My new reel is below.  I've worked at a few news stations in my day.  If you work on-air, you need to have a news reel which shows what you can do.  Let me know what you think about my work.

This is a test of a new feature on the Lens on Atlanta blogs section.

You can now share your favorite videos from sites like YouTube on the community and it's real easy (this works for photos too).

When you create a blog, you'll notice a new box that allows you to, "Embed your Video Link."  That enables you to copy and paste what's called an embed code.  You'll find this code on most internet video and photo sharing sites. 

After you find a video, or photo that you'd like to share on your blog, copy and paste this code into the designated box.  

Then you can write your copy in regular text edit section, then you can add your new blog to the site.

This is the first time I've tested the feature so I'm curious to see how it displays.

If you have any questions, give me shout. 

Amani Channel

From MyUrbanReport

"I’m participating in a journalism roundtable discussion at Georgia State University today. A variety of news professionals will be on hand to help the university develop its curriculum for students, and help the academics develop areas of future research.

I’ll be sharing my insights as a news professional, and social media practitioner. I’ll also share the abstract from my current graduate study. My thesis is titled “Gatekeeping and Citizen Journalism: A qualitative study on participatory media.” I’m currently collecting the data, and the plan is to graduate this semester. I only have two interviews to complete. Then I’ll be in the lab writing." 

CONTINUE READING

Here is a link to the video I produced for the presentation.

I believe that Lens on Atlanta could be a vital part of the media evolution, or revolution depending on how you look at it.

The news media hardly ever covers issues oriented information, plus news is subjective.  If the story doesn't involve the police, fire engines, or some kind of tragedy the chance of coverage diminishes.

That doesn't mean your event, or activity isn't important enough to be shared.  Your neighborhood watch meeting could be considered newsworthy to people in the group especially if you  are working on plans to change or improve the community.

There are arts exhibits that don't get any media coverage.  Lens on Atlanta presents the opportunity for every organization, community group or individual to share some information that can help us gain greater perspective and understanding of what our collective community is experiencing.

If you're reading this, please share your thoughts.  Click on the headline of this post.  Scroll down and leave a comment. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

After days of soaking rains the floods came.  The news is quick to cover weather, and so are everyday people it seems.  After logging into the Lens on Atlanta Twitter account, I quickly noticed that many of the people I follow were talking about the #atlflood.  That is the hashtag that metro Atlantans used on Twitter to share information about the floods.

Twitter is a great way to keep up with the latest info when news is happening.

It's also great for monitoring what the people are seeing and learning. Here are some examples:

cassinator It's raining so much in ATL that my brand new roof is leaking. BRAND NEW. And it's flooding... check out #atlflood for updates.

 walkerdl RT @ajc: Cobb County sending middle schoolers home early, at 1:15p.m. #atlflood  

valueswevalue flooding reminds me of what happened to my house when hurricanes cindy and dennis came to call a few summers ago in Atlanta area #atlflood

jonathansaar I have never felt so helpless-- water pouring into apartment #atlflood 

News organizations can't be everywhere, but by monitoring Twitter and hastags, you can get a comprehensive view of what is going on at any moment. 

Here are a few ideas how to use Twitter to monitor major events like weather:

Use www.search.twitter.com to search a hashtag, or key word.  In this case, the community adopted the #atlflood hashtag.

Use www.tweetgrid.com or www.tweetchat.com to follow #hashtaged tweets.  These sites aggregate all of the hashtags, and update the stream constantly.  It's great because you can easily retweet messages which are all in real time.

Twitcaps is great for searching for photos that have been uploaded to Twitter.  You can search by username, or hashtag to see all photos related to an event.  

I've really been thinking about how we can integrate Twitter with Lens on Atlanta.  Please register, share your thoughts and stay dry.