Monday, October 08, 2007

MELD - When old and new media collide (UK)


While in the US my many friends revel in the dynamism of work and play in this interactive sand box, we in the UK have been sorely lacking in sticking are heads out.

Well OK we haven't then, but there's comparatively little PR on our ventures.

Take the Telegraphs new dedicated multimedia journalists - the first in the UK to go through the whole gamut of this black art. Nada!

So I believe a toast is due to Paul Egglestone, Course Leader of MA International Documentaries at the University of Central Lancashire.

Paul an accomplished doc maker, together with his colleague Super blogger and respected all rounder Andy Dickinson will be hosting MELD.

It looks like a fantastic idea knitting academia, industry and a number of agents together. (see below)

I have crossed paths with both, but this time am looking forward to sharing a few drinks and ideas, as Paul has invited me to be one of the talkers.

I have got a couple of tentative ideas; the most recent a small film I'll see if I can finish on time that looks at the first multimedia journalists hired by the Telegraph, who I had the pleasure of mixing with for a bout of video journalism.

See you at Meld


Press Release

MELD:

A convergence of platforms requires a convergence of skills

Journalists know how to find a story and to tell it well. Interaction designers know how to get that story out to the right audience. MELD will bring the best of both worlds together to find out what happens when the two worlds collide.

The role of the journalist is changing. Affordable and connected technologies (blogs, YouTube, Flickr etc) means that everyone can make and broadcast content to hundreds, if not thousands, of like-minded people across the globe

How will the skills of traditional journalism fit into this shifting digital landscape?

How will a story stand out from the crowd when everybody is a reporter?

What will give professional comments and analysis more clout than an amateur blog?

How will journalists adapt to stay ahead of the breaking wave?

How can they harness the wisdom of the crowd?

Successful networked journalists will be open and interactive. They will understand how to facilitate and collaborate

MELD is an ideas-generation and development workshop designed to explore these issues

Selected journalists will be paid to join selected new media practitioners at a five-day residential lab. There they will learn the necessary skills for success in the connected world

The lab will be held on 10-14 December in Preston

Teams will work on real briefs from Industry partners, including some from Simon Bucks, Associate Editor, Sky News Online. Projects will be designed through a process of collaboration, ideas generation and development before pitching them to industry partners with the resources to make the ideas into reality

This is a unique opportunity for freelance journalist and interaction designers based in the North of England

The project will be launched at two evening events:

MANCHESTER EXCHANGE SQ. Selfridges Moet Bar 10th October
LEEDS Boutique Bar 15th October

For more information mail info@meldonline.org or phone 0114 221 0454 and put “MELD Enquiry” in the subject line if you would like to come along or find our more

MELD is brought to you by the Department of Journalism and Sandbox at UCLAN with Just-b. It is supported by the Northern Edge and the Northern Way

Ends

Press contact: Greg Povey, 0114 221 0454 or mail info@meldonline.org
Limited press passes available

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