TONIGHT: Journo Skills That Pay The Bills

THE PHILADELPHIA INITIATIVE FOR JOURNALISTIC INNOVATION: Got multimedia? A cottage industry has emerged around the understanding that journalists need to diversify their skills. Journalism schools are racing to prepare students to report across platforms. But then what? Where are the jobs? Where is the love? Who is producing web-first content in Philadelphia? Is there a shortage of web-first multimedia reporting? And does that represent hopelessness, or opportunity? We will address these questions at Temple University next Tuesday as we convene the Philadelphia Initiative for Journalistic Innovation, or PhiJI. First, PhIJI program coordinator Jim MacMillan will take a look at the state of multimedia journalism in Philadelphia. Next, Temple University journalism professor Susan Jacobson will speak about the use of multimedia storytelling techniques on news websites worldwide. Then, PlanPhilly web editor and TechnicallyPhilly co-founder Brian James Kirk will discuss what it takes to be a multimedia reporter in today’s environment. Above all, we will look to the audience to define the challenges facing journalism innovation in Philadelphia, and to ask where PhIJI can help. Please join us Tuesday, Oct. 5th from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Tuttleman Learning Center (TL-303AB), at the corner of 13th Street and Montgomery Avenue on Temple’s main campus. (Map) PhIJI events are free and open to the public.