Slideshow: PDF option

One way to make your slideshow available on the web is to make your Power Point slideshow into a PDF (select Print; PrimoPDF), make a link to it on your index page, and then FTP everything (including your new index page, with its link) over to the web.

The PDF slideshow will look like this.

xtimeline

Cool Computer for Journalists?

I've been reading and hearing about these tiny laptops, like the Acer Inspire. You can read about them in this short NYTimes Frugal Traveler article.

I'm thinking they'd be very useful for journalists, especially ones, like me, who are not particularly good at texting or sending messages from, say, cell phones. They give you the advantages of a larger screen, but they're not as heavy as a regular laptop.

Has anyone seen one of these? They're only $200-500! Not bad.

Using You Tube

You can post a link to a You Tube video like this.

Or like this


How do you do the second one? It's easy. You embed the html code, which is available on the You Tube page for each video. It's on the right-hand side, in a box below URL. Copy that code, and then go back to your blog post. Click on the Edit Html tab at the top, and copy the code in. Add any explanatory text (such as this), and publish your post.

Shiner

It's true: Jane has a shiner.

I wish I could say that this journalist got the black eye when reporting on crime in the Moundview neighborhood, but I can't.

It occurred during an unfortunate incident with a bungee cord. Let me just say that those things can snap back very quickly.

Being a writer, I used this, um, opportunity to do some research.

One website, "How to get rid of things" had this to say:

Black eyes are caused by bruising of the eyelid and the surrounding tissues. When trauma to the eye or the surrounding tissue occurs, small blood vessels near the surface of the skin called capillaries burst, releasing blood into the dermal layers (skin) where it doesn’t normally go. The blood then clots and remains where it is until your body can deploy certain functions of your immune system to clean up the mess. The blackness of a black eye (or any bruise for that matter) is the appearance of clotting or dead blood cells that have escaped your capillaries. A black eye is rarely considered a serious injury.

Ew.

According to WebMd, my black eye probably won't need medical intervention, and will heal in 1-2 weeks.

Iowa News might make a good news peg

By now, everyone's heard about the Iowa Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex marriages. I'm thinking that it might offer a great opportunity for writers to do news peg features.

For example:

• profile of same-sex couple(s) who will marry
• profile businesses that will be affected--places where receptions are held, tux rental shops, caterers, etc.
  
• profile leaders in the issue on both sides
• trend story--how various states with this law (Massachusetts is one I remember) have been affected--survey plus profiles.
• some news stories cited data that younger people are more tolerant of same-sex couples than older people--interview college students on their reaction to this ruling.
  

I would love to read any of these stories. Can you think of any more you'd like to read?

Looking for College students with journalism skills

Do you want to be a "backpack journalist?"

A Poynter Institute colleague sent me a link to a blog post that might interest you. Apparently, if you can write stories, post on blogs, make podcasts, take photos, and take video, you're in high demand. You guys can do a lot of this stuff already . . .