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Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

‘Social media’ archive

Number of comments in parentheses

March 3: Amy Huschka named assistant editor for social media at the Detroit Free Press

Longtime Detroit Free Press print designer Amy Huschka — who moved over to the digital side less than four months ago — has been promoted. Assistant managing editor for digital Stephanie Murray announced Friday: We’re happy to announce that  Amy Huschka has been promoted to Assistant Editor/Social Media. In this new role, Amy will oversee social media for the Free [...]

Feb. 5: Here’s a handy little tool that’s easy to use

I’m not sure how long this tool has been around, but I’m just now finding out about a cool social media counter from the folks at Muck Rack. It couldn’t be simpler to use. Here is the home screen. Simply paste the URL of the article into the space and click the blue button. The engine counts the number of [...]

Jan. 20: How to make sure your Facebook status goes viral (1)

I think the Bakersfield Californian has found the secret to going viral on Facebook. On one hand, the Californian looks pretty silly, claiming that the Atlanta Falcons will play in the Super Bowl after they were defeated in the NFC Championship Game by the San Francisco 49ers. On the other hand, this particular Facebook status update will get a lot [...]

Jan. 9: Social media needs more designers who care about making their sites functional for users (2)

A while back, I was having a conversation with someone about the current greats of graphic design. Among those that came up for discussion: The guy who designed Facebook “timeline.” I just had to laugh. You’re kidding me, right? I wouldn’t say that Facebook “timeline” qualifies anyone to be regarded as a great designer. Hell, I’m not sure that Facebook [...]

Dec. 14, 2012: For your consideration… (3)

I understand these banner ads are sold in advance. I also understand it takes folks in digital news operations a while to get under the hood and remove an ad that creates a bad juxtaposition with horrifying news. But really, Hartford Courant? This was reportedly still on the Courant‘s web site at 2:30 this afternoon. That would have been nearly [...]

Nov. 10, 2012: Detroit Free Press’ Amy Huschka moves to the digital side

Stefanie Murray — assistant managing editor for digital at the Detroit Free Press — announced Friday: We’re thrilled to announce that veteran designer Amy Huschka will transfer to the digital team as a Web Editor, with an emphasis on social media. Amy has spent the past several months cross-training on the digital desk and has already made a huge impact [...]

Nov. 9, 2012: My thoughts on that ‘purple’ map that’s going around Facebook (3)

The map below is getting a bit of buzz today via Facebook. So I figured it’s past time I write my quadannual lecture about election maps. Now, it’s not my intention to embarrass anyone. But the gentleman who created this map writes via Facebook today that: I think it’s kinda important. Talking about red states versus blue states in a [...]

Nov. 4, 2012: For your consideration…

Saturday Night Live‘s take on social media’s take on the election.

Oct. 24, 2012: For her offensive language, interactive designer wants to help Ann Coulter “climb Mount Retard”

Celebrity pundit Ann Coulter is at it again, referring to President Barack Obama as a “retard” and to his supporters as “retarded.” And special-needs advocates are fighting back. Including former Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel artist Daniel Niblock, the parent of a Down Syndrome son. After he made an impassioned plea for her to knock it off with using that offensive [...]

Oct. 21, 2012: I taught two sessions Friday to the United Methodist Communicators (2)

Friday, I drove up to Arlington, Va. — just across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. — to make two presentations to the United Methodist Association of Communicators. Essentially, these are the folks who work on newsletters, magazines and other church-run publications. In many cases, folks who are asked to design pages actually have no design training. So I’m asked, from [...]

Oct. 9, 2012: Visual journalist Daniel Niblock to Ann Coulter: Knock it off

Celebrity pundit Ann Coulter is in the habit of calling folks she doesn’t like — usually liberal-minded folks — “retarded.” And longtime visual journalist Daniel Niblock — who happens to be the father of a son with Down Syndrome — wants her to knock it off. Daniel writes today via Facebook: Hey everybody — this is important! Ozzie and I [...]

Oct. 7, 2012: After he’s fired by the Village Voice, cartoonist Tom Tomorrow melts down on Twitter

Cartoonist Dan Perkins — who works under the pen name Tom Tomorrow — is perhaps the best-known cartoonist in the world of alternative weeklies. His editorial strip, This Modern World, began in 1990 in SF Weekly and was eventually carried by as many as 80 papers — most notably, the Village Voice of New York. His work has also appeared [...]

Oct. 2, 2012: A backlash to ‘digital first’? Or a zig while everyone else zags? (3)

Marla Jo Fisher, the bargain-hunting “Deals Diva” columnist and blogger for the Orange County Register, reveals something interesting in her most recent post. The paper’s new owners have invested a lot of money lately in the print product, she writes, such as adding a business editor, a daily business section and a full-time restaurant reviewer. Marla Jo writes: As a result, [...]

Sept. 27, 2012: Making real news. But with a cartoon bomb. (4)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations today that Iran is building a nuclear bomb and pleaded for help in stopping the effort. That much you might have heard. What you might not have seen, however, was the visual aid Netanyahu whipped out during his presentation today: A stacked bar chart. In the shape of a cartoon bomb. [...]

Sept. 18, 2012: On patrol today for sharkhoppers (1)

Now that South Korean rapper Psy has appeared on Saturday Night Live singing his annoyingly catchy song Gangnam Style, has that song jumped the shark? Not quite yet, perhaps. But it has jumped a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. That’s a screen cap from the latest Gangnam Style lipsynch video, filmed by cadets at Annapolis. The picture [...]

Sept. 14, 2012: My epic search for a new-and-improved USA Today (10)

Oh, I’m so crushed today… My plan for Friday: 1) Get up early. 2) Just as Adam quoted me there on Facebook last night… …rush down to my local 7-Eleven to buy a copy of the new-and-improved USA Today  3) Take a few pictures with my camera — because, y’know, it’s highly unlikely I’d get any PDFs out of McLean [...]

Aug. 23, 2012: Dilbert’s take on LinkedIn

I know the feeling. I use LinkedIn nearly every day. I’m just glad LinkedIn‘s recent site redesign didn’t affect the functionality of the site. Like Facebook‘s constant tweaking sometime does. Dilbert, of course, is drawn by Scott Adams. Find Dilbert‘s home on the web here.

Aug. 15, 2012: This picture of a pack of newspaper thieves is just baa-ad

My friends at the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press posted on the paper’s Facebook page this morning: [Reader] Viola Perron sent in this photo of a herd of goats stealing a copy of the Burlington Free Press from a delivery box in East Highgate and eating the contents. We may be asking for it, but feel free to write a caption [...]

Aug. 1, 2012: Former Indiana grad student hired as digital strategist by South African media company

Online journalist and analyst Siyabonga Africa has been hired as digital strategist by Media24, a large South African newspaper chain [and who are my long-time consulting clients]. He’ll be working primarily with City Press and the Daily Sun, Siyabonga tells us, both of which are published at Media24′s MediaPark complex in the Auckland Park section of Johannesburg. A 2006 graduate [...]

July 5, 2012: ShortFormBlog creator Ernie Smith leaving newspapers (1)

Ernie Smith — a designer for D.C. tabloid Express and creator of ShortFormBlog — is moving to TMG Custom Media, he announced this week. Ernie tells us the company… …creates/organizes/runs publications for brands or organizations. They’ve been around for a little while, and do a lot of really creative work. It’s actually not a bad fit for my design skills [...]

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