General Journalism // Ricochet by Chrys Wu

Do you remember what it was like to be in school? About 40 journalists are reliving the college experience at the University of Miami Beyond Bootcamp multimedia workshop, directed by visual journalism guru Rich Beckman.

Over the last few months, I’ve met a number of his former students who tell stories of being cajoled and terrified of their former professor, and for good reason: The workshops are no joke: Twelve-hour days. Hands-on exercises. And in some cases, field work.

It may not be a picnic, but it is fun. For the time we’re here, we’re getting uninterrupted in-person access to an international group of highly accomplished photographers, reporters, editor-producers and thinkers. And that’s just the students.

Even if you can’t be in Miami, you can still get a taste of what it’s like to be at Bootcamp. For the next few days, you can check the ongoing tweet stream (hashtag #bootcamp).

And from noon to 2 p.m. ET Jan. 8-10, you’ll be able to watch a live stream of the lunchtime presentations below (livestream management courtesy of University of Miami journalism student Greg Linch).

Thursday: Paige West, Director of Interactive Projects, MSNBC.com
Update Friday: Panel discussion on multimedia practices and ethics.
Saturday: Rob Covey, SVP Content/Design, National Geographic Digital Media

Have you heard? Though most Americans still turn to TV to get national and international news, for the first time, the Web has overtaken newspapers as a news source.

In fact, according to a late December blog post by Nielsen Online, about two-thirds of all adults who were on the Web looked for news online in the 30 days prior to the post.

The news business is changing, but people still want information. Let’s not let them down.

To that end, I’m going back to school.

For the next week, a small group of journalists will attend Beyond Bootcamp at the University of Miami School of Communication to polish their newsgathering skills.

Organizer Rich Beckman says he’s taken the multimedia workshops he held at the University of North Carolina and kicked ’em up a notch. In email, he’s promised we’ll be learning a lot of practical skills during intensive three-day sessions.

I’m especially excited to be learning about infographics from Alberto Cairo of UNC and Xaquin G.V. of The New York Times.

With luck, I’ll be able to apply some of what I’ve learned here. For sure, I’ll be able to share notes when I return.

How about you? If you’re a mid-career journalist or blogger, where are you planning to go and who are you planning to learn from to gather new ideas and keep your skills fresh?

Photo: kino-eye/Flickr

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