I'm melded

That's it! But now Paul and Andy start the gradt at Meld, but by all accounts there is a excitement in the air.

If you're in the US, perhaps MELD as an organisation will have greater currency, for there's a good number of people helping put journalism onto a fresh footing, often with funding to boot.

The Knight Foundation is just one of many. MELD in the end is a brokerer, the yellow brick road between your house and that Wizard of Oz, the programmer/broadcaster.

And along the way lies the journey, the process of creativity which journalism is being asked to deliver.

Alison Waugh, creative consultant and I had a "wow" conversation yesterday, following the post of her interview. She's one of my PhD colleagues, So I hope you to introduce her to you more formally.

Wanna know about water? Don't ask a fish.

It is outside the four walls of journalism that solutions may lie about how we mash and turn it inside out.

Alison is one of those non-fish species. She lives outside the bubble, so has solutions that most will find deeply engaging.

As a journalist who's worked in front and behind the camera, made Ads for ad agencies, graphic and websites, it is fundamental point.

Anytime I get the chance to work with someone inspiring like Rob Chiu whom I'll post to the front of Viewmagazine, I come away enthused at a new idea.

It's this cross pollination, the share economy, the era of interdependency that finds new roads less travelled where we might work new solutions.

Alsion is doing that, MELD is doing that.

Question is do you want to engage?

It's your choice and it really is that simple.

Video coming up soonish

Post meld

Just got back from Manchester and Meld. Posting intro video of Andy Dickinson and Paul Egglestone very soon, but saw this on Andy's blog.

What the authorities should be doing here, which we do with NATO is put reporters into the sim.

Go to the Masters programme of your nearest or top journalism school and let loose the students so they can report from within the theatre of combat warts n' all.

I spent 18 months reporting from South Arica during its troubled time, and looking back on the more recent Nato reporting excercise I can tell you it it would have helped me no end on my real assignment.



Understanding stripes (ranking); three letter acronyms (Forces language); what not to do in theatre i.e. no room for histrionics actions and reportage; risk assessments about your own safety and the use of video journalism field editing and sat back packs - are just a few of the elements to look at.

One sim I experienced was so real world frightening, using Special Forces, that a student broke down crying.

So go set up the relationship Northwestern's Medill School, Columbia and the Missouri School of Journalism.

And if you need any assistance pleae do drop me a line :)

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