Bookstore: Recommended Reading

Journalism Online by Mike Ward A decent beginner text on writing for online media outlets. Covers: - core journalism skills of identifying, collecting, selecting and presenting news and information; - multimedia skills such as audio recording and editing; - online research methods including use of search tools, newsgroups and listservs; - story construction and writing for the Web; - an introduction to HTML; - web site design for the effective use of content.

Introduction to Online Journalism by Roland De Wolk A very basic look at online journalism and a bit out of date. Does include, however, some interesting essays on by Internet experts such as John Markoff, the New York Times technology reporter, and David Weir, former managing editor of Salon.com. The book does offer a free companion Web site with links in the book and extra tips and assignments.

Writing for Multimedia and the Web by Timothy Garrand This book focuses more on multimedia authoring than on journalism. It includes case studies on the included CD-ROM, though they are dated now.

Journalism and New Media by John Vernon Pavlik, Seymour Topping This book argues that the new media can revitalize news gathering and reengage an increasingly distrustful and alienated citizenry. It is a primarily academic treatment, with plenty of facts and figures but not a lot of practical tips for working journalists.

News in a New Century : Reporting in An Age of Converging Media by Jerry Lanson, Barbara Croll Fought Most interesting part is on how reporters in different media struggle to draft a story, providing four versions of how a story was written: first, for radio, and then for TV, print, and online. Written in 1999, though, the book is out of date, as convergence has come a long way since then.

Because We Are Americans: What We Discovered on September 11, 2001. This book represents a new form of journalism, made possible by the Internet. After the Sept. 11 attacks, AOL culled through more than 60,000 messages posted on the Internet to create a compelling portrait of the how the day changed our lives forever and document American's transformation from shock to grief to resolution. After reading this book, you will walk away with a new perspective on the attacks and on the power of using online community to create journalistic storytelling.  Also available as a PDF download.

Online Journalism: A Critical Primer by Jim Hall This book examines "how interactive texts are both written and read, the book surveys the new technologies and conventions that online journalism has ushered in." A decent overview of practical and theoretical issues, but not ideal for hands-on training.