Development projects large and small under way in Troy
The Record, March 27, 2011

Over the past year, residential, commercial and even municipal development has ramped up in the City of Troy, with a number of high profile projects already under construction and more on the way. From small businesses moving into vacant storefronts in Downtown Troy to a multi-million dollar residential development on Oakwood Avenue, city officials said the increased development activity is years in the making, and hope that the momentum will continue.

Troy’s business development a collaborative effort
The Record, March 28, 2011

Over the past few years, the City of Troy has seen increased economic development, despite economic difficulties across the state and country and stagnating growth in municipalities of similar size. According to city officials, Troy has managed to spur development in spite of these challenges by focusing on making the municipal aspect of development more efficient, working to match existing properties with the right developer and fostering an environment of cooperation between city departments internally and with other agencies.

Development projects focused ‘on all areas of Troy’
The Record, March 29, 2011

With the ongoing influx of development in the city, Troy officials are hoping to keep the momentum going with projects already going through the approval process and others that are still in the negotiation phase.

Photos

These photos were not included in the published package for this series, but can help illustrate some of the projects discussed. All photos were taken by Vic Christopher.

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Map

This map accompanied the online version of the series, showing the location of all discussed projects.

View Building Up Troy in a larger map

The book is more informational than instructional, meaning you won’t walk away knowing exactly how to write a program to analyze data or be able to make an infographic in Flash. In actuality, a book that could provide those results would have to be about 10 textbooks in one, but the Digital Journalist’s Handbook is a good primer and a great launching off point, providing some ideas for presenting information and stories in new ways.

One of the ideas presented in the Digital Journalist’s Handbook is what’s called a map mashup, or the use of a map to display information. Something as simple as a map color-coded with “red” and “blue” states would qualify, but they can also be useful to visualize crime statistics, census data and other information.

Below are a few examples of how I’ve used map mashups in my own stories through my work at The Record. These visualizations are meant to accompany a story, but more advanced map mashups could very well stand alone. These maps were created using Google Maps, which has a stunningly-easy interface that most people can pick up right away. There’s also a handy video tutorial if you need some extra help.

This first map, the most recent, accompanied a simple story about a high-speed chase that led police through a pretty wide area. Describing the path of the driver in print can end up muddy or confusing to the reader — this is a perfect example of how a map mashup can be used to display geographical information.

View High-speed Chase Route in a larger map

This second map not only displays location-based information, but also includes photos to enhance the presentation. There are a lot of great integration tools in Google Maps, and for those more programming-oriented, map mashups made in other programs like Flash could also incorporate links or videos.

View Painted Boards Project in a larger map

Have you used map mashups in your work, or do you have any suggestions for other programs? Share them in the comments.

Photos taken at the scene of a massive structure fire at the R.K. Freedman & Sons warehouse on Tibbits Avenue in Green Island. Check back for additional videos from the scene. A video from the Troy Record that I made with the help of photographer Jeff Couch is also embedded below.

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On the stories that stuck out over the years:

Some of the stories you remember are not the biggest ones. Sometimes it’s the smaller stories that make more of an impression on you. I wrote a story in Rochester, out in a rural part of the Rochester area in 1968 and they were talking about integration and busing. Out of the whole audience there was one black couple sitting in the back. After all the white people got up and used all the clichés about integration and their opposition to it, this black guy stood up, and I can remember his name, Tal Moore, he got up and talked, and people were shocked, because they didn’t even know a black man was there. He talked about how we all just need to get to know each other. That story to me — and I was in the newspaper business for about nine years — to me that was the best story I ever wrote. The guy was just eloquent, people applauded him after he talked. And again, it was not the biggest story in the world, but it’s a story I have clippings of, and I’ll always have clippings of it.

On how the industry has changed:

The economics of the business have changed a lot. The shift in the choices that are being made by readers and listeners of radio have changed. Certainly the technology of television has changed tremendously, it’s still changing. When I first started we were still using film. It was a lot more difficult at the time.

On what hasn’t changed:

The basic principles of the business have not changed. The principles of fairness, accuracy and thoroughness, they haven’t changed, but the tools have changed. In some ways it’s better, in a lot of ways there are problems because the economics are such that it’s difficult to run a newspaper or a TV station, given the fiscal constraints. It’s difficult to deliver as good a product as you did in the past. By the same token, I think there are a lot of positive things that are happening. A lot of younger people are coming into the business who are better educated than we ever were. There are pluses and minuses. It’s not that things have gotten worse, it’s just that they’ve changed. Nobody knows how things are going to be – your bosses don’t know, my bosses don’t know, how it’s going to be 25, 30 years from now.

On learning how to be a reporter:

A lot of [the younger journalists] went to journalism school where they took courses in media ethics and things like that. We learned from people who were already on the job. There were always the older, experienced reporters and that’s how we learned. They’re the ones who told you, ‘hey, we don’t do that’, or ‘that’s not what newspeople do’, ‘you’re story is not as fair or as balanced as it should be’. It’s just a question of where you learned it. I think a lot of kids are getting it from a college where we used to get it from the curmudgeons in the newsroom, the old men and women who were there for years before you arrived.

On covering his hometown:

It’s fantastic. It’s one of the reasons I came back from Rochester. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle when I worked there was an excellent newspaper and it was really a writer’s newspaper. They encouraged creative writing. But, I missed Albany and Troy. I missed covering people that I knew and I missed covering the political scene here in Albany and Troy. There ain’t no politics like the Capital District, I tell you. You go to Buffalo, Rochester, any place in the state, it’s not like here. You see what’s going on. There’s always a scandal, always something popping.

On seeing it all:

That’s the thing about it, you haven’t seen it all. That’s what I like about this business. A lot of it I’ve seen and it’s repetitive, but there’s always something new. There’s always a new angle to a story or new people on the scene who are going to do things differently. That’s news reporting — the idea that it’s different. It’s news. It’s different every day I go in. I don’t want to know what I’m going to be doing tomorrow. I like to take it as it comes and see what tomorrow’s story is.

SCCC officials hope Obama’s visit lures students to its high-tech programs

Schenectady residents hope to catch glimpse of Obama

Schenectady County Community College reacts positively to Obama visit

Supporters, protesters prepare for President Obama

Jan 21, 2011 — People supporting and protesting President Barack Obama gathered on Erie Boulevard to await his arrival in Schenectady. The President made a short visit to the General Electric plant Friday. (1:03)

SCCC gathers for Obama visit

Jan 21, 2011 — Students, staff and faculty at Schenectady County Community College gather at Stockade Hall to watch President Obama’s speech. The President visited General Electric in Schenectady Friday. (0:48)

More videos at www.qik.com/dcecelia

At the watching party for Obama’s visit (@ Schenectady County Community College w/ 2 others) [pic]: http://4sq.com/hq0eOE

January 21, 2011 12:24 pm via foursquareReplyRetweetFavorite

@dcecelia

Cecelia Martinez

Room quiet down when SCCC faculty come on the big screen, being interviewed on Fox23

January 21, 2011 12:36 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@dcecelia

Cecelia Martinez

Lots of applause for Obama and mentions of Tonko and Stratton, less for Cuomo and Jennings

January 21, 2011 1:05 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@dcecelia

Cecelia Martinez

Extremely negative reaction at mention of Hudson Valley Community College

January 21, 2011 1:18 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@dcecelia

Cecelia Martinez

Related article: Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian vetoes 2011 budget approved by Council

I never really used to be a podcast person — I always preferred listening to music and found the talking distracting, especially if I was working on something else at the time (and who has time to just sit around and listen to something? I’m all about multitasking).

Maybe my boyfriend’s talk radio listening habits are rubbing off on me, because lately I’ve developed a habit of listening to various media-related podcasts while going through my Google News Alerts in the morning. I like the Morning Media Menu series from MediaBistro, and at 15 minutes, they’re easy to digest.

This morning for the first time I checked out the Rebooting the News podcast series with Jay Rosen and Dave Winer. I started following @jayrosen_nyu a little while ago after he tweeted about Journal Register Company (JRC, my future employer) CEO John Paton’s blog covering the JRC overhaul, and Rosen is also heading up the new East Village blog venture between NYU and the New York Times (I’m always interested when journalism and academics mix).

This podcast is definitely longer, and might be better served from a more dedicated listen, as my ear tended to wander and then periodically get dragged back to specific topics they were covering (NYT pay wall, Twitter in Google search results, etc.).

At one point Dave Winer mentioned football, which always grabs my attention. He made a nice metaphor about how journalists often fail to step back and give themselves room the way quarterbacks sometimes do, and then he said the following about the survival of journalists and news organizations:

What you need inside these news organizations, Jay, is, I know this, you never hear it, but you need people who love news. And aren’t scared by news. Who think that news is the greatest thing that God ever invented.

And a person who really really really loves news — and by the way I’m not saying there aren’t a lot of people at these organizations that do, absolutely, but they’ve got their heads… it’s like, if you think your way towards dancing, you don’t do any dancing. The secret to dancing is to just try to look stupid. Instead of worrying about looking stupid, the trick is to try to look stupid. Just get out there and make a fool of yourself and sooner or later you’re going to be dancing.

So if you really love news, then what you have to do is you have to start acting that way, and you have to start doing things that are just wonderful for news. I know I’ve said this before on this podcast, but it’s got to be said over and over again because it’s so important. But just go have fun, it’s a great time to be alive and news, we’ve got these phenomenal networks that make news work so much better than it ever has before. What a wonderful time to be in the news business this is.

“What a wonderful time to be in the news business this is.” There are probably many that would disagree with this, who would say that the news business is dying and that all the best years are in the past. But I agree with Winer — every day there are newer, better technologies that allow us to not only better provide the public with the vital information and analysis, but to have a conversation with that public and engage their opinions, ideas and stories.

Winer’s message is one that a lot of discouraged, struggling journalists need to hear. You don’t become a journalist because of money, recognition or the great working environment — and if you do, you’re doing it wrong — but because you (really really really) love news. So don’t focus on whether or not your story will scare off an advertiser, get enough clicks or land you an award that will let you keep your job over the dozens of other reporters. Focus on the news, because that’s what you love about journalism, and when you do what you love, the rest will work itself out.

Click here to check out the Rebooting the News podcast, it’s worth a listen.

I’m writing in response to another Ask the Recruiter column, this time about an aspiring journalist with an impressive resume coming from a small college.

In his column, Joe Grimm offers some pretty good advice to the student — on his jaw-dropping sixth internship at a daily newspaper — who seems to be having some problems breaking into a bigger daily publication.

It is unclear whether he is trying to land another internship or an actual job, but as both processes are similar, the advice (network harder, reach out to recruiters) is applicable to either.

I want to elaborate on this topic, because while I don’t have nearly the amount of internships and accolades as this student, I do come from a small school and can relate to his situation.

I come from a private college with a relatively small (but growing) Communications department and an even smaller student newspaper.

I’ve been able to turn that into a positive, though, by playing up the fact that because the school/newspaper is so small, I had to take on more roles and become more independent.

I’m obviously biased, but editors at small schools/newspapers often have to be well-rounded, resourceful and willing to take the initiative to make things happen.

However, at a small school — especially if it’s also in a small town — it can be easier to get trapped inside the campus bubble. I’ve seen many students who are so focused on school, work or campus activities that they don’t bother to do any kind of off-campus networking until they reach that oh-crap-I’m-graduating-in-two-months-what-do-I-do phase.

Now, keep in mind that the student in the Ask the Recruiter column is going after a top-size newspaper — with his credentials he could probably have landed a job at a smaller pub now.

But, if you want to be a journalist and come from a smaller school, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Break out of the bubble — Don’t let a lack of media-related events or activities on your campus hold you back. Seek out professional organizations (many have student membership prices and mentorship programs) and attend every panel, workshop and lecture you can find and talk to people while you’re there.
• Take pride in your publication — Don’t play down the low circulation or small staff of your college paper. If, as Editor-in-Chief, you were also Web Editor, Advertising Manager, Business Manager and Layout Editor, put that in your resume. Working at a small publication makes you versatile, and that’s what makes you valuable.
• Use your professors — While larger universities may have more big-name professors with industry connections, at a smaller school, the professors will actually talk to you. Set up informational interviews and see if any would be willing to advise on a project. You paid a lot of money for those small class sizes — take advantage of them.
• Go it alone — So maybe your school doesn’t offer classes in multimedia production or have the resources for a daily student newspaper. That’s ok — you can still improve your skill set and experience by starting your own blog, Internet TV show or podcast. Sure, having the support of a college or university helps tremendously, but the benefit of taking on an independent project is that you’re no longer just a student, but an entrepreneur with obvious passion and initiative.