Classes

Check out classes and workshops at the Twin Cities Daily Planet! Email jeremy@tcdailyplanet.net for more information.

Writers Groups Come meet the editors and other Daily Planet writers, bring your ideas for written and video stories or photo essays. Our writers group provides an encouraging environment for novice and experienced reporters. In addition to getting feedback on your writing, each week we integrate one lesson that will help you develop your craft. These include themes like fact checking, relations with sources, and telling many sides of one story. St. Paul Rondo Community Outreach Library | 461 Dale Street North Every Monday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Minneapolis - beginning again on September 14 - Every Monday at 6:30 p.m.

Fall classes

Register for this class through ExCo, www.excotc.org.

Reporting 101

When: Thursday September 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Where: 2600 E Franklin Ave., suite #2 (Enter in the back of the Wells Fargo Buidling) Minneapolis, MN in the Seward neighborhood )

You’ve always wanted to get into writing and reporting, but you need some basic skills. In this two-part session Gary Gilson teaches the basics of identifying and developing a story idea, digging, cultivating sources, organizing the material, identifying a lead and writing clearly, cogently and engagingly. And on deadline. Gary Gilson began his career as a general assignment newspaper reporter at the Minneapolis Star for three years, then worked for 25 years as a broadcast journalist in New York, Los Angeles and the Twin Cities, in both public and commercial television. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has taught at Columbia, Yale, Minnesota, Macalester, St. Thomas and Colorado College. Gary served as director of the Minnesota News Council from 1992 to 2008.

Register for this class through ExCo, www.excotc.org.

The difference between blogging and great blogging

When: Monday, October 5 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Rondo Community Outreach Library at the corner of Dale Street and University Ave in St. Paul

So you're blogging, or you want to start blogging...but you want to do it well, and hopefully attract some readers. The key to good blogging is to write well. Jay Gabler, associate editor of the Twin Cities Daily Planet and author of the Front Row Seat blog, offers a two-hour class on writing, etiquette, and promotional tips for bloggers. What information should you offer? How much of "yourself" should you put in your blog? How long should blog entries be? How do you connect with other bloggers and share your blog with people who might be interested?

To register for this class, email jay@tcdailyplanet.net.

Create Free WordPress Websites for Businesses or Community Organizations
Instructor: Matt Bartel, Secrets of the City (formerly the Rake and MNSpeak)
When: Tuesday, October 6 | 6:00 tp 8:30 p.m.
Where: Rondo Library | 461 Dale Street North, St. Paul

WordPress.com offers free websites that are easy to design and use, and very suitable for small businesses and neighborhood organizations, as well as blogging.This workshop will teach the basic skills necessary to setup and maintain a web site or blog using WordPress. Each attendee will set up their own basic WordPress site, then learn how to create/edit content, change themes, install plugins and change site settings. We will also cover related topics including social media integration, email address collection and basic web usability/design concepts. “

To register for this class, email jeremy@tcmediaalliance.org.

Intro to Podcasting

When: Wednesday, October 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Rondo Community Outreach Library at the corner of Dale Street and University Ave in St. Paul

Join journalist Todd Melby to learn what podcasting is all about, how you can use it in your own reporting, and what you'll need to get started. This is perfect for writers and citizen journalists who want to integrate audio into their own work, but need to learn the basics to get started. Todd Melby is a reporter and radio journalist. His stories have aired on BBC Radio 4, NPR's Day to Day, The World, Marketplace, Chicago Public Radio and elsewhere. Locally, he writes about architecture for the Building Minnesota blog and Minnesota Monthly. He's won an Edward R. Murrow award and a Sigma Delta Chi award for radio documentaries he produced with Diane Richard.

To register for this class, email jeremy@tcmediaalliance.org.

Twitter as a news tool

When: Wednesday, October 21 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Rondo Community Outreach Library at the corner of Dale Street and University Ave in St. Paul

What is Twitter? How do you use it effectively to communicate news, gather information, and build relationships with sources? What the heck is a “hash tag” and why should you care? In this workshop Pioneer Press tech columnist Julio Ojeda-Zapata will teach the basics of using Twitter as a news source, as well as strategies for building your Twitter relationships. According to his bio Julio "has been on the front lines of the Internet and computer revolutions as a syndicated newspaper columnist, editor and award-winning writer for more than a decade. He is author of the hot-selling book "Twitter Means Business," which documents how the Twitter social-networking service has become a vital tool for companies. Julio covers consumer technology for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, where he writes a weekly Tech Test Drive column and maintains his Your Tech Weblog.

To register for this class, email jeremy@tcmediaalliance.org.

Online Journalism Class at Anoka Hennepin Community College, in collaboration with the Twin Cities Daily Planet This class will be offered again at AHCC in Fall 2009: JOUR 2131 - Reporting, Writing, and Editing for Online Publications "This course introduces students to both the theory and practice of online journalism. It exposes them to a wide range of readings about this still evolving field as well as equally comprehensive readings of the best of contemporary online journalism. In addition to reading and mastering course texts, student are also required to master the basic skills of online reporting, writing and editing for the Internet by developing a series of postings ranging from daily blogs to investigative features to commentaries. Students in this class engage in the entire news process from story ideation, identification of sources, research and reporting, writing, revising, editing, and interactive response to readers. In addition, students are expected to master the use of hypertext links in the creation of online copy and be given an opportunity to post digital sound recordings, video and photography to enhance their reporting. Working with the instructor, students post their edited work at the Twin Cities Daily Planet." 1. General information about Anoka Hennepin Community College admissions and registration can be found at http://www.anokaramsey.edu/admissions/general.cfm#general"