Creating Better Video

In a recent post, Jeff Achen, interactive media specialist for the Minnesota Community Foundation, gave ideas on how to produced quality video. In his three-part series, Achen listed three keys to creating better video: technique, planning and publishing. The focus of this post was publishing, which is the variety of platforms you use to reach your audience.

Achen wrote that "video publishing is about more than just posting your video. It's about making it embeddable, subscribable and mobile." He then offered tips on how to utilize video publishing efficiently:

• Know the current trends in digital video distribution. Today, people use the web, Internet-enabled TVs and mobile devices, such as smart phones and iPods.


• Know which distribution tools will help you which your audience via the channels mentioned above.
  
• Due to its popularity and success, it is important to have a strong presence on YouTube.
  
• Make your video mobile. This means a couple of things. First, set up hyperlinks to your video in order to direct your audience there. Second, your video must be embeddable so others can share it o their own sites. Lastly, your video must be downloadable.


• You can also "livestream" your video by broadcasting live events directly to the web.

These are all very important ideas to keep in mind when creating news videos. You could also use social media platforms to help increase viewership of your video.

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Plagiarism Sucks: 8 Reasons Why

Plagiarism, in a nut shell, is taking someones thoughts or words and claiming them as your own. (I hope I didn't plagiarize the word plagiarism!) Some journalists live and die by this covenant of moral journalism, while others feel that is it nearly impossible to not reproduce another's thoughts without some form of parallelism.

In the world of today's media and journalism, with the likes of Nexis, Google, and Wikipedia, how can we ensure that what we are reporting or writing has not been done before? What if a work is not Copywrited? We could go even further. In theory, what if someone wrote a story that was never published? If I wrote a very similar piece and it was published, could the non-published writer of the "original work" accuse me of plagiarism?

While some believe plagiarism is menial way of flattery, many believe it has tragic consequences. And not just for the writer.

I found this article from Slate that breaks down the eight reasons why plagiarism sucks.

(By Jack Shafer.)

1. It swindles the reader.

2. Journalism is about truth, not lies.

3. It corrupts the craft.

4. It promotes the dishonest.

5. It indenigrates the hard work of others.

6. It's not what we paid for.

7. It's not theft--it's something worse.

8. It's vampiric.

I also found this website of famous plagiarists and the effects, if any on their careers.

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