IT Communications

Mediashift -

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/

It seems like there is a never-ending flow of sites about digital media, and it times it can present an overwhelming challenge to decide which ones might be most useful. MediaShift is certainly one of the best, and it is led by Mark Glaser, noted journalist, critic, and media expert. With support from PBS, this site and weblog looks at how new media such as podcasts and citizen journalism are changing society and culture. On the site, visitors can start by looking through "The Week's Top 5", which offers a short list of things that have been particularly prominent around the web. Visitors looking for specific topics can look through a topical list that includes "Legal Drama", "Online Video", "Satellite Radio", and several dozen other topics. Finally, visitors can also sign up to receive a RSS feed and also elect to receive updates via email. [

Five Steps to Multimedia Reporting

http://journalism.berkeley.edu /multimedia/

Novice journalists who hope to follow in the footsteps of Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite or even Maria Shriver may find themselves puzzled about how to start in the world of multimedia reporting. This lovely site, sponsored by the Knight Media Center, offers a number of tutorials that will help such persons learn about choosing a story, doing fieldwork, editing their piece, and even offer a few tips on shooting video. The site is divided into sections that provide tips on picking the right video camera for the assignment and those that give some useful information on the various audio recording devices that might come in handy. Students of multimedia journalism will want to let friends know about the site, and instructors working in this area can point students to this site as well.

Index on Censorship

http://www.indexonline.org /index.shtml

The basic human right of human expression is tremendously important, and this is not lost on the good and dedicated people at the magazine "Index on Censorship". Founded in 1972, the magazine has published opinion pieces, analysis, and reporting by Vaclav Havel, Nadine Gordimer, Noam Chomsky, and Umberto Eco. Along with their actual magazine, they also keep many of their feature pieces online here. Visitors are encouraged to read pieces on censorship in Britain, the rights of journalists, and the suppression of certain political-minded weblogs. Given the breadth of material offered here, it's easy to see how this site could also be used in a journalism classroom.