Toronto Star leading the way with in-house training

Marissa Nelson works for the Toronto Star. Her official title is reporter, but she has been spends almost all her her time teaching other journalists at the paper about Journalism 2.0. Her program is called StarNext and I got to see it up close last week when I was in Toronto for the ONA conference.

The Star has a ginormous newsroom, employing some 470 journalists. At the far end is an office with a shiny 24-inch iMac on one desk and three smaller versions along the wall. This is where StarNext students come to learn about audio, video, search engine optimization and more. When they start, they receive a 3-ring binder about two inches thick with tip sheets and screenshots. (Rob Curley was apparently so impressed, he took home the last spare copy when he visited the Star last week.) When they finish, they receive a special 1GB flash drive on a rubber wristband, complete with a StarNext logo.

I love the first page in the binder. It’s a quote from Charles Schultz: “Try no to have a good time. This is supposed to be educational.”

With Nelson’s permission, I’m including a sample schedule for a week in the StarNext program.

MONDAY
9-10: Overview of week. Ergonomics.
10-10:30: Vision for the site.
1030-12:30: Web/Journalism 2.0/inspiration session. Examples of traditional/disruptive innovation, quality vs. quantity.
12:30-1: LUNCH
1-1:30: What medium to use. Planning exercise.
1:30- 2:30: Audio. How to collect good audio, and listen to some projects. How to use the recorder.
2:30-3:30: Ethics
3:30-5: Slideshows. 

TUESDAY
9-9:30: Morning routine.
930-10: Traffic, audience and wish list.
10-1030:  Search engine optimization.
10:30-noon: Collect audio for slideshows.
Noon – 4: Edit Slideshow
4-5: Storyboarding a video

WEDNESDAY
9-930: Morning routine.
930-10:30: Video: How the camera works and how to shoot.
10:30-1: News assignment.
1-5: Edit video

THURSDAY
9-930: Morning Routine.
930-10: David Darnell: Ted vs. Tops
10-10:30: Aneurin: From story filing to posting – what the online crew do. 
10-1030: 1030-4 Shoot project
4-5: Download on to computer. 

FRIDAY
9-930: Morning routine.
1030-11: Blogs.
Finish project. Deadline is 5:30.