MEMO: Launch of ColumbiaJournalist.org
Memo from Prof. Laura Muha, coordinator of the ColumbiaJournalist.org project.
The long-awaited student web site, columbiajournalist.org, will be
going online next week, just in time for the election. The site is
the product of nearly a year and a half of planning and hard work,
which began in the summer of 2004 and continued through this fall
as web staffers Branwynne Kennedy; Pablo Calvi, J’01; and Muon Van, along
with other members of the staff and faculty, finished hammering out
the details.Our goal was to create a year-round site that would showcase the
best of what we do here at the J-school in one easy-to-access
place; it will replace what was essentially a patchwork of sites
put together by individual classes and largely operating only
during the spring semester.On the new site, we’ll be able to accommodate just about any type of
story that would run in any newspaper: breaking news, features,
enterprise, pieces on the arts, science, medicine, immigration,
foreign affairs, national affairs, investigative stories, religion,
education, cops, crime, courts, business, opinion, etc., etc. And
broadcast majors can rest assured that we’ll also have the capacity
to post radio and TV segments.In addition to appearing on our site, stories with an appeal beyond
New York City will be considered by Columbia News Service for
national distribution – a great way for students to get print
clips. (The first CNS wire went out last week, using the system
that was already in place, and Prof. Porter tells me that several
stories already have been picked up.)Because everything that appears on the site represents not only its
author, but also the school, we’re looking for only the
highest-caliber work. If a story wouldn’t be publishable in a daily
newspaper or top-quality magazine, it won’t be publishable on our
site. You should think of web publication as a reward for work well
done, not an entitlement.Stories will be submitted by your instructors, but as the
managing editor, I’ll make the final decision as to whether they
get posted. Obviously, I’ll consider subject and execution, and
will make sure the story doesn’t duplicate something we’ve already
posted, but small things count, too. The likelihood that your piece
will go on the web decreases exponentially in relation to the amount
of time I have to spend correcting it for things such as grammar
errors and AP style – in other words, all the “little” things your
instructors have been after you about all semester.One request: If I e-mail you with questions about a story I’m
considering posting, please get back to me promptly – the longer
you wait, the less likely it is that the piece will be useable.Stories on the site will be searchable by section (national, metro,
science, features, etc.), subject (education, religion, politics,
arts, etc.) and byline. But when the site is fully up and running –
something that, depending on staffing, may or may not occur by next
semester – we’ll also have a special student section that includes
everyone’s bio, photo, and clip portfolio, which will make it easy
for prospective employers to look at your work. (And, judging from
experience with the class sites we’ve had in the past, potential
employers do look at your work online.)While we can’t promise there won’t be glitches that need to be
worked out in the weeks after our launch, we do think the new site
will be a great resource and opportunity for you while you’re here
at Columbia, and I hope to have the chance to work with all of you
on it between now and the end of the year.If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at
ljm31@columbia.edu.— Laura Muha
