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Aim for the Heart: Writing, Reporting, Photojournalism, Producing, Ethics and Resources for journalists

tompkins@poynter.org

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Month: December 2016

The Mass Shootings-Five Years Unfolding Before You

December 14, 2016 al

The tragedy is not that it happened once. Mass shootings happen year upon year. Field of Vision – Speaking is Difficult from Field Of Vision

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4.1 Miles

December 14, 2016 al

You are not likely to see another video as stunning as this anytime soon. The New York Times’ 4.1 Miles video, a documentation in natural

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Recent Posts

Deconstruct line by line a video that got 4 million views
20 story ideas for you
What exactly does “social distancing” mean in real life?
Helping Journalists Covering COVID-19 Manage Stress and Trauma
Al’s Morning Meeting Daily Story ideas is back
Download our “Managing Newsroom Stress and Trauma” handout
A new edition of Al’s Cool Tools to download
A story full of visual surprises
A Local TV Station Dedicates 3-Years to Investigating Hospital Billing
This anchor created a simple system that resulted in more women experts getting on TV. No bosses or consultants were involved.

Nieman Lab

The new folks in town are an untapped audience for local news (even if they don’t stay forever)
Nonprofit news organizations are becoming more diverse, but they still lag behind the communities they cover
Poynter now offers six months of parental leave, putting it on par time-wise with much larger media companies
“Politics as a chronic stressor”: News about politics bums you out and can make you feel ill — but it also makes you take action
Digital-only newsrooms are in the firing line as Australian news law grinds toward reality
The New York Times will flag viral misinformation with a new Daily Distortions feature
Spanish-language misinformation is flourishing — and often hidden. Is help on the way?

InteractiveNarratives.org

Junkoâs Story: Surviving Hiroshimaâs Atomic Bomb
An intimate account of one young girlâs harrowing experience and miraculous survival.
The Boat
âThe Boatâ, an interactive graphic novel about escape after the Vietnam War. Based on the story by Nam Le, adapted by Matt Huynh.
Which Direction Do You Sleep?
A kinetic type story illustrating a common understanding within Ayurvedic practice. Created for my motion graphics class this semester at Ohio University.
Cronulla Riots - The Day That Shocked the Nation
Investigate the simmering tensions between groups of Australians that led to racially motivated violence at Sydneyâs Cronulla Beach in December 2005.
Rebuilding Haiti
Four years after the earthquake, how is Haiti rebuilding itself? If you were part of the process, would you be able to make the right choices? âRebuilding HaÃ¯ti" is an interactive piece of journalism. The form mixes newsgame and longform journalism. The story is about development issues (like rural exodus, land reform and brain drain). […]
Blind Wrestler
Shot and Produced by Jose F. Moreno/Courier-Post

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Columbia Journalism Review

TikTok, a political football, is still up in the air
Last man standing
How The 63106 Project funds independent journalism in St. Louis
Mueller revisionism, and the culpability of the press
The media’s climate coverage is improving, but time is very short
Year of Fear, Chapter Thirty-One: A Confederate Soldier Moves On

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