Web Resources
Chapter 1 – Writing for Digital Media
Arts & Letters Daily
Great resource for all writers and readers.
Elements of Style (original 1918 edition) by William Strunk, Jr.
A free edition of the classic guide to writing well.
“More Clichés Than You Can Shake a Stick At”
A list of journalistic clichés compiled by Mimi Burkhardt for the American Copy Editors Society.
Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab
Style guides, writing and teaching helps, and resources for grammar and writing mechanics.
Writing Sample Analyzer
This online tool takes a sample of your writing and then calculates the number of sentences, words, and characters in your sample. From these basic statistics, it calculates the Flesch Reading Ease, Fog Scale Level, and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level—three of the more common readability algorithms.
Chapter 2 – Editing for Digital Media: Strategies
“Atlantic Slave Trade in Two Minutes”
Interactive timeline of the history of the trans-atlantic slave trade.
Knight Digital Media Center Series of journalism tutorials, including some on map-making.
Map-making Resources:
Chapter 3 – Writing for Digital Media II: Tools and Techniques
Case Studies in this chapter:
- The 45-minute Mystery of Freddie Gray’s Death, The Baltimore Sun
- Serial Podcasts on the trial of Adnan Syed
- Aljazeera America’s Treasured Island
- Washington Post’s Exodus
- The Making of a Narco-terrorist, ProPublica
- Missed Signs. Fatal Consequences, The Austin American Stateman
Google’s AdWords Keyword Planner
Steve Krug’s usability website
Krug takes the individual user’s perspective and is sensitive to small business and small publication owners.
Mapping the Intersection of Two Cultures: Interactive Documentary and Digital Journalism
The findings of an eight-month research project mapping and assessing the dynamics of an ongoing convergence between interactive and participatory documentary practices and digital journalism.
Nielsen Norman Group
This section of the usability company’s site aggregates articles on maximizing readership.
Virtual Reality case studies
Web Style Guide, 3rd edition
Now a bit old, but still rock solid and worth studying is this companion site to Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton.
Chapter 4 – Editing for Digital Media II: Voice and Visual Style
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Usability Guidelines
The Writer
For readability indices.
Collaborative Tools:
Chapter 5 – Establishing and Communicating Credibility in Digital Spaces
For learning basic HTML/XHTML, including publishing to the Web:
- Dave’s Site;
- HTML Goodies;
- HTML Guides/References from NASA;
- Lynda.com tutorials;
- Peachpit Press;
- W3Schools for tutorials and coding help.
Chapter 6 – Knowing and (Ethically) Serving Your Audience
American Copy Editors Society
Resources at the site include reference materials, quizzes, and help in discussion.
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Dictonary.com—Style Guides
Online listing of style guides and manuals, including a handful of guides specifically for digital usage.
Guide to Grammar and Style
Online guide to grammar, style, and usage by Jack Lynch, professor of English at Rutgers University.
InfoDesign
Articles about information design.
Oxford Dictionaries
The online version is frequently updated, providing a rich source when determining style on newer terms and slang, such as “twerk” and “srsly.”
The Slot: A Spot for Copy Editors
Site of Bill Walsh, long-time copyeditor and author of several books on editing.
Society for News Design
This society is for designers in journalism, and the site offers resources selected for the group.
W3’s Style Guide for Online Hypertext
This document was written in the early days of the web, defining such terms as “webmaster,” the “www.name.com” convention, and a few basic points which are just as valid today. Readers should note that the site has not been updated to discuss recent developments in HTML, and it is out of date in many places.
Chapter 7 – Blogito Ergo Sum
Blogging software:
Chapter 8 – Journalism in a Digital Age
Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists
Written by Bob Haiman and published by the Freedom Forum, this PDF download was developed to help journalists achieve fairness in their reporting.
Poynter Guide to Accuracy
A collection of articles by Poynter writers to help journalists in the area of accuracy, including help in fact-checking, grammar, punctuation, and quotations and attribution.
Principles of Citizen Journalism
Published by the Knight Citizen News Network, this guide provides the basic principles and covers the fundamental values of good journalism.
Chapter 9 – Public Relations in a Digital Age
Dave Carroll’s meme, “United Breaks Guitars”
College Station, TX blog
Inova’s Life With Cancer subsite
Bill Marriott blog on behalf of Marriott
Seattle Police Department Blotter
Twitter search tools:
Chapter 10 – Navigating the Legal Landscape
ADLAW
A good source of legal information for advertising and marketing researchers.
Art of Public Records Searches
How-to site with help in finding and searching public records repositories.
Digital Media Law
Legal resources for citizen media from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
The EFF is a donor-supported membership organization that works to protect citizens’ rights regardless of technology and to educate the press, policymakers and the general public about civil liberties issues related to technology.
EFF Legal Guide for Bloggers
A guide developed especially to inform bloggers of their legal rights in publishing online.
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Established in 1994, EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, DC, that tries to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment and constitutional values.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
FCC is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. This site offers links to regulations, news, complaint forms, bureaus within the FCC and licensing information.
Federal Communications Law Journal
Published by the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Federal Trade Commission’s Privacy Page
Protecting consumers’ personal privacy is a duty of the FTC. This page outlines how the agency attempts to do this.
First Amendment Center
A non-partisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people founded by the Freedom Forum.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Site explaining the FOIA and how to use it, at the U.S. Department of State.
Free Expression Policy Project (FEPP)
Founded in 2000, FEPP provides research and advocacy on free speech, copyright, and media democracy issues.
JDSupra
Source for all sorts of legal documentation, cases, briefs and the like, a sort of WebMD of the legal profession.
Journal of Information, Law and Technology
Electronic law journal covering a range of topics relating to information technology law and applications.
Jurist Legal News and Research
Published by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Site developed to provide teachers with resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases.
Law.com
A daily news website for practicing lawyers, with search.
Media Law Resource Center
A non-profit information clearinghouse originally organized by a number of media organizations to monitor developments and promote First Amendment rights in the libel, privacy, and related legal fields. The “Hot Topics” section is especially useful.
Politech
A blog by Declan McCullagh, an investigative journalist with Wired magazine. Topics include privacy, free speech, the role of government and corporations, antitrust, and more.
The Privacy Place
Site for news on privacy-related policy developments.
Privacy Times
A subscription-only newsletter covering privacy and freedom of information law and policy; it is primarily for attorneys and professionals.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
A nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free legal assistance to journalists since 1970. Excellent source of news on free speech issues.
University of Iowa Library’s Communication and Media Law Resources
The content here is precisely what the name suggests. Excellent search functionality by topic.
U.S. Copyright Office
The Copyright Office advises Congress on anticipated changes in U.S. copyright law; analyzes and assists in the drafting of copyright legislation and legislative reports and provides and undertakes studies for Congress; offers advice to Congress on compliance with international agreements and is where claims to copyright are registered. This site has links to copyright law, international copyright treaties, general information, and copyright studies.
U.S. Supreme Court Blog
A surprisingly lively, very current blog and website, richly sourced with links to primary source documents such as briefs and precedent cases.