Dave Molloy

UPDATE: I still get a lot of traffic from search engines to this post, so I thought I’d include the fact that, since Geocities shut down, this site and the course document on it is no longer available. I’ve been unable to find an archived copy or mirror, and I have no right to re-upload the university’s content. Sorry.

Following on from yesterday’s post, in which I argued it’s possible to improve your journalistic skills outside of a degree course, I’ve tracked down one of my all-time favourite links.

It’s a free, online shorthand course for the Teeline system, the one used by the NCTJ for their vocational training courses.

And it’s not a poor quality document, either. It’s the documentation for the University of Westminister shorthand course, which is publicly accessible on this Geocities site from 2003-2004. It’s an ever-so-slightly customised version, geared for journalists (as opposed to secretaries etc). My guess is that the course lecturer and other staff forgot about it.

Click here to go to the site!

Posted by Dave Molloy in •Resources
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(This entry is cross-posted at Tomorrow’s News, Tomorrow’s Journalists.)

There’s been one major influence in my education as a journalist that overshadows all others, and I’m sure it’s the same for many of us- my college newspaper. Trinity News regularly sweeps the annual national awards in Ireland, and outputs alumni who go on to successful careers in the media. Each year, fifty editors solicit and edit more than half a million words of content from hundreds of contributors for this established fortnightly broadsheet.

My university has no journalism course, yet we produce a superior product to every nearby university I know which does.

It is my belief that a degree does not necessarily make a great journalist. I have never been confronted with a skill I haven’t been able to learn. I can report, research, sub-edit, layout pages, manage staff, and write (teeline) shorthand as fast as my lecturers can speak. I can understand the basics of HTML, CSS, CMS, and I’d like to think I’m up to date in the trends of social media and digital distribution- more so, I’d guess, than many journalism majors. Hell, I’ve even done the theory too, reading books on ethics, books on design, even the AP styleguide. And all I needed was a passion for the subject, a little free time, and somewhere to hone my skills.

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Posted by Dave Molloy in •Journalism •Resources
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I’ve written before referencing Jeff Jarvis’s blog, but having recently decided to follow the man on Twitter, I’ve found it fascinating today to keep abreast of developments at the World Economic Forum, which he’s attending- in particular a session called “Fragility in the Fourth Estate.” Jarvis holds some very strong views on where the future will take professional journalism, and he’s also a proponent of utilising new media to its maximum.The great thing about Twitter, of course, is that it’s extremely casual. Which is also what makes the running commentary fascinating.

Posted by Dave Molloy in •Tech
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(This entry is cross-posted at Tomorrow’s News, Tomorrow’s Journalists.) 

 

With the rapid changes affecting the media, and in particular the newsroom, one might be forgiven for thinking that “new media” is the future- and it may well be. But to assume that this is a distinct entity from the traditional and professional press is to ignore the innovative nature of the industry.

 

The current downturn in the circulation figures of print media is a secondary concern to journalistic organisations- the real threat to the longevity of established media is the associated decrease in advertising revenue. After all, the paltry fee paid by the end consumer does not alone pay for the production of a printed paper, and the wages of the assorted journalists, designers, and technicians. Advertising is the life blood of the media, and it seems to be spending more and more on digital outlets. Here we are, on the brink of another evolution of the media, just as important as the evolution of low-cost, high-volume printing, or the introduction of the news photograph. One in which traditional print and broadcast media will have to compete with the mammoth entity that is the online world for advertising revenue.

Or will they?

It is far too easy to think of “traditional media” and “new media” as separate corporate entities. But this simply isn’t the case.

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Posted by Dave Molloy in •Business •Journalism
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