Val Hoeppner, manager of multimedia education and the Diversity Institute at Nashville’s John Seigenthaler Center, gave a presentation in late October about how journalists can use multimedia tools to enhance their storytelling. She presented at the inaugural NABJ Media Institute. I found it to be very invaluable particularly at a time when newsrooms are becoming more seamless and storytelling is delivered in multiple modalities (video, still photo, text, audio). Participants included television anchors, public relations spokesmen and spokeswomen for colleges and companies as well as newspaper reporters and online producers.
Hoeppner provided insight on shooting for the Web and how to do it well. She was candid about the necessary equipment and best places to acquire it and differences in tools. She was very encouraging and patient to our questions. She alerted us about how to beef up our technical skills and emphasized that it wasn’t too late to learn regardless of our previous technology acumen.
