Profile of the San Diego Union-Tribune Library

Gina Lubrano, Readers Representative for the San Diego Union-Tribune, profiles the library and its staff in her column.

"The library has always been an important tool for the newspaper. Its importance grows with each passing day and each new skill learned by the people who work there."

Kudos to the U-T Library staff for getting such wonderful recognition!

Blogging on your intranet

The "Establishing a Weblog on your Organization's Intranet" presentation given in Toronto by Sabrina Pacifici of LLRX and beSpacific fame and Dennis Hamilton, Information Services Manager at KZF Design, is now available.

Personally I'm thrilled to see our profession's interest in blogs and RSS and it was wonderful speaking to my colleagues about what important roles these tools play in their libraries or information centers.

Job Opening, Sacramento

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL RESEARCH

The Sacramento Bee is seeking an Assistant Director of Editorial Research with top-flight CAR skills to help supervise a staff of four and to team with reporters on special projects. The ideal candidate would have extensive research skills, including fluency with online and print information sources, as well as a willingness to get out of the office to acquire primary source documents and data. The researcher should be a tenacious self-starter, able to pursue the research needs of an assigned story, as well as to initiate ideas for and approaches to coverage. The job requires a mix of research support for breaking daily stories, for graphics and for longer-term investigative projects.

Qualifications:

Experience

Candidate should have at least three years experience working as a professional researcher, preferably for a news or media organization. Experience reporting, writing and/or editing for the news media is a plus. Experience in supervising and training others also is desirable.

Skills

Candidate should be proficient in standard library print sources, the Internet, and commercial information services, such as Factiva and Lexis-Nexis; and in online public record sources, such as Accurint and Merlin. Candidate should have skills in data manipulation programs: spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Excel); relational databases (e.g. Microsoft Access); GIS mapping (e.g. ArcView). Statistics expertise and skill with web authoring tools (e.g. Microsoft FrontPage) also are preferred.

Duties:

* Provide research support for reporters, editors, news artists/photographers, New Media content providers. Gather background material, statistics and other data for the production of long-term news project as well as daily stories, and informational graphics. Write timelines and other text for graphics. Manipulate data using standard computer tools (spreadsheets, relational databases and GIS). Seek out information in public records, whether available online or in government offices.
* Help manage a developing Editorial Research staff.
* Help train news staff in the use of research and data-manipulation tools.
* Help maintain the newsroom intranet.
* Manage the department in the Director's absence.

Contact:

Send resume, cover letter and sample research to either:

Pete Basofin
Director of Editorial Research
(916) 321-1170 or pbasofin@sacbee.com

or

Amy Pyle
Projects Editor
(916) 321-1050 or apyle@sacbee.com

The Sacramento Bee
P.O. Box 15779
Sacramento, CA 95852

Notes from the conference

I'm slow to get to reading everything that's come out so this posting is late, but check out Eli Edwards' Confessions of a Mad Librarian blog for some notes from various News Division and SLA panels and happenings in Toronto.

Blogging CE noted

Journalism prof Bob Stepno, author of Bob Stepno's other journalism Weblog , points to news of the Blogging for News CE in Toronto, and says, "News librarians had a challenging job even before the proliferation of Web news sites and weblogs. The prolific "j" is part of the solution -- although she could turn into part of the problem if you tried to keep up with everything she writes. "

More from Blogging for News CE

Here's Alice Pepper blogging. (Note Jim Hunter standing in back.)
This photo was missing when I downloaded my camera to my laptop, so I thought I hadn't gotten it. 

From the sessions:

Gary Price's presentation from yesterday, on what's new in searching in 2005 is posted on his website. (Thanks to Margot Williams for posting the URL to Newslib.)

j adds: Eli points to another one of Gary Price's conference presentations on the SLA 2005 Conference Blog.

Location Change: The Globe and Mail's Executive Garage Band

The Globe and Mail's Executive Garage Band will play Wednesday (6/8) night at 9 pm at the Original Motorcycle Cafe, 355 King Street West instead of the 360. Doors will open at 8:30. There is no cover charge.

This concert sounds like a lot of fun. Wish I could be there.

Geiger: our favorite folk musician

Richard Geiger, being honored tonight with the News Division's prestigious Kwapil Award, has submitted the lyrics of the songs he's singing as his acceptance speech. He shares them with all of us....

============================================
There's a Large Hotel
(There's a Small Hotel, 1935, apologies to Rodgers & Hart)
---------------------------------------------

There's a large hotel
Where the News Division dwells
I love when we're all here, together

There's a Division suite
One room bright and neat
Complete for us to share together

Entering in that wondrous room
You can see all kinds people
Really smart people, real fun people

When the week is done
We're through with work and fun
We'll thank that large hotel together!

===========================================
Night and Day
(Night and Day, 1932, apologies to Cole Porter)
---------------------------------------------

Night and day
Why is it so?
That I stay up every night
Until the dawn's glow

My conference friends I see
Only once a year, so I must be
Out on the town
Night and day

Day and night
My headache tortures me
I try to stay awake through speeches
but my eyes simply cannot see

But when at last I fly back home
My weariness straight into the bone
I sleep and sleep -- and sleep!
Night and day!

===========================================

Isn't It the Conference
(Isn't It Romantic, 1932, apologies to Rodgers & Hart)
---------------------------------------------

Isn't it the Conference
That keeps your mind a-humming / clear from June to June?
Isn't it the Conference
That keeps you coming back / to walk into this room?
Our / speakers are so brilliant / every single year
You / just can't miss the feeling / grinning from ear to ear

Isn't it the Conference
A week that can't be missed / of all the 52
Isn't it the Conference
Where we always come / so that we can see YOU!
We / will share all of our secrets / gabbing in the suite
It's so fun to meet!
Isn't TOO SWEET!

Yay, Richard!

PLEASE, somebody send pictures!

Addendum 6/29: j here: Amy Disch pointed out that Barbara Semonche's page on the banquet has an MP3 of Richard Geiger's performance.

Blogging for News

From the blogging CE
J shows the class how her blog works. Note link below to the presentations online.... 


Want to see what the class produced? There are a few test blogs online, at the following adddresses (some may be blank):

http://bloggingfornews1.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews2.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews3.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews4.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews5.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews6.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews7.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews8.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews9.blogware.com
http://bloggingfornews10.blogware.com

CN Tower

Greetings from Toronto..... 


Speaking of Toronto, I'm not there any more, and neither is J. If anyone wants to post stories, session reports, gossip....etc....send it to me and I'll post it. Thanks,
Liz.

Richard Geiger

Thanks to Michael McCulley, a link to The San Francisco Chronicle's story about Richard Geiger's Kwapil award. More to come from Richard after he gets Kwapiled......

CE Course Blogging for News

Jessica Baumgart's and Liz Donovan's presentations from the first two hours of the SLA 2005 Annual Conference course Blogging for News are online.

About 35 people showed up for the course, only three of whom admitted blogging.

More from j's scratchpad

Report: Toronto Star Tour

Follow the link above to read my brief entry on j's scratchpad about the Toronto Star tour.

The News Division Suite is ...

The SLA News Division Suite is locatated in the Fairmont Royal York, 100 Front Street West, room numbers 1-281 and 1-283.

I do not have access to Newslib while I am traveling. Can someone please make sure that gets posted to the list if it hasn't been posted already? Thanks!