CoPress and the problem of turnover at college news outlets

As I’ve risen through the ranks at the Daily Nebraskan, I’ve come to realize one major problem that is inherent in any college news organization: You will have a complete staff turnover roughly every four years. And, in most cases, turnover in top positions occurs at the end of each semester or academic year.

What that means is by the time you’ve settled into your new job and identified problems, you have only a short time to come up with a solution and get it implemented. That is if you can even figure out what that solution should be.

So how do we stop this frustrating cycle?

We share out knowledge and resources. And we do that through groups like CoPress.

What is CoPress?

If you’ve never heard of CoPress, stop right now and go poke around their site.

The guys behind CoPress are some of the most forward-thinking young journalists I’ve come across. Like most journalists today, they want to find a way to make news organizations sustainable online.

The difference is they are specifically focused on college news outlets and they’re working hard to provide resources to those who need them.

And believe me, we need all the help we can get.

A need for collaboration

The group’s recently redesigned site includes a message board that I hope will grow into a one-stop shop for tips from fellow student editors.

Last week’s discussion on the forum centered on how student news outlets need to collaborate. I could rework my original post, but I like how I said it the first time. In short, we need:

Multimedia Immersion: A sampling of projects

Colin Mulvany over at Mastering Multimedia posted about a program called Multimedia Immersion. It’s a boot camp of sorts run by the National Press Photographer Association that teaches journalists how to create video for their publications’ Web sites. Mulvany is one of the coaches at the event, which was held in Louisville, Ky.

The Multimedia Immersion site just went live, and I figured I’d check it out and pass along my impressions. Here were some of my favorite projects; others can be found on the Multimedia Immersion site by clicking on the Menu tab at the top and then clicking on the Stories tab.

Stellar topic choice

Kathleen Bryan’s video on the Learning Center at the famed Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville struck me because of the topic. The center provides English language classes and personal finance education for so-called backside workers, or the manual laborers who work at the track. 

It’s certainly not a story I’d expect, and it’s quite different from the other stories on the site from Churchill Downs. In this video, she shows employees both on the job and outside of their daily work routine, playing scrabble.

Clear, attention-grabbing narration

Garrett Cheen’s audio slide show on some adorable monkeys (at least I think they were monkeys) had perfectly clear narration from the animals’ handler. The opening narration got you hooked right away — go check the slide show out to hear what I mean.

His photos are also composed really well. I’m a sucker for a shot of a kid with his nose pressed up against the glass of an animal’s cage.

Plus, he got a newsy element into the story: Because only a hundred or so of these animals are around, offspring from the three at this zoo could potentially have a significant effect on the overall population.

Well-matched nat sound

Michael Fox’s audio slide show on a cancer survivor and her beloved dog has some great nat sound at the beginning. The background noise of scissors snipping and water rushing as Sophie, the dog, gets pampered is nicely matched with photos giving the right visual to match the audio.

Solid overall storytelling

Cory Olsen’s video on an quarry-turned-swimming-pool tied up all the loose ends. I knew what this pool was about, why people liked it, how people’s families carried on the tradition of working there. I heard from young lifeguards, swimmers, parents, managers, everyone.

On top of that, every interview clip he showed was shot in a different way. That variety, along with an assortment of powerfully composed action shots, created a solid overall package.

Just for fun

Paul Kitagaki’s video on a baby barn own — which looks and sounds like it belongs in “Jurassic Park” — is rather funny, I must say. Any time I can see a tiny, quasi-fuzzy creature tip over as it falls asleep, I just have to giggle.

And he got this gem of a quote: ”I’m not real fond of people,” said by a woman with a serious passion for animals. The video really brought out the personalities of those interviewed and kept it light-hearted.

And those are just five of the nearly 50 videos and audio slide shows on the site. Think I was way off base and others deserve to be highlighted? Leave a comment below.