Online Journalism: Reporting, Writing, and Editing for New Media
By Richard Craig
Wadsworth-Thomson Learning
First Edition; ISBN: 0534531466
At long last, the wait is over! Wadsworth-Thomson Learning has released my textbook for online journalism classes. This is the first textbook built from the ground up to show students how to tailor their reporting, writing and editing skills specifically for the online medium. Instead of taking a standard writing or editing text and changing a few words here and there to create a "Web update," every aspect of this book has been put together with online journalism in mind.
The chapters cover a wide variety of concepts that go beyond standard writing texts. For example, in the area of information gathering, students can learn advanced keyword searching techniques and get acquainted with high-powered databases that reporters use to dig deeper and find more specific types of information. In the section on writing, students are exposed to different styles and techniques of online writing and learn how to structure their writing to take advantage of the strengths of the medium. Later in the book, students learn about legal and ethical issues unique to online journalism, and can take a peek into the future as seen by online journalists themselves.
Signing books at the Wadsworth-Thomson booth at the AEJMC conference in Toronto in August. More than 20 professional online journalists were interviewed for the book, and their comments and suggestions appear throughout the chapters. Audio clips from many of these professionals will also appear on the book's Web site (currently under construction). From these interviews, the book also provides lots of real-world examples of the challenges and possibilities inherent within reporting, writing and editing for the online news venue.
The book is written in an engaging, accessible style to make it not only informative, but an enjoyable read for students of all levels. The approach is practical, but with an eye toward larger notions of understanding the role of a journalist online. Rather than simple memorization, the book aims to infuse students with an enthusiasm for the craft of online journalism that will reflect itself in their work.
For more details about the book, click here to go to the book's page on Wadsworth's Web site.
To buy a copy directly from Wadsworth, click here. If you're an instructor considering adopting the book for your class, click here to order a review copy.
To buy a copy from other retailers, click on their names here: Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, eCampus.com, Totalbookstore.com, A1Books.com.
