I found Matt Doig to be very well informed in his field. He did a very good job explaining how to relate investigative reporting and public records research to our broadcast majority. Some of the things he mentioned that I had not thought about were how to use database systems, public records, and spreadsheet programs such as Excel to cross reference two or more public records to find very specific information. He also had a nice tidbit about how public records can be used to enhance any story, not just investigative pieces.
His response to my question on how to deal with varying public records’ access in other states (assume it’s open, and make them tell you why it’s not) was useful as well.
Things I would have liked to have seen were maybe more specific examples of his work, perhaps by using the projector and the newspaper’s website. Also, I would like to know more about their TV operation, and how they incorporate the print, online, and broadcast aspects of their reporting to create multiple ways of looking at a story, and how public records factors in to each aspect. I know this isn’t the MMJ class, but multimedia reporting is a reality of news today.
A trend I’ve noticed with guest speakers in this class and other classes is how few of the current batch of people working in news today were trained in multimedia. Most got their training on the fly as they transitioned into 21st century journalism. The next wave of mass communication graduates will need to have these skills as basics, as well as be able to innovate new methods and skill-sets if they are to be competitive in this job market.
Meet you further on up the road,
Brentin