Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I just got back from the Associated Press Media Editors conference in Nashville.

I spent three days with editors across the country, learning about how to manage staff, incorporate new media into coverage and the importance of using social media. I have a lot of notes and will be posting a little about each session as the week goes on.

For now, I’m looking for watchdog journalists who use social media to help with investigative stories. Do you use them as source-building tools? For tips? Etc. I’d like to chat about how certain networks can help when reporting on these types of stories that are essential to our communities.

If you know of anyone, shoot me an email at tgibson@opubco.com.

- Thanks

The Oklahoma Gazette reports that Rick Mitchell, chief meteorologist at KOCO Channel 5, is leaving Oklahoma City after working at the station for 18 years.

Mitchell will venture to Dallas-Forth Worth to report the morning weather at KXAS, an NBC affiliate, according to the Gazette.

“I still feel like this will be home. I know that sounds strange and probably it will change over time, but I think that’s what I’m telling myself to help me get through the transition.” – Mitchell

Rumors started circulating Monday morning that Mitchell would be leaving. The Dallas-Forth Worth station finally confirmed the move in a tweet this afternoon.

Photo by Jaconna Aguirre: Channel 5 meteorologist Rick Mitchell talks to students at Kennedy Elementary at “Severe Weather Safety” program March 12, 2002.

The chief digital officer for The Washington Post and Oklahoma native, Vijay Ravindran, stopped by The Oklahoman newsroom Friday to discuss some of the initiatives his team is working on.

When the multimedia showcase was announced earlier this week, I knew it was something I couldn’t miss. I’ve been following some of the Post’s products for awhile and was eager to hear about new projects the paper is working on.

Read the rest of this entry »

The New York Times has given readers a new way to view photos by making them come alive on a web page.

The paper used three moving images Tuesday in a story about the Statue of Liberty. Each one has very subtle movement but allows readers to see the movement of water, trees and a bird flying over the head of Lady Liberty.

Culture Editor Julie Bloom told The Atlantic Wire that the videos are html 5 videos.

“They shot video using a 5dmii and extracted sequences to look like photographs with a bit of motion. They are supposed to feel like moving photographs. They are looped silently and placed in a slide show player.” – The Atlantic Wire

What do you think of using this graphic format on NewsOK? Share your thoughts below.

Looks like award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and his group of Newsroom actors will be returning for a second season.

HBO announced on the show’s Facebook page Monday that it has been renewed for a second season. If you missed the pilot, you can watch it online through YouTube.

Being the first news outlet to break a story is great, but CNN and FOX News were almost too eager to report the Supreme Court’s ruling on President Barack Obama’s health care law Thursday morning.

Both networks mistakenly reported that the court had struck down the individual mandate. Poynter reports that CNN issued a statement, saying it regrets not waiting to report the full opinion.

According to the Mediate, Michael Clemente, EVP News, Editorial at Fox News, defended his station and wrote in a statement that FOX gave viewers the news as it happened.

“Fox reported the facts, as they came in.”

Tweets are circulating around and accusing other outlets of also reporting incorrect information. Read more about how the decision caused confusion in this Storify.

These mistakes serve as a reminder to those in the media industry that being first isn’t always best, especially when you don’t have all of the facts.

The New York Times launched a Chinese-language website Thursday to provide readers in China with coverage of business, culture and world affairs.

The site is said to grow in scope and functionality over the course of the next several months and will be edited specifically for readers in China.

The Times reports:

The goal of the new site is to provide China’s growing number of educated, affluent, global citizens with high-quality coverage of world affairs, business and culture.  The site will be edited specifically for readers in China, presenting translations of the best of The Times’s award-winning journalism alongside original work by Chinese writers contributing to The Times. 

The New York Times is committed to serving readers around the world with journalism of the highest quality.

Earlier this month, The Oklahoma Daily announced it it would cancel its print edition for the rest of the summer and focus on online content. Now the university has reversed its decision due to a monetary donation from Student Affairs.

The Daily reports that Student Affairs is giving $4,000 in funding to Student Media after the university received complaints for canceling the summer print edition. The newspaper reports the university has reversed its online-only decision and will use the funds to pay for a yearlong study to help the newspaper generate reader feedback and recommendations.

Read the rest of this entry »

It was a long night for several reporters covering the Oklahoma primary elections Tuesday.

Numbers started appearing on the state Election Board’s website after the polls closed about 7 p.m. Shortly after, we were told that the numbers were incorrect due to a software glitch. We reported this to our readers and apologized for the delay, but it took awhile before the results were corrected.

In the meantime, our reporters started calling precincts and gathering results for various races. We used a  Storify on NewsOK.com to archive bits of information and pull in tweets from candidates and readers.

We kicked off our coverage Tuesday afternoon with a photo gallery from the polls and stories about the races we planned to follow. We continued to build on the stories by providing updates on the races through our Politics blog, NewsOK Politics Twitter account and website.

Check out the Storify article online to look back at our coverage of the primary elections. Comment below and let us know what you think about using Storify to cover future elections.

HBO premiered its new series “The Newsroom” last night, but many journalists posted on Twitter that they couldn’t watch the much-anticipated news drama because they were busy working in their own newsrooms. Some also tweeted they didn’t watch the pilot because they couldn’t afford an HBO subscription on a reporter’s salary.

Whatever the reason, viewers are getting a second chance to watch the pilot online through YouTube.

HBO announced Monday it would allow people to watch the first episode online for free. It’s unknown how long the pilot will be available online, so it might be wise to take advantage while the content is still available.

I know what I’ll be watching tonight.

Photo by John P. Johnson: This publicity image released by HBO shows Jeff Daniels portraying anchor Will McAvoy on the HBO series, “The Newsroom,” premiering Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 10 p.m. EST on HBO.