aejmc 2005 examples

This list was compiled to accompany a presentation at the annual AEJMC conference, held in San Antonio, Texas, in 2005. You will need the Flash player to view the examples. Download it (FREE) from Macromedia.

Below you'll find lists of audio editing gear and audio editing software. Scroll and see.

Examples of Photojournalism in Flash

Not all sites use audio, but many do. If you right-click/Win or Control-click/Mac on a photo, you can tell whether the presentation is Flash or not. Most are.

• washingtonpost.com photos and multimedia
• New York Times multimedia
• Minneapolis Star Tribune photo slideshows
• Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle multimedia
• Jen Friedberg, photojournalist
• MSNBC.com photos of the year presentation (2004)

Links to Many Multimedia Journalism Examples

These sites are updated frequently with new examples.

• Joe Weiss's blog
• Interactive Narratives
• SNDies award winners (Society of News Design)

Audio Gathering and Editing

It's one thing to build a slideshow that allows online users to view your photos and captions and quite another thing to go out and gather audio at the scene, then bring it back, edit it properly, and use it in your slideshow. Some photojournalists have been doing this since the late 1990s, though, so there's a lot of good information about how to do it.

"Sound in the Story" (PDF file), by J. Carl Ganter and Eileen E. Ganter

"Gathering Audio" and "A Practical Guide to Audio Tools & Techniques," by Brian Storm and Jim Seida

"Editing: The Invisible Art," by Eric Nuzum
An illustrated guide (one page!) to editing audio. Takes a minute to load, but well worth the wait. Can be printed.

Transom.org / Tools page

• "What Microphone Do I Get?"
• "MiniDisc Guide"

"Capturing Audio," from CBC Radio / Outfront

Free Online Courses from the BBC
Includes simple Cool Edit Pro tutorials; examples of interviewing for radio.

Jay Rose's audio columns from DV.com
These are like a textbook of digital editing techniques and tips.

Audio Editing Gear

• MiniDisc recorder (see Planet MiniDisc and MiniDisco.com sites for comparisons and buying info; make certain the device you buy specifically has mic input). About $200 each.
• Microphone (Electro-Voice 635A; Shure SM58, SM63, VP64A; Beyer M58; Audio-Technica AT804). Expect to pay $100-$200 each.
• Cable to connect mic to recorder (sold separately). If you buy a good mic, you will need a female XLR (three-prong) connector on one end and a male mini plug on the other end. The latter is like the plug end on any set of headphones for a portable music device. Length should be 3 feet; that may vary, depending on how you carry the recorder. About $10 each.

Note: You may want to invest in a line matching transformer (about $35). This (optional) device compensates for the difference between the professional mic's XLR output and the (inferior) mini jack input. I have a Shure A96F, which can also be used with a video camera. I like B&H for all the microphone stuff.

Audio Editing Software

• Audacity (open source, and therefore FREE)
• Adobe Audition (formerly Cool Edit Pro; included in bundle with Premiere but NOT in bundle with Photoshop)
• Pro Tools (try the free version / Mac; does not run on Windows XP)
• Sony Sound Forge (try the entry-level Audio Studio version, $69.95)

Note: If you only record "in the studio" (that is, not in the field; maybe you don't really have a studio), you can use your audio editing software to record directly into your computer. Cheap computer microphones are available at stores such as Best Buy and Radio Shack, and these mics do an adequate job if the room acoustics are decent. Logitech and Plantronics make headsets that include a mic.