calendar, an Alltop-style resource link aggregator and interviews with 13 innovative multimedia professionals, including Albert Cario of the University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Msnbc.com’s Ashley Wells and The New York Times‘ Andrew DeVigal.
Disclosure: I was interviewed as part of “The Grid” of multimedia experts.
