Journos Using Facebook 11/10/2009

The Poynter Institute  will host a Webinar Thursday to help journalists effectively use Facebook to reach new audiences, enhance their storytelling and engage online readers.

The event, offered via Poynter’s NewsU, begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Nov. 12.

Ellyn Angelotti, interactivity editor of Poynter Online and adjunct faculty at Poynter, will demonstrate how news organizations are using Facebook. Participants will explore best practices and techniques for building an online presence.

The one-hour Webinar costs $24.95. For more information and to register, go to www.newsu.org/FacebookWebinar09.

Black Research Center May Close 11/09/2009

Staffing and budget cuts may force the closure of Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, which is housed in Founder’s Library at Howard University.

“The loss of 60 percent of its resources and the abolishment of some critical positions due to the Voluntary Separation Incentive Retirement Program (VSIRP) resulted in many problems,” interim director Thomas C. Battle told the daily student newspaper, the Hilltop.

It is one of the world’s largest repositories of documents and other information about individuals, institutions and issues important to people of African descent throughout the world including the papers of medical pioneer Dr. Charles Drew, Congressional Black Caucus  records and copies of Afro-American  newspapers, one of the nation’s largest black newspapers.

Its collections include more than 175,000 bound volumes; thousands of journals, periodicals, and newspapers; and 100,000 prints, photographs, maps, and other graphic items.

“This should be a greater outcry. This is the premier place to research black history and culture,” Battle told the Hilltop.

Webcast Devoted to Helping Journalists Use Facebook 09/21/2009

On Sept. 18, the Columbia Journalism School  presented a webcast/call-in show about ways journalists could use Facebook to get story ideas, connect with sources and draw more attention to their writing.  Columbia media professor Sree Sreenivasan  moderated the event, which featured speakers such as Ben Parr, co-editor of Mashable.com and Barry Schnitt, director of communications, privacy and policy for Facebook.

•  To listen to the archived “Advanced Facebook for Journalists.”  
•  For information on previous webcasts offered by the journalism school

Washington Post, WaPo.com to Merge Operations 09/18/2009

The print and online operations of  The Washington Post   will merge as of Jan. 1, 2010.

“Combining our newspaper and web operations into a single company makes apparent what we have all understood – that we all share the same mission of providing unique information and insight into the workings of Washington and the same commitment to that mission,” said Katharine Weymouth, Washington Post publisher and chief executive office of  Washington Post Media, in an announcement sent out to employees Thursday. 

The Web site operated for years in a separate Arlington office featuring its own staff including its own publisher and executive editor. The newspaper’s main newsroom is in downtown D.C.

Weymouth said that “creating one company allows us to maximize our quality and effectiveness by leveraging the talent, prcoesses and resources of these previously separate organizations in a more seamless way.”