NewsliBlog

Internship at CNN Chicago

2008-05-07T13:38:00.000-05:00

CNN's Chicago bureau has a need for an intern this
summer to work with its video collection. If
interested, please send appropriate materials by June
15th to Jennifer Turner, CNN Library at
Jennifer.Turner@turner.com.

Internship - CNN Library – (Chicago)

Please Note: Internships are UNPAID and structured to
last approximately 10-12 weeks, generally in the
format of typical college semesters. A resume and
cover letter are required for application. Please
include days/hours of availability in your cover
letter and three references at the end of your resume.
Students should have a strong academic record (a 3.0
GPA or higher) and good character. Students must
currently be enrolled in and pursuing a Master of
Library Science (MLS) or some variation. Note to
International Students: All international interns will
be required to provide documentation of proper visa
paperwork prior to arrival. Only J1 or F1 student
visas will be accepted. Deadline is June 15th.

Internship Description: The CNN Library functions as
both as a research center and video archive, and
supports worldwide newsgathering and production for
CNN networks and web sites, as well as other Turner
companies.

The Chicago Bureau manages coverage in a 12-state
region that includes Dallas, Denver and all points in
between. It covers a wide range of stories, both
breaking news and scheduled features.

This internship will focus on video cataloging -
assessing the Chicago Bureau’s video for archiving and
then cataloging selected video in the Library content
management system.

Qualifications: Candidate must currently be enrolled
in and pursuing a Master of Library Science (MLS) or
some variation, with an interest in or focus on
journalism or special libraries preferred. Candidate
should have knowledge of Chicago/Midwest current
events and recent history. Candidates should be a
highly motivated self-starter who is detail-oriented
and able to work independently. Effective written and
verbal communication skills are a top priority.

Again, if interested, please send your resume, cover
letter, three references, and hours of availability to
Jennifer Turner, CNN Library at
Jennifer.Turner@turner.com

Database producer opening, Chicago

2008-04-25T18:23:00.000-05:00

Company: Chicago Tribune Interactive
Job Title: Database Producer
Description: Chicago Tribune Interactive is looking for someone with a great nose for data and a knack for helping present that data to online users in compelling, innovative ways. This person should be a hybrid journalist-techie -- at home in both worlds and ready to lead its online database efforts.

The ideal candidate will have a record of innovation in online media and a proven ability to execute complex editorial database projects. This is not exclusively a programming position, but it will likely require a great deal of hands-on coding.

The position requires excellent communication and team skills, and a flair for explaining complex concepts and procedures to others in clear and compelling ways.

Duties:

-- Oversee development of useful public interfaces to local data collected by Tribune journalists and third parties. Key content areas include real estate, crime, education and sports.

-- Imagine novel ways for users to interact with information and, where appropriate, contribute to and edit information.

-- Work with the newspaper's database experts, Web editorial staff and product-development teams to plan and execute online database projects

Qualifications:

-- 2-4 years experience with database programming, preferably in a media environment

-- Bachelor's degree in computer science or related technical degree preferred

-- HTML/ DHTML/CSS

-- SQL/MySQL

-- PHP/Perl/Python

-- Web Scraping

-- Basic knowledge of Flash

Additional (nice but not required):

-- JavaScript/XML/AJAX

-- PostGreSQL

-- WEB Frameworks (Django or Ruby on Rails)

-- Google Maps/Yahoo! Maps API

If you are interested in applying, or know someone who would be a great candidate for this position, please direct resumes and cover letters to Ben Estes at bestes@tribune.com.

Student Stipend Applications Sought: $1500 to attend SLA. Deadline: Wed., 4/16

2008-04-11T08:52:00.003-05:00

Hey LIS graduate students and recent grads interested in news librarianship: want $1500 to help fund your first trip to the Special Libraries Association Annual Conference? We members of the Vormelker-Thomas Student Stipend Award Committee eagerly await your applications! Complete application instructions are at: http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/about/vormelker2008.htm.

Selection Criteria:

Applicants must be members of the Special Libraries Association when they apply for the stipend.
Applicants must be attending their first SLA conference.
Applicants must be graduate students or December 2007 graduates interested in a career in news librarianship.
Applications must include:

a word-processed essay (500-1,000 words) addressing an issue in news librarianship
a letter of reference from a news librarian, a news editor, or a faculty member
a resume
a list of course work undertaken
a statement of professional goals
a statement of what the applicant expects to gain from attending the conference

Applications must be e-mailed no later than Wednesday, April 16 at 5 p.m.

Yes, it seems like applying for the award is a lot of work, but it's worth it. The money really helps defray the cost of the conference and the award looks pretty on a resume. Few people apply, so your chances of winning are very good. Past winners include a lot of folks who go on to do great things for news librarianship.

Job notice

2008-03-28T12:50:00.001-05:00

I haven't been cross posting job offerings from the NewsLib listserv, but got a direct request to post this one:

The Sports Illustrated library has an opening for full-time research librarian. The library provides both reference and in-depth research for Sports Illustrated reporters and writers.

Requirements:

--M.L.S. from ALA accredited school preferred.

--Experience working in a news or special library.

--Extensive experience using various databases (including Nexis, Dialog, Factiva, Autotrack and Accurint) and the internet.

--Knowledge of standard print reference sources.

--Familiarity with cataloging, database design and construction (specifically Inmagic or Filemaker Pro) and archival preservation are also a plus.

Applicant should have excellent communication skills, be creative, flexible and have a broad knowledge of sports.

Please send resumes to:

Joy Birdsong

Sports Illustrated

1271 Ave. of the Americas, 32-318

New York, NY 10020

e-mail: Joy_Birdsong@simail.com

Fax: (212) 522-1719

Going to Internet Libraria 2007?

2007-10-27T23:14:00.000-05:00

A few SLA News Division members usually turn up at Internet Librarian. Raise your hand if you're going and keep an eye out for some division members. The conference is from Monday, October 29, through Wednesday, October 31, in Monterey, California. It features a lot of the latest Internet technologies and why librarians should pay attention to them.

Blogging the conference

2007-06-06T14:06:00.000-05:00

Thanks to J for posting about the conference. J has also posted some on her own blog.

Here's what I posted on my news research blog a couple days ago:

The News Division blog I started a few years ago for one of the SLA conventions is still available for posting from attendees, but no one has updated the blog in a long time. I've been tempted to at least add job postings there but since I'm not really a member any more (despite occasional contributions to the listserv), have hesitated to do it. If anyone attending the conference is reading this and wants to post to the blog, email me and I'll set you up.

The News Division, however, has a great program for the annual meeting. Hope everyone's having fun! (I would love to be a fly on the wall at this morning's Future of News Libraries seminar just to hear Mark Hannan, Jr, Reference Desk Director at USA Today. His father was my beloved boss, research director at the Washington Post, long ago.)

For news of the meetings, InfoToday's Blog is again covering the convention from inside. The buzz from yesterday and today is mostly about Al Gore, who did a book signing and a keynote speech. Of course there's also an SLA blog by attending members, including, I hope, some News Division members.

SLA Update: Monday

2007-06-05T12:20:00.000-05:00

The Special Libraries Association Annual Conference is filled with lots of News Division goodness. I've spent lots of time in News Division sessions, hanging out in the suite, and catching up with our fellow News Division colleagues.

The Denver Post tour last night was terrific. Their new digs are gorgeous. I think we spent more time talking on the 10th floor balcony than we did touring the library, oohing and aahing over its index cards and old photos. Thanks to our colleagues there for hosting us!

Afterward, I walked up the capitol and stood on any number of steps that might or might not be exactly one mile above sea level.

The Future of News Libraries session yesterday might be my favorite session so far. We're in times of great change and we need to learn how to adapt and cope. Learning what our colleagues have been through was inspiring. Nora Paul's review of technology and images was fabulous.

I know quite a few of you are really eager to find out what's happening at the conference. I've got too many balls in the air right now to do an adequate job of covering everything in real time, but I hope to be able to post notes here and on j's scratchpad eventually.

Vormelker-Thomas Student Stipend Award

2007-02-01T14:44:00.000-05:00

Each year, the News Division of the Special Libraries Association and ProQuest generously contribute $1,500 toward the Vormelker-Thomas Student Stipend Award, which is presented to a recent graduate or graduate student interested in pursuing a career in news librarianship. The money enables that student to attend their first Special Libraries Association conference, which this year is being held June 3-6 in Denver, Colorado. This is a wonderful opportunity to attend some terrific sessions and to meet and network with your future colleagues.

Deadline is Friday, March 23, 2007.

Library recognition

2007-01-19T12:22:00.000-05:00

Nice tribute to the CBC's library in the Inside the CBC.com blog: Our Secret Weapon: The CBC Reference Library with nice staff photo.

Also, last month, in case you missed it, here's another nice note for news librarians: Credible and Credited: the rise of Newspaper Librarians (PDF) study from the UK of The Guardian's library.

Dispatches from Internet Librarian

2006-10-23T16:15:00.000-05:00

I'm at Internet Librarian, along with some of our news library colleagues. If you'd like to read along, I've been posting notes from the sessions. Some of the rooms have wireless Internet connections, so I'm blogging live when I can.

Summer 2006 News Library News is up

2006-08-15T21:01:00.000-05:00

The Summer 2006 issue of News Library News is now posted on the News Division's Web site. It's full of interesting articles detailing the goings on within the News Division at the annual SLA Conference held in Baltimore in June.

This is also editor Kathryn Pease's last issue. Kathryn did a terrific job and it was a pleasure working with her the past two years.

Our new editor is Leigh Montgomery of The Christian Science Monitor. Welcome Leigh, we look forward to working with you.

On researchers

2006-07-31T09:45:00.000-05:00

American Journalism Review has a nice article by an editorial assistant, Alia Malik, about news researchers: Beyond the Byline. Several news researchers are quoted or mentioned here, including the Sun-Sentinel's computer assisted reporting expert, John Maines.
The others: The Union-Tribune's Erin Hobbs, Denise Davidson, Peter Uribe and the late Cecilia Iñiguez; Columbus Dispatch's Jim Hunter; Anne Holcomb of the Kalamazoo Gazette; National Geographic's Ellie Briscoe; Michael Panzer of the Philadelphia Inquirer; and Raleigh's Denise Jones.

Nice quote from Maines:

"I'm in the back of the airplane," he explains. "I'm the navigator, I'm the bombardier. I'm not the person who's flying the plane, but my job's extremely important, and they're relying on me to make sure we get where we're going and that we don't drop a bomb on a church."

One more in a growing list of recognition for news researchers.

Atlanta job

2006-07-26T10:04:00.000-05:00

This job is no longer posted.

2 jobs in NY

2006-07-19T13:39:00.000-05:00

Job title: Senior Information Specialist

Salary: Open

Location: New York, New York

Employer: Forbes, Inc.

Type: Full Time - Experienced

Category: Arts, Entertainment, Media

Required Education: Masters in Library or Information Studies

Forbes Inc. seeks an experienced Information Specialist to join our staff. The primary responsibilities will include but are not limited to performing research upon request from the editorial and other staff. This includes research that is performed online, with print resources, and via telephone. Responsibilities include recommending acquisitions for the collection, both online and print.

The requirements for this position include an MLS from an accredited program, coursework in advanced or specialized reference, and a minimum of five years related employment experience with online database searching. Familiarity with automated library environment is required. Some technology related work is included in the responsibilities (e.g. catalog maintenance). Experience in business or social science research preferred. Minimal managerial experience required.

Note: No relocation costs, local applicants preferred. Please email your cover letter, resume and salary requirements to careers@forbesinc.com. No phone calls.

Forbes is America's leading biweekly business magazine, reaching over 4.9 million readers. Since 1917, its mission has been to provide access to information and insights that ensure its readers' success. Faithfully fulfilling that promise is what draws today's most influential business leaders to Forbes.

Anne P. Mintz

Director of Knowledge Management

Forbes Inc.

amintz -- at -- forbes.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I am looking for a temporary researcher to fill in until a full time
researcher is in place.

This can be from 25-30 hours per week. The position will last from July
31 probably through Labor Day or perhaps a bit beyond.

Please send resume and cover letter to my attention via e-mail only,
with minimum hourly requirements (I think what we have in mind is quite
fair).

Requirements are: MLS or equivalent degree, experience in online and
print research in business and/or social science environment. Nexis and
Factiva fluency required.

Forbes Inc. is the publisher of Forbes, Forbes Asia, ForbesLife,
Forbes.com, American Heritage, American Legacy and other publications.
It is located near several major subway stops in Manhattan.

Anne Mintz

Anne P. Mintz
Director of Knowledge Management
Forbes Inc.
amintz -- at -- forbes.com
212-620-2499- phone
212-620-1811 - fax

Conference photos

2006-07-19T09:29:00.000-05:00

Barbara Semonche has created a page of photos from the SLA News Division awards dinner at her Park Library at UC website. A blast down memory lane to see Kwapil award winner Nora Paul after her several years away from news libraries, and nice to see the Miami Herald's Rafael Fernandez, a fellowship winner, well deserved. Several other favorite news librarians from years past -- and present -- too.

Conference presentations

2006-06-18T16:54:00.000-05:00

Presentations from the majority of Division-sponsored programs at the SLA annual conference are now available on the Division's 2006 conference page. Podcasts of each will be forthcoming.

Mary Ellen Bates has requested that her presentation be removed from the site after two weeks, so you may wish to print it out or save it to your computer.

Change is Constant: Tuesday's sessions

2006-06-14T10:01:00.000-05:00

Handling change in our industry was the theme at several sessions on Tuesday. Mary Ellen Bates talked about Special Library challenges, including the graying of the profession; special libraries competing with other departments with the organization; and attracting Generation Y.
She also said that library schools are not teaching some critical skills for special libraries: value-added online searching; post-processing analysis; marketing the library; leadership skills; communication & collaboration skills; teaching & speaking skills.
I hope there will be more on this session posted on the News Division web site, I plan to go back and catch up with the second half of her presentation since I had to leave early.
In another session called "Pumping Iron," News Division members reviewed results of a survey sent to members in April. About 70 members responded. The presentation gave loads of specific numbers for staff reductions and hiring practices in recent years. The librarians discussed how essential it is to be proactive in offering services to the newsroom and to the public.

Anne Holcomb, a solo librarian at the Kalamazoo Gazette, said she keeps on target by scheduling her day. Mornings for archiving, afternoons for long-term research, with deadline requests breaking in as needed.
Ginny Everett of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said libraries need to be poised to meet unanticipated demands. Her example was a film clip that was on the AJC web site. When readers started asking to buy it as a DVD, she was able to respond quickly.
Michael Meiners of the St. Louis Post Dispatch mentioned keeping his researchers front and center in the newsroom by seizing opportunities for researchers to train the newsroom.
Debra Bade of the Chicago Tribune talked about working with other librarians in a chain of newspapers to share ideas and info.

I expect more on this session to be posted to the Intranet as well.

Derek's Handout

2006-06-13T20:02:00.000-05:00

Here's the link to the brief handout from my session today that mentions some of the open source tools of the trade that I use. Thanks to everyone who came and asked great questions!

Podcasting to come

2006-06-13T12:20:00.000-05:00

Jim Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch told me he has been digitally recording most of the News Division presentations here in Baltimore. He said podcasts will be available on the News Division web site once the conference concludes. Very cool!

Fear not programming!

2006-06-13T09:40:00.000-05:00

News librarians need not fear programming, says Derek Willis of the Washington Post. He showed us how he uses programming like Python to create easy-to-use databases. To get a quick grasp of what he's doing, check out this Congressional votes database. This database is available to the public, but Derek has created similar databases on different subjects (Washington mass transit, the Pillsbury Bake-Off) for reporters to use inside the newsroom.
We should view this type of programming as not altogether different from Boolean searching, he said. It's just another way for us to capture and view information. It may seem intimidating, but it gets much easier the more you get into it.
Derek said he'll be posting notes on his presentation later today at his website, thescoop.org.
My two cents: I would have found this presentation near incomprehensible over a year ago. What helped me "get it" a little more easily was learning to blog with Blogger software and using an RSS reader, that helped get me more familiar with html and ways of manipulating it. Programming in Python seems like a couple of steps up from blogs and RSS -- hard but not inconceivable. So if you're clutching your head at the idea of Python, you might want to look at those two things as a way of getting comfortable with some of the terminology. Plus it's fun!
This post waaaaaaay oversimplifies things but I'm blogging this on the public workstations at the conference, and there's a 10-minute time limit.

Wiki wiki! Monday's sessions

2006-06-13T06:14:00.000-05:00

I liked Monday's wiki presentation a lot too (see Derek's post below). Wiki means quick, I learned, and describes how easy it is to contribute to a wiki. I was impressed by the different uses the news libraries found for a wiki.

The Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer uses theirs to share documents during breaking news stories.
The Columbus Dispatch has created a city almanac of people, places and timelines -- a geographic specific ready-reference resource.
At the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the library uses a wiki to host a department handbook that includes best practices, i.e. how to background a person, how to distribute the daily papers, etc.

The panelists said their Power Point presentations would be available on the News Division web site in about a week. I'll definitely be checking those out.
I also heard great reviews of the digitization panels they had yesterday, though sadly I did not attend.
Monday night, the highlight of the Proquest reception was the auction of a T-shirt from that said Times-Picayune: We publish come hell or highwater. (It sold for $80!) The whole room applauded after remarks about the work of news librarians and journalists during Katrina.

Newsroom Wiki Session

2006-06-12T15:15:00.000-05:00

This morning's session on newsroom wikis featured demonstrations of several research wikis in use at papers from St. Louis, Columbus and Raleigh. MediaWiki seems to be a popular choice for newsroom wikis, in part because it's very customizable and visually familiar. In most cases, newsroom wikis are being edited only by researchers; broader newsroom access doesn't seem to be very widespread yet. Thanks to Jessica, Mike Meiners, Susan Ebbs and Jim Hunter for a great session.

Sun tour

2006-06-12T09:57:00.000-05:00

Note Eli Edwards has a posting about the tour of the Baltimore Sun newsroom on the SLA blog.

Gwen Ifill at Opening General Session

2006-06-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

Gwen Ifill of PBS's Washington Week and Jim Lehrer's The NewsHour was the keynote speaker at last night's opening session. She started out to cheering when she revealed, "Once upon a time, I wanted to be a librarian." She said she learned to love reading at the library, and it was a place to meet boys and gossip with her girlfriends. She discussed how researchers at the NewsHour help her look good by prepping her for each day's unexpected topics.
She then reflected on how journalism is seeing highs and lows right now.
The good: Journalists are in all parts of the world reporting on international events. Recent investigations have exposed secret prisons and wiretapping programs. Sept. 11 has renewed interest in government, and people want to now how government works, and what happens when it doesn't work.
The bad: Journalists are under attack. Sometimes it's reasonable and sometimes it's not. She mentioned the U.S. Justice Department seeking the late columnist Jack Anderson's papers, and the Wen Ho Lee case, where news organizations settled because they feared the courts would force them to reveal confidential sources.
Also, the proliferation of news outlets has led to an increase in "infotainment" style news. People know who TomKat's baby is, but they don't know what's going on in Darfur. This development puts some responsibility back on the audience. "You have to take greater responsibility to get the news you need."
Gwen also said that many of the politicians she's met are "honorable people" trying to do good public service. The media does not do a good job of showing this, because it's not usually news when people do the right thing.
Nevertheless, Gwen said she remains idealistic. "Are we under fire? Probably. And I think that's a good thing. How else are we to be held accountable?"
Afterwards, Gwen took questions from the audience. On PBS's independence, she said she feels like it is solid. The wall between journalism and underwriting has not been punctured. She also discussed her moderation of the vice presidential debate. She said she had to be very, very careful not to tell anyone what the questions were or what order she would ask them. (Jim Lehrer gave her that advice, she said.) She also said the audience knows when the candidates don't answer the questions, as when Cheney and Edwards avoided her question on growing AIDS cases among heterosexual black women in America. Their non-answers speak for themselves, she said.
She spoke before a huge audience in the main ballroom, there were four giant video screens so everyone could see.

The News Division Suite is in 1502 at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel.

2006-06-10T17:51:00.000-05:00

The News Division suite is in room 1502 of the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel. Please join us there! Don't forget to pay your $25 suite fees.

To see what exciting events are happening in the suite, visit the News Division's conference schedule. If I recall correctly, the suite is open every night, though later on Tuesday because of the banquet. Don't forget about the fun Silent Auction Monday night and mentor and mentee night on Sunday--a great opportunity to meet some first time conference goers.

Come for the networking, stay for the view! (Don't forget your camera!)