The Daily Plan-it / Dean of Students Blog, Columbia J-school

Dear students,

We have joined with several other schools in the University to purchase a limited number of licenses for accessing lynda.com, an on-line technology training site. The site contains over 500 videos providing training on a wide variety of technology topics. Examples of topics include Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Final Cut Pro, operating systems, web programming, etc. The training videos are available to all members of the J School.

To access the site, go to http://www.lynda.com/portal/columbia
and log in with your Columbia UNI & password.

Hope you enjoy the videos. Let us know what you think.

Larry Fried
lfried@columbia.edu

Speaking at my workshop on web tools, BusinessWeek columnist Arik Hesseldahl, J’97, praised Evernote as a useful note-taking tool for journalists. Turns out, it’s #1 on this list from Mashable.com of 15 Essential Web Tools for Students:

For much of the world, it’s that special time of the year when students head back to school. The good news for students is that even though that means waking up early and doing homework, there are a number of web-based and social tools to help you get through the school year. From staying organized to improving study habits to making sure you reference your research sources properly, the web can help you be a better student.

See the full list.

- Dean Sreenivasan

For all you iPhone users, Mashable’s Josh Catone has a post about “Top 10 iPhone Apps for Students”: http://mashable.com/2009/08/25/back-to-school-iphone/

Dear Incoming Students:

The School bulletin used to say that the Faculty expects all students to type at a “reasonable speed,” 35 words per minute or better. While we don’t test our students on their individual typing speeds, students who can’t type at at least that speed, will find it hard to keep up with all the work (at school and home) or be able to do well after graduation as professional journalists.

We strongly suggest you find out how close you are to the 35 wpm threshold and, if you need to speed up your typing, practice, practice, practice.

Feel free to try this test (which the School has no way of monitoring your results!). Remember, accuracy is even more important than raw speed…



From p. 85 of the 2006 Bulletin, Admissions section:
In evaluating applicants, the Committee on Admissions looks for the following:

6. Students must be able to type in English
at a reasonable speed (35 wpm).

For more typing resources, scroll down on http://www.calculatorcat.com/typing_test/

-30-

Alum Sitara Nieves wrote an excellent primer on how to use RSS to read this and other blogs. You can access is here:
http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2006/09/08/blogs-rss/

The Student Affairs office is evaluating the online edition of the AP Stylebook. We are looking for a few student and faculty/adjunct testers who are willing to participate in the evaluation process with us. All that is required is to use it over a two-week period and give us feedback, in the form of a quick online survey and a possible informal in-person meeting.

If you’d like to volunteer, please e-mail StudentAffairsRSVP@gmail.com and indicate your school affiliation (we’d like a wide range of folks in the mix). We’ll assemble the testing team and provide it with passwords.

More on the online stylebook here: http://www.APStylebook.com.

Many thanks!

[A quick note to remind any experienced journalists looking to earn a Master’s degree that Columbia J-school’s new M.A. program (which allows you to specialize in business, arts, politics or science reporting) is a great option. In addition to in-depth specialization, you can also learn the digital skills that are in such demand in newsrooms today. The deadline for application is MONDAY JAN. 12 (NO GRE required!) and there’s very generous funding available this year. Details below (and via the webcast with Prof. Holloway) and at http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/admissions ]

Columbia Journalism School is doing several webcasts with our faculty and alumni to add to our collection (30+) at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism (suggestions welcome: ss221[at]columbia.edu)

This week, two terrific speakers to get us going in the new year.

MONDAY: Prof. Marguerite Holloway, science and environmental journalism expert

WEDNESDAY: Lydia Polgreen, Class of 2000 and West Africa bureau chief of the New York Times

Prof. Marguerite Holloway
Monday, Jan. 5, 2009
9:30-10:30 am, NY time
See local time around the world: http://bit.ly/xjxk

Listen live or to a recording
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ColumbiaJournalism/2009/01/05/Prof-Marguerite-Holloway-science-journalism
(you can set an e-mail reminder for yourself there)
or dial live into a NYC number: +1-646-915-9583

Columbia Journalism School presents a conversation with Prof. Marguerite Holloway, Director of Science and Environmental Journalism. She will discuss the M.A. program aimed at experienced journalists, (and her specialization, Science) and and why it’s an ideal opportunity for experienced journalists in the midst of the changing media landscape. She’ll also talk about general state of science journalism. Her bio: http://bit.ly/aHYw

Send questions to ss221[at]columbia.edu (subject=webcast) or use the live chatroom during the webcast.

PLEASE NOTE: All concentrations in the M.A. program have very generous funding. In addition, the science concentration has received a new grant. In recognition of the need for highly trained health and science journalists, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently granted $4.46 million to support the M.A. program. Journalists accepted into this nine-month program will receive generous tuition assistance and will be known as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellows. Subject areas studied during the program include public health, the environment, and the processes of innovation and discovery. Info below.

Listen to Dean Nicholas Lemann talk about the M.A. program here.

- - -

Lydia Polgreen, Class of 2000 and West Africa bureau chief of the New York Times

Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009
noon-1 pm, NY time
5-6 pm Dakar, Senegal time (where she’ll be calling from)
See local time around the world: http://bit.ly/2ROvh5

Listen live or to a recording
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ColumbiaJournalism/2009/01/07/Lydia-Polgreen-NYTs-West-Africa-bureau-chief
(you can set an e-mail reminder for yourself there)
or dial live into a NYC number: +1-646-915-9583

Columbia Journalism School presents a conversation with Lydia Polgreen, the West Africa bureau chief of the New York Times and member of the Class of 2000. Polgreen, who is based in Dakar, Senegal, has won several awards for her coverage of the region, including the George Polk Award for her reporting in Darfur. She will soon be moving to South Asia as a NYT correspondent. She’ll discuss what it’s like to be a foreign correspondent; some of her major stories; and tips for those who want to become international journalists.

See her archive of stories: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/lydia_polgreen/

Send questions to ss221[at]columbia.edu (subject=webcast) or use the live chatroom during the webcast.

- - - -

More on the school’s programs, deadlines and financial aid at http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/admissions and in the descriptions below.

===> Watch a 12-minute documentary about the J-school:
http://blip.tv/play/ge9n0_59j6RX

ABOUT COLUMBIA J-SCHOOL’S PROGRAMS

Columbia Journalism School offers three programs, including the new M.A. in journalism for experienced journalists - all with generous financial assistance available. Each of these programs has a mix of U.S. and international students.

* The new M.A. Program for EXPERIENCED journalists who wish to specialize in
one of four majors - business, arts, science, politics - is a great way for
journalists to pick up valuable in-depth knowledge in covering a subject as
well as in learning digital media and production skills. The course is nine
months long and does NOT require a GRE test. Read details via the left-hand
column of http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/admissions

* The M.S. Program is the traditional Master’s degree at the school aimed at
journalists at the beginning stages of their careers as well as
career-switchers new to journalism. The M.S. degree is 10 months long and
does NOT require a GRE test (there is a school-designed test that is
administered around the world after the application deadline).

The M.S. Program also offers a PART-TIME Program aimed at those with
full-time jobs, that runs 18 months to two-three years.
Read details via the left-hand column of
http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/admissions

* The Ph.D. Program is the school’s doctoral program the gathers and focuses
the resources of Columbia University in a multi-disciplinary approach to the
study of communications. GRE is required. Read details via the left-hand
column of http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/admissions

Admissions application deadlines are:

Monday, January 12, 2009 for Master of Arts, full-time, beginning August 2009 (aimed at experienced journalists who want to specialize in one of the following majors: business, arts, science or politics)

The full-time M.S. and Ph.D. deadline for August 2009 have already passed, but there we may still be taking applicants for the Part-time M.S. program cohorts that begin classes in May 2009 or September 2009.

Admission decisions are made without regard to applicants’ financial need. All applicants who wish to be considered for scholarship assistance must submit the Journalism School Scholarship Aid form, which is found at https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=col-jour - by February 1.

You can apply today at http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/admissions

===> Watch a 12-minute documentary about the J-school:
http://blip.tv/play/ge9n0_59j6RX

===> Listen to webcasts with various faculty members:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism (scroll down to “older
posts,” too)

SCHOLARSHIP INFO (see partial list of international scholarships below)

The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism welcomes applications
from U.S. and international students who plan to pursue journalism careers.
We offer approximately $4.4 million annually in fellowships and
scholarships to students who demonstrate high academic achievement,
financial need, and exceptional promise for leading careers in journalism.

To be eligible for admission, international applicants must hold the
equivalent of a U.S. university baccalaureate degree and be fluent in both
written and spoken English. International applicants who are not native
speakers of English must provide proof of proficiency in English.

MORE ON COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL AND ITS M.S. (full-time & part-time),
M.A. and Ph.D. PROGRAMS AT http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/admissions

Admissions questions to admissions[at]jrn.columbia.edu

A partial list of scholarships available includes:

HINDERY FELLOWSHIPS (M.S. and M.A. • domestic and international applicants)

The Hindery Fellowship program provides substantial tuition assistance
to Master of Arts and Master of Science students who are among the top
applicants to the Journalism School, exhibit superb academic
achievement, professional promise and a special commitment to
leadership in social and political journalism, and demonstrate
financial need.

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS ASSOCIATION FELLOWSHIP
(M.S. and M.A. • student from the Middle East)

The purpose of this fund is to provide scholarship aid for a student
from the Middle East who demonstrates financial need, an interest in
political coverage, superior academic and journalistic achievement,
and an intention to return to the Middle East after graduation to
continue his/her journalism career.

NEW SUPPORT FROM THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION
In recognition of the need for highly trained health and science journalists, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently granted $4.46 million to support the M.A. program. Journalists accepted into this nine-month program will receive generous tuition assistance and will be known as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellows. Subject areas studied during the program include public health, the environment, and the processes of innovation and discovery.

Admissions questions to admissions[at]jrn.columbia.edu

NEW-ISH WAYS CONNECT WITH COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL:

Facebook: friend “Columbia J-school”
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=611726581

Twitter: http://twitter.com/j_school

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/columbiajournalism

Blip.tv: http://cujs.blip.tv/

Audio webcasts: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism
(set automatic e-mail reminders there for yourself)

The audio webcasts are also available as downloadable MP3 files for your
personal collection and on-the-go listening. If you want to subscribe to
these as podcasts on iTunes, go to “Advanced” within iTunes, then select
“Subscribe to podcast” and type in
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism/feed and hit OK.

MAIN WEBSITE: http://www.journalism.columbia.edu

The student/staff/faculty directory for the class of 2009 (and part-time students) is at http://cujs.photobooks.com .

You need to login to see the entries.

From Prof. Hancock…

Dear colleagues:
Columbia’s Center for New Media Teaching and Learning teamed up with the Journalism School this summer to create a new and dynamic reporting resource for our RW1 students.

This electronic map of New York City allows our students to view an array of census data neighborhood by neighborhood, election district by election district.

Look for it at: http://jour6001-000-2008-3.wikispaces.columbia.edu/ [jour6001-000-2008-3.wikispaces.columbia.edu]

Students should be able to manipulate the data and import portions of this map to illustrate their stories online. It’s accessible on Google Earth, which is downloaded in all the student labs and RW1 professors’ computers.

Stay tuned for some quick inhouse sessions on how to use it for faculty and students. In the meantime, please contact Maria Janelli (mjanelli[at]columbia.edu) with any questions you have. She is the CCNMTL architect of the map.

Enjoy!

LynNell Hancock

The Arts Initiative at Columbia University
www.cuarts.columbia.edu
Discover the arts. Discover New York

The Arts Initiative and all its programs are here to make the arts and the culture a part of your educational experience here at Columbia. Whether you’re an artist, a performer, an audience member or an occasional onlooker, the Arts Initiative is your portal to the arts on and off campus. From discounted Broadway tickets to a list of all arts-related student organizations - graduate and undergraduate - to a centralized calendar of most major campus events, you can find your 24/7 campus culture connection here. These programs include:

* CU Arts, the website and portal to Arts @ Columbia, all Arts Initiative programs and many other on and off campus arts resources.
* Arts Initiative Weekly E-newsletter, the best way to stay on top of arts and culture on and off campus
* The Ticket and Information Center (The TIC), a centralized box office for on and off campus events including discounted movie vouchers ($6.50 - $8.50) for faculty, staff and students.
* The Gatsby Charitable Fund, a fund for individual students and student organizations who produce arts-related campus events and projects.
* The Passport to New York, free museum entry with student CUID to over 30 major cultural institutions in New York City
* Columbia Alumni Arts League (CAAL), an alumni program whereby members join for $25 and enjoy discounts and special benefits to over 50 cultural NYC organizations as well as connect with fellow alumni at CAAL Events.

We would not exist without your questions, IDEAS and comments! Please send them to cuarts[at]columbia.edu. Thank you and have a great fall.

www.cuarts.columbia.edu
www.tic.columbia.edu

Best,

Chad Miller
Events and Outreach Coordinator

—
Events and Outreach Coordinator
Arts Initiative at Columbia University
212.851.1875
www.cuarts.columbia.edu
www.tic.columbia.edu
facebook group: cuarts

SMARTER SURFING LINKS: The links page for journalists on deadline that five of your classmates helped build collaboratively during my Aug. 21 lecture are available at http://snurl.com/smartersurfing - feedback, additions welcome. I will be having additional, informal training sessions in the Fall and Spring - watch for them (or approach me about setting up one for smaller groups).

Meanwhile, here’s a question I just received (the two sites mentioned are on that list above):

Dear Dean Sree,
I was using statemaster.com and nationmaster.com tonight. I was wondering - is there a good website you know of that compares info about U.S. cities within one site?

The London Times has an article about using the Internet to learn foreign languages. From Parlez-vous l’internet?
The web, with its interactive capabilities, is becoming one of the best ways to learn a language by Matthew Wall:

…try the superb, well-resourced BBC Languages website (www.bbc.co.uk/languages) instead, with its video clips, audio magazines and grammar tips. There are vocabulary quizzes to assess your standard and some basic phrases to download onto your MP3 player.

Post your thoughts below, please.

I will occasionally post to this blog useful video clips I find across the Internet. One place to find good clips is VideoJug.com, which covers lots of useful aspects of life, including technology & gadgets, where I found this item on shortscuts for Word (the link has additional information).

VideoJug: How To Use Shortcuts For Microsoft Word

Student Andrew Tangel asked us to share with you the following info.

To keep track of Columbia-related news, here are a couple of ideas:

Create an RSS feed of official Columbia University news:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/rsshowto.html

Create a Google Alert - http://www.google.com/alerts - using keywords such
as “Columbia Journalism School”

[ If RSS feeds are new to you, please read this tip on how to use RSS feeds by Sitara Nieves, J2007:
http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2006/09/08/blogs-rss/ ]

If you want to track crime stats near campus:

Morningside Heights: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/chfdept/cs026pct.pdf

Harlem: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/chfdept/cs030pct.pdf

Washington Heights: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/chfdept/cs033pct.pdf

Upper Manhattan: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/chfdept/cs034pct.pdf

Here’s where you can find the NYPD precinct boundaries: http://www.n2nov.net/

NYPD crime stats by precinct: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/pct/cspdf.html

MySpace.com is teaming up with The New York Times for its second annual “Win A Trip With Nick” African reporting competition, offering one college or graduate student as well one middle- or high-school teacher the opportunity to accompany Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Nick Kristof on an expedition to Africa. MySpace is creating a customized community - http://www.myspace.com/winatrip - to engage users in the contest and offer video from the expedition, raising awareness about the challenges facing strife-ridden African nations.

“Traveling through Asia and Africa when I was in college was a turning point in my life,” said New York Times’ op-ed columnist and award winning journalist, Nick Kristof. “My hope is that the student and teacher who join me this summer will be similarly affected and will share their discoveries about Africa and its people with their peers and their students.”

“MySpace’s community is extremely passionate about social issues on a local and global level,” said Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace. “MySpace users want more opportunities to make a positive impact on the world and we’re empowering them to do just that. MySpace is proud to be a part of Mr. Kristof’s extraordinary reporting project in Africa.”

Beginning this week, students and teachers are invited to submit essays explaining their reasons for wanting to go to Africa and articulating what makes them ideally suited for such an experience. Any student 18 or older who is attending an American college, university, or graduate school, and any teacher currently working in a middle or high school in the United States, is eligible. Essays must be limited to 700 words and must be received along with application forms by April 6. Information about the competition is available at http://www.myspace.com/winatrip and http://www.nytimes.com/winatrip.

The two winners will be chosen by Kristof and announced in late April. The trip, which will last one to two weeks, is planned for the latter part of June. Video and other content from the trip will be available on both MySpace and The New York Times’ website.

Due in part to the volatile politics in the region, the schedule for the trip is still being formed, but likely countries for Kristof and his traveling companions to visit include Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo. Award-winning multi-media producer Naka Nathaniel, who traveled with Mr. Kristof last year to produce video segments, will again take part in the trip and help the other participants create presentations to be filed by satellite phone.

Also beginning on March 13, subscriptions to TimesSelect will be available for free to all registered college students and faculty with a .edu in their e-mail addresses. TimesSelect is NYTimes.com’s paid offering, providing exclusive access to 22 columnists of The Times and the International Herald Tribune as well as an array of other services, including access to The Times’s archives, advance previews of various sections and tools for tracking and storing news and information. Current student subscribers will receive pro-rated refunds for their previously paid subscriptions. College students interested in registering for free TimesSelect subscriptions should go to http://www.nytimes.com/university for more information.

Dear Colleagues:

Wanted to alert you to the relaunch of CoveringReligion.org, the website
of Prof. Ari Goldman’s “Covering Religion” Spring seminar (taught with
visiting adjunct professor Mannika Chopra).

Go to http://www.coveringreligion.org to find “Under the Bodhi Tree: Reporting
on the Faiths of India.” There you will features stories they have reported
from New York for the last seven weeks.

The class leaves tonight for a hectic two-week reporting trip to India and
will be filing daily dispatches to the site, along with photos, videos,
etc. They will be accompanied by three guests: Irena Choi Stern, director
of alumni relations (who lived in Delhi as a teen); Melanie Huff,
assistant dean of students; and Adam Goldmann, Columbia College student
and Prof. Goldman’s son.

You can also see the class itinerary, student profiles and archives of previous
trips to India, Israel, Ukraine, Russia and the American South.

Please join me in wishing the group the very best (am jealous to be missing the
trip this year) and be sure check out CoveringReligion.org, well, religiously
in the weeks ahead.

- Sree Sreenivasan

We have a new way for us to have a giant pool of school photos of all kinds. If you have any photos you’d like to share (fun, serious and anything in between), please follow these instructions.

Create a FREE account at http://www.flickr.com.
Upload some photos, making sure you fill the “tag” field with the following:
“columbiaj2007″ (no quotes) - this is the key to the success of this project… That way, all our pix can be found very quickly.

For the captions, please TRY to use the following format:
KEYWORD IN ALL CAPS WITH A COLON: Followed by some text
eg: RWI: Student on a bus tour in the Bronx
other keywords - INTL, ORIENTATION, PICNIC, etc, etc, etc.

Here’s what we have so far:
http://flickr.com/search/?q=columbiaj2007
or
http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Columbiaj2007/ (click on any photo to see the
captions, even during the slideshow).

Please take a look and try it out…

NOTE: We have 100 photos as of Nov. 7
34 photos as of Oct. 10, 2006

Many journalists use what’s known as “tagging” to keep track of sites they find during their online travels. Sites such as Furl.net, Digg.com and Del.icio.us. See a useful tip on how to use del.icio.us below, sent in by Erica Berenstein, J2007, ericaeve[at]gmail (many of the others work the same way). Post your own comments below.

Del.icio.us - http://del.icio.us - is a website where you can post links to articles, blogs, and websites on your own personal page. I’ve found it very helpful as I do internet research on my beat, since it can be hard to keep all the web resources/sites/articles organized in my
notes. If I find an article that might be of use later, I post it to my del.icio.us page, tag it and add a note to remind myself what it is about. Later I can search my pages and articles by tags or the search option.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the first online edition of the student, Faculty and Staff directory. For the first time, there’s a web version of the venerable “facebook” that has been printed annually for decades (not to be confused with the student-run Facebook.com networking site).

A personal project of Dean Robert MacDonald, this is a useful new resource for all of us. It’s not meant to replace the print copy, but to enhance and update it.

CURRENT FEATURES:

* Password-protected full access from any web browser in the world.

* Each student entry has a more detailed profile, including room for Journalism Focus; Favorite Book; Languages Spoken Fluently

* Most student photos in full color.

* Two modes: Table mode and Book mode. Table mode allows you to see a simple list of names that you can click on to get to the profiles. Book mode allows you to see the photos next to each name, sort of laid out like the print version. On any page, you can switch back and forth.

* You can browse, by alphabetical order, just the student listings or the just the Faculty/Staff listings.

* There’s a keyword search that is very useful. It searches last names or first names (very useful if you remember, as it often happens only a person’s first name) and, in an exciting development for the Career Services office, by languages spoken.

* Some common names: Davids (nine), Elizabeths (seven)…

* Some common languages: Spanish (48), French (47), Chinese/Mandarin/Cantonese (13), German (13), Hindi (12), Arabic (5)…

* Can’t search by favorite books yet

* I don’t know if this is a bug or a feature, but you can search parts of names as well.
eg, If you type in just “ree” you get the last names Freedlander, Freedman, Sreenivasan and the first names Maureen and Nisreen. Not sure how useful this is, but might come in handy if you only know part of a name.

A WISH LIST OF FUTURE FEATURES (some of these may not happen till 2007):

* Color photos of faculty and staff.

* Fuller profiles of faculty and staff.

* Creation of profiles for Adjuncts.

* Add favorite music and other categories.

* Ability to go directly from one profile to the next, without hitting the back button

* Ability to search by favorite books, journalism focus, etc.

* Ability to create customized lists of friends, classes, etc.

HOW TO UPDATE YOUR STUDENT LISTING, ADD OR CHANGE PHOTOS, ETC:

If you did not send us any information or a photograph, please do so immediately in the following manner.

* Send a JPG file (of a reasonable size) to Leslie Akst, laa82[at]columbia (subject line = “Facebook photo)

* Send your text by filling in the online form here:
http://fs7.formsite.com/col-jour/form727799091/

Please note that we are unable to make wholesale changes to existing profiles or endlessly tweak them. If you have a single, major change or deletion (eg, your languages are not listed), please send an e-mail to Leslie Akst, laa82[at]columbia (subject line=”Facebook update”). Please note we may not be able to accommodate all tweaks due to space restrictions.

DEADLINE: Wed., Sept. 20, 2006, at 6 p.m. - after that no changes will be accepted till next semester. A revised version will be published by early October.

A big thank you again to Dean MacDonald.

TO SEE THE ONLINE VERSION:

[LINK SENT VIA E-MAIL]

Feedback, fun facts you find, etc., welcome.

- Dean Sreenivasan

A very useful tip from Sitara Nieves, Columbia J-school student - sn2242[at]columbia.edu
If you have additions, comments, please send them to dos[at]jrn.columbia.edu or use the comment form below.

There are so many great blogs (DOS blog, The Tabloid, Gawker, etc) and news sites out there, but who can remember to regularly check all of them?

There’s a way to make this whole process easy: use RSS feeds, which show you which of your favorite sites have added new content, and automatically compile that new content into the viewing format of your choice.

There are a few simple ways to set up your RSS feed. Many of these options allow you to do more than simply compile news feeds — for example, some allow you to check stock prices, new emails, the weather, etc., or organize your various sites of interest into labeled folders.

* Web-based:
PubSub.com (free)
Bloglines.com (free)
MyYahoo.com (free)
Google.com/reader (free)
NewsGator.com (free)
LiveJournal.com (free)

* Browser:
Firefox, using Sage (free)

* For Macs:
Newsfire.com (costs money)
NetNewsWire.com (costs money)

* For Windows:
NewzCrawler.com (costs money)
Awasu.com (free or subscription)
FeedDemon (same as NewsGator, costs money)

Since I already use Google as my homepage, this was the easiest option for me. On the regular Google webpage, click on “Personalized Home” in the upper right-hand corner, then click on “Add Content” in the upper left-hand of the screen that follows. You’ll need to sign up for a Google account to save your changes. Then, magically, every time you open your web browser, all the recent posts from every blog or news site you choose will appear. I have feeds on my site ranging from the Gotham Gazette, to Sree’s blog, to BBC headlines.

How do you find these mysterious RSS feeds?
* Usually, there’s an orange button that says “RSS”, or “Syndicate”. Click on this button, copy the web address, and paste it into whatever RSS feeder you’re using.
* For the 2007 j-school blog, there doesn’t seem to be a button like this, but just copying the web address (http://the-tabloid.blogspot.com/) worked for me.

Where should I start?
Any website that you visit frequently is a good place to start. This Poynter Online article, by Jonathan Dube, J1997, also has some good ideas on RSS feeds for journalists.

Last question: What does RSS stand for?
Really Simple Syndication.

A tip from Jon Dube, J’97, and his Cyberjournalist.net blog.

TimesSelect University
The New York Times is offering a special offer for college and university students and faculty that allows them to subscribe to TimesSelect for one year at $24.95, half the regular annual subscription fee of $49.95. TimesSelect University will only be available to current students and faculty.

Students and faculty can go to nytimes.com/university to sign up for TimesSelect and receive the 50% discount. Students and faculty who read The Times through their colleges’ readership programs will receive TimesSelect access cards from their colleges. The cards contain individual access codes that enable students and faculty to sign up for TimesSelect through the end of that academic semester.

If you have a personal or class blog you wish to share, please e-mail a link to dos@jrn…

A note from students Rubina Madan and Aaron Cahall.

Joining online student groups

You may have heard of the J-school’s online student groups, but have no idea how to get involved. These are different ways for us to say connected without relying on the official deans-run mailing list, which comes to us automatically with [j_school] in the subject line.

These web-based communities are one of our primary ways of planning Happy Hours, movie screenings and impromptu get-togethers. Besides their social benefits, they will be a valuable networking resource after we graduate. So if you’re one of the more than 80 students who haven’t signed up, here’s some information about the various groups. After you join, please bookmark the sites and check them frequently to keep up with student events and news.

YAHOO! GROUP
Jschool07: Informal class Yahoo group, run by Aaron Cahall (M.S. Class of 2007). To sign up, send an e-mail to jschool07-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jschool07/ and click on “Join This Group”
Aaron’s e-mail: aaroncahall@hotmail.com

FACEBOOK.COM COMMUNITY
“The Ten Month Beat”: Informal Facebook.com community for the M.S. Class of 2007 (and part-time Class of 2008), run by Rubina Madan. To sign up, join the Columbia Facebook network at http://www.thefacebook.com. Then visit the community at http://columbia.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204425495. You can use the group to introduce yourself, browse other students’ profiles and post on the discussion board.
Rubina’s e-mail: rm2507[at]columbia.edu

J-SCHOOL CLASS BLOG
“The Tabloid”: The 2007 class blog is a place for all of us to comment on the grad school experience, announce social events, and post and read articles. Check it out at http://the-tabloid.blogspot.com. To make it successful, we need as many students as possible to become members and participate in updating it. Don’t worry — there’s no pressure to post. It’s very informal. If you’d like to be added, please e-mail David Ressel at dlr2113[at]columbia.edu or Rubina Madan at rm2507[at]columbia.edu

Please send your suggestions for useful RWI blogs to dos@jrn…
[Some of these are listed at http://www.sreetips.com/blogs.html - Dean Sreenivasan will be doing an optional class on using blogs for reporting a couple of times each semester.]

• From: Dorian Block, deb2129
  I came across this site when I was looking for information about my beat. It organizes blogs in the city by subway stop. I thought it might be helpful for other students.
  http://www.nycbloggers.com/
  
• From: Adam Bosch, arb2139
  There is another site that I found useful toward the end of my time in RW1. The URL is Curbed.com. At first glance, it looks to be nothing more than a real estate site, but if you search a partiular neighborhood you can find all kinds of gossip, which often turns into great leads on stories. It was priceless for topics about the Williamsburg, Brooklyn waterfront.

Another in our “Notes From…” series - short notes by volunteers summarizing various events around the school, to help those of us who didn’t/couldn’t attend. Watch for several other “Notes From…” throughout the year (if you have one, send it in - or let us know in advance that you’d like to do one).

Below, tips from a technology discussion with Andrew Lih, former J-school professor, visiting from China. Many thanks to volunteer notes-taker Adam Edelman, J2007. Feel free to drop him a note or post a comment below (free, one-time registration required).

Notes From… Tech Jam Session with Andrew Lih
By Adam Edelman, J2007
E-mail: abe2109[at]columbia.edu

ROOM 601B, Aug. 21, 2006–Andrew Lih, a Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism professor from 1995 to 2002, returned to the school Monday afternoon to participate in a technology discussion.

Lih, who currently works out of Beijing, led journalism students through a network (no pun intended) of explanations of different programs and websites including wikis, Skype, Flickr.com and Writely.com. Lih also talked about press and technology freedoms in China. It was all part of a lunch-time Tech Jam Session organized by the Dean of Students Office.

Lih (and his teaching partner during those Columbia years, Dean Sree Sreenivasan) examined the benefits of using a wide range new technologies, while cautioning students to be aware of the dangers of blindly following every new service or gizmo.

Students in attendance learned about Skype, a free internet telephone service. Like many other services, Skype offers free computer-to-computer calling (including video conferencing) anywhere in the world, but with much better sound quality. Skype also offers free computer-to-land/cellphones in the US or Canada till the end of 2006, as well as some of the cheapest international calling rates.

Skype, said Lih, is particularly useful to journalists because it is a free alternative to cell and land phones and can be used for interviews. Skype also offers reasonably priced services such as voicemail and call recording, a function that would serve as a digital call recorder in itself for reporters. Sreenivasan highlighted another useful feature: conference calls, which allow you to connect up to 10 Skype or regular phone calls. One way to use this is when you have to talk to a source who doesn’t speak your language. You can conference in a friend who can translate for you.

Some out-of-town students have been wondering what to do with their out-of-town cellphone numbers. All their friends and family outside Columbia already have their out-of-town numbers, so getting a NYC number is not always practical. With so many people using cellphones and national calling plans, having an out-of-town number isn’t usually a problem. But for some of the kind of people you might encounter on your beat - nonprofits organizations, small-business owners, etc - calling a long-distance number will not be attractive and yet another barrier in getting callbacks. You can, of course, get a landline, and let people call you there. Another alternative is to get what’s called a SkpeIn number. You get a local number (usually 718) and use the free call forwarding feature to have calls go to your out-of-town cell. The cost of a SkypeIn number is about $40 a year. More information about Skype is available at Skype.com.

However, after researching the topic and receiving the same piece of advice from several professors, this reporter did decide to switch his Milwaukee-area cell phone number to a New York City number. It was free and easy and the new number will provide easier telephone
access to sources who refuse to or cannot call long distance. While the Skype alternative is as attractive, switching your cell phone number does not require any computer know-how and some Apple users have reported that the free Skype call-forwarding service has given
them problems. Several service carriers, including Sprint and Nextel, will switch your number for free. Notifying friends, family, and past contacts of your new number can be as easy as
sending out a brief mass email or text message.

Lih also encouraged students to use wikis, websites that allow users to edit subject matter collaboratively (Wikipedia, is essentially, a giant wiki that allows millions of users to collaborate). There are several wiki sites, including Writely.com, a website that allows users to view and edit one other’s documents securely (it requires a free invitation from a current user; Sreenivasan can give you one - just ask) and JotSpot.com.

There are plans for a master document that will provide names and contacts of students across all RWIs covering each of the neighborhoods in the city, ensuring better coordination and sharing of sources. It is likely to be wiki based.

Lih also touched upon the usefulness of Flickr.com as a way to share photographs. Watch for information about a J-school “Flickr pool” (a way for you to send in photos you take with your cameras and cellphones).

Throughout the session, students peppered Lih with questions about press freedoms in China. Lih touched upon the changing state of media censorship in China, explaining that dissent is beginning to increasingly appear online in the form of digital photos and movies. Internet filters, he explained, are effective against text, but are not very effective against these media. Lih predicted that, because of these creative forms of circumvention, censorship of the press in the long run will be less effective in China.

Lih is currently working on a book about Wikipedia. His blog can be
viewed at http://www.andrewlih.com and he can be reached at andrew[at]andrewlih.com. He will be happy to answer questions about any of the topics above and more.

o o o o o

Update:
Feedback to Writely:
- I signed up for Writely after the technology session on Monday (it didn’t require an invitation after all) and have used it every day since. It’s great! Thanks for the tip.

Q: What computer discounts can I get through Columbia?
A: Columbia has negotiated discounts for students and faculty with companies such as Dell and Apple and at J&R Computer World, a major NYC retailer. You can learn about all the discounts here:
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/sales/.

You can also read the University’s pre-purchasing advice (written for a campus-wide audience): http://www.columbia.edu/acis/sales/pre-purchase.html.

HELP GETTING AROUND NYC
Even native New Yorkers can sometimes use some help figuring out the fastest way to certain parts of the city. Sure, you can look at a subway map, but street addresses aren’t really featured on those maps - you can waste a lot of time guessing where you have to go.

Fortunately, there are two, free, interactive ways to help you out.

HOPSTOP: http://www.hopstop.com
This is an interactive map and guide for the subway system and is
the single best way to navigate the city (think of it as Mapquest for the
subway). Enter your starting and ending points and you will learn what trains
to take - and walking directions once you get there. Last year, many students
used it every day. You can also create various itineraries for multiple stops, return trips, etc.
This gives you directions in several languages and can be sent to your cellphone, PDA, etc.
There are two, competing site that have been launched, PublicRoutes.com and Trips123.com- if you have comments about which one’s better, please send it to dos@jrn.columbia.edu

MTA INFORMATION LINE: 718-330-1234
Yes, it’s a phone number and it’s very useful. Listen to the long intro and
then hit * and then 0 to speak to an agent. I have never had to wait more than
three minutes to get an agent.

Once you’re connected, give them your starting and ending points and they will
tell you exactly how to get there; what stations/trains you need and how far
you need to walk when you get to the other end. Memorize this number!

MTA official site is MTA.info - be sure to get a monthly Metro Card once you start the school year. You will be spending a lot of time on the subways and buses.

Matthew Waters, a new May PT student, has built a Protopage.com page with links that many of you will find useful. Among them: headlines from the local media + weather headlines and more. Send him suggestions: mewaters[at]gmail.com.

Take a look: http://www.protopage.com/jschool.

Q: What discounts on digital cameras can I get?

URGENT UPDATE FROM ALEX 5/11/2006:

Unfortunately, the discounts that B&H have been offering to students and
faculty/staff at Columbia, are no longer available. They were built into a
contract arrangement with University Purchasing, and were designed to expire
after a certain time. That time has come. Currently, the only discount
available from them, is free shipping for any purchase up to 70 pounds.
Simply announce that you are a student, or that you work at Columbia
University when you call in an order.

A: An answer from Alex Krengel in the Equipment Room.

We have a contract with B&H, the legendary photo store. Students, faculty and administrators
are are all entitled to an educational discount. The discount varies by the product you purchase (e.g. the discount will be minor for a consumer digital camera, but may be substantial if you want to get a Sony PD 170).

You need to purchase ahead, and send an email for a quote at:
biddept[at]bhphotovideo.com.

Identify your status at Columbia to get the price quote; it may take 1-2 business days to get a response. Include product, model number, quantity, etc. and any relevant details.

You cannot get the discount at the store. You need the quote first.

B&H’s web site is at:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com

Also see: FAQ: What computer discounts can I get through Columbia?

REMINDER: If you are interested in academic discounts for digital cameras and/or computers, please see the earlier postings in the Daily Plan-it’s “discounts” category.

A note from Brandon Keim, M.A. 2006 and M.S. 2005, brandon[at]earthlab.net

Hello out there,

Last week there was some emailing among 2005 alumni about Bob Woodward’s recent misconduct.? Afterwards it seemed we needed a place to talk shop without adding to
everyone’s unsolicited email flood, so I set up a list for us. Everyone, of course, is invited. To join, go to http://groups.google.com/group/CSofJ

and sign up. Then feel free to post whatever interests you — questions, observations, good journalism, dilemmas — and hopefully some wisdom will come out of this.

Dean Sree asked me how this is different from TheTenMonthBeat… TheTenMonthBeat is more an event & logistics source — it’s not a place where someone would go and say, “Did you hear about what Bob Woodward did?? What do you think?” or “I was reading this article and trying to figure out how they sourced this part — little help?” or
“I’ve got this source who wants to be identified as such and such — what should I do?” and then have some community discussion about it. Hopefully the seed will sprout into a network whose dialogue helps us be better journalists.