The Edmond Sun
June 27, 2008 11:26 pm
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This week, The Edmond Sun’s news staff had the chance to try out some new technology — new to us newspaper folks that is — as part of the changes driving the media industry.
Two editors from our parent company, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., visited for a one-day training session Wednesday and they came bearing gifts. J.B. Bittner and Rick Lepper delivered to our newsroom our first video camera for news production for our Web site, www.edmondsun.com. They also gave our staff some invaluable training for our new multimedia endeavors.
In the past two years, The Sun has dabbled with some audio and photo slideshows on our Web site that often paired up with a print story and photo package. We’ve had some great experiences with that type of work, particularly a photo essay with local YMCA campers and some slideshows featuring the first Friday night lights action of all three local football teams last year.
Newspapers across the nation are now pushing the boundaries of traditional reporting as new technology and techniques continue to become available. Some reporters nationwide are podcasting, others are adding video and even interactive maps to their Web sites to create a new experience with readers and viewers.
With video, The Sun hopes to broaden the picture of Edmond that we paint daily with our stories and photos in print. Not every story will have video attached to it on the Web site, but it will be a tool to help tell the many compelling stories our Edmond residents have to share nationwide.
I would like to extend a special thank you to Contessa Bass, who is the 2008 Single Mother of the Year. This is an award given by the organizers of Survive and Thrive, a statewide conference for single mothers that takes place in Edmond. This mother of four was extremely gracious Wednesday to open up her home to our journalists for The Sun’s first video interview.
Instead of a reporter and photographer showing up on her doorstep, she found four journalists wanting her to be our video guinea pig. Bass was interviewed by Reporter Courtney Bryce while News Editor Drew Harmon took photos and video. Sports Editor Eric Spruill went along for the training and Lepper helped oversee the process. Our first video segment is online under the multimedia section at www.edmondsun.com and served as a preview to the story in today’s edition.
There has never been a more exciting time to be in the media profession. With change knocking on our doors every few seconds it seems, there are new challenges and new rewards to be found. What’s best is that Edmond is home to one of the most progressive cities in the state. It offers more great stories and news sources than we can possibly interview each week.
This new step for The Sun also comes with some benefits to those in the community who already are shooting video for themselves. We can now serve as an outlet for sharing some of those community — and sometimes unexpected — moments caught on video with the rest of Edmond. E-mail us your video links to your child’s soccer game, their home run hit on the softball diamond or even the car crash that happened near your front yard. If it’s exciting enough to make you want to tell someone else about it, then we want to help you spread the word.
Ultimately, news is defined by the community in which it’s occurring. Readers often let us know what they want to see more of in the newspaper, and now they can interact more with the community on our Web site. Let us know if you have a great story, photo or an event that deserves video coverage. We’re obsessed with Edmond and we hope you are, too.
LISA SHEARER is managing editor of The Edmond Sun. E-mail her at lshearer@edmondsun.com.
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