With the start of the new semester, I haven’t had enough time to post to this blog so apologies to all. The first couple of weeks of a new term are always a hectic time. It is also time for my students to take up blogging as part of the core Integrated Journalism course at the University of British Columbia. I have written a piece for PBS Mediashift on why

My latest column on PBS Mediashift looks at how to teach multimedia journalism in the classroom. This means that journalists need to think on different levels as they conceive of a story and its treatment. It involves taking a multifaceted approach to a story and working out how best to tell it with the media available. The attraction for journalists is the ability to tell a story in multiple ways,

The ombudsman for PBS, Michael Getler, has stepped into the controversy over a posting on PBS Mediashift by NYU journalism student Alana Taylor. In her post, Taylor talked about what she saw as the shortcomings at NYU over its approach to new media. The column provoked a stir at NYU and among journalistic circles online. It was followed up by a piece by Mediashift editor Mark Glaser on the controversy.

In an article for PBS Mediashift, I looked at the challenges facing journalism schools in teaching technical skills without losing sight of the journalism. This is a difficult area for j-schools as journalism becomes ever more interwoven with technology: The challenges for journalism schools are two-fold. First, students need to be taught how to use a wide range of technical tools. Second, and more importantly, they have to learn how

PBS Mediashift has launched a new initiative with “embeds”. The idea is to get first-hand reports from people who are in the midst of change brought on by technology and the internet. I am one of them, reporting back from the front line of journalism education. My first missive has just been published, looking at our integrated journalism approach at the UBC j-school. This extract sums up what we are