Free webcast today: using LinkedIn for journalism

Columbia University's journalism school this afternoon is holding a free e-seminar on how journalists can use LinkedIn more effectively. The event will be webcast live from 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST.

The session will deal with variety of issues including how journalists can use LinkedIn in their day-to-day work, and how to use it as an effective job hunting tool. Speakers include Arik Hesseldahl, BusinessWeek senior technology writer; Jason Alba, author of I'm on LinkedIn, Now What? - A Guide to Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn and CEO of JibberJobber, a jobs search service; and Kay Luo, senior director of corporate communication of LinkedIn. The session will be moderated by Sree Sreenivasan, a new media professor at Columbia.

You can listen live or, later, to a recording by clicking here. Listeners can call in with their questions (or listen live) at 1-646-915-9583. And before or after the session you can leave a comment or ask a question in the comments section of http://columbianm.blogspot.com/2009/01/webcast-linkedin-for-journalists-or.html or e-mail sree[at]sree.net (In the subject, write "webcast").

NYC event: All-star discussion on new media

Join Columbia Journalism School and the Hearst Foundation next week for their annual look at the changing profession of journalism , with an emphasis on new media and online journalism.

"Changing Media Landscape, 2008" is from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on November 11 at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in New York.

The event will feature a discussion led by six all-star media influencers: Sewell Chan, blogger/bureau chief of the New York Times "City Room" blog; David Cohn, founder of Spot.us, a new crowdfunding investigative journalism project; Adriano Farano, executive editor of CafeBabel.com - the first multilingual European current affairs online magazine; Erica Smith, news designer for St. Louis Post-Dispatch and "Paper Cuts" blogger; and Jacob Weisberg, chairman and editor-in-chief of Slate Group.

"This is a different kind of panel," e-mails Sree Sreenivasa, Dean of Student Affairs and new media professor at Columbia's journalism school, "with a real conversation among the participants and audience - with no PowerPoint in sight."

The event is free and RSVP is not required. A live and archived webcast of the event will be available at http://mogulus.com/columbiajournalism

New media prof offers advice

Columbia journalism school's Sree Sreenivasan says young journalists should look online for opportunities to build their portfolio.

"Online publications, which often pay less than print publications (if they pay at all) are an option for beginning journos," says Sreenivasan, who runs the Columbia Journalism School's new media program and is WNBC's tech reporter. "Depending on the site's visibility, it may be a good way to get clips. As someone who did volunteer work for years (and still writes gratis, on occasion), anything that gets you clips is worth considering."

He adds: "Another tip is to start blogging. Having a smart, reporter's notebook-type blog is a way to show an editor your writing and your THINKING skills."

From time to time, I like to ask journalism experts and practitioners what tips they have for young journalists. I spoke with Sree in the spring for an article I wrote for Quill on how to get bylines. If you'd like to submit tips or share experiences, please e-mail me.

-Mark Grabowski

NYC lecture: web tips for journalists

Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs and new media professor at Columbia's journalism school, e-mails:

Folks: I am teaching a class Wednesday morning and have lots of room for guests. If you happen to be free and want to come for a free session, please stop by. No RSVP needed.

* Wednesday, 10:30-noon
Smarter Surfing: Web Tips and Tricks Every Journalist Should Know

Columbia Journalism School, LECTURE HALL
116th St & Broadway (#1 train to 116th St)

If you can't make it, most of the material I will be covering is available on http://www.SreeTips.com