New Media Workshop

Readings:

Rebecca MacKinnon, Web-savvy young journalists in demand – and Chinese language doesn’t hurt either!

James Foust, Online Journalism, Chapters 1 and 2. (Textbook available at the HKU bookstore.) Textbook not available in bookstore and is no longer part of the assigned reading.

Mark Briggs, Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive Introduction and Chapter 1 (until p.22) (Download the PDF of the whole book from the book’s website.)

Homework assignment (due by 9am Tuesday September 11th):

Write a post on your new blog reacting to the readings and the Week 1 lecture: How do you think the Internet is changing journalism in Hong Kong, China or wherever you call home? Do you think the changes are good or bad? Are there things about what it means to be a good journalist that the Internet has not changed? What are they? Your blog post must contain several hyperlinks to other web sites or blogs. (Links to some Chinese-language websites are OK as long as you explain them in English on your blog post so that students who don’t know Chinese can read your post and understand what you are talking about.) Your post needs to convince me that you have read and understood the readings.

NOTE: Your post should be roughly 4-6 paragraphs. Short and clear sentences are best. Remember in blogging – and online journalism generally – less is often more! In real life, your audience has limited time and unlimited media competing for their attention. How do you convince the reader that your blog post is worth reading? You have to be clear, concise, and above all, interesting!