Over the past decade, I've met or worked with lots of talented online journalists. I always ask them the same question: How did you learn how to do this? "This" can include using
Flash, editing audio or video, podcasting, using
Dreamweaver or
Photoshop, and applying the rest of the skills that fill the online journalist's toolbox.
Almost every time, the answer is: I taught myself.
I'm convinced this is the case because online skills require an enormous
investment of time. More time than is available in a seminar or
a workshop. Depending on the skill, mastery
can take hundreds of solitary hours in front of a computer, or out in
the field.
There's a word for people like this. They are autodidacts. That's a Greek word for someone who is self-taught. Or as new media pioneer
Elizabeth Osder once described the autodidact's credo: "Everything I learned about the Internet, I learned on the Internet."
In the news industry, a lot of self-learners have no choice but to teach themselves, given the shortage of training provided by today's newsrooms.
There are but three requirements to become an autodidact:
- A passion to learn
- Patience
- Learning resources
The first two items are up to you.
The third comes by way of
Meg Martin, former Poynter Online associate editor, now a Web producer at
The Roanoke Times.
To aid participants in Poynter's
Reporting and Writing for Multi-Platform Newsrooms seminar, held in March, Meg created a list of online learning resources. Not all are training related, she notes, "but they're great for seeing what else is out there." Even though Meg added a few new items to the list last week, she still cautions, "it's just a scratch of the surface."
Whether you're looking to learn the skill
du jour or just trying to catch up, Meg's list is a great start.
Are you an online autodidact?
Click here to share your story of self-learning, or to add some of your favorite resources you didn't find on Meg's list.
There is a small typo in Meg Martin's (very helpful)...
