Below is a list of multimedia tools that I make available to my students in Multimedia Journalism. After class ends for the semester, many students ask me to send them this list for work they’re doing in internships or jobs. So, to make things easier, I’m providing that list here on my website. Bolded tools are ones past students and I have found success with in. Plan to register with an email address for almost all of them. If one of these tools costs money, then you’ll see a ($) next to the item.
I’ll continue to add more tools to this list, as I learn about them. If you’re reading this now and know of some that aren’t listed, please send me an email with tools I should include here. I’ll do my best to keep this updated, in case some of the items on the list go dark. And some of the items on the list will go dark.
Creating Multimedia
- Storify — An interesting reporting tool that curates news from social media outlets. (An example of how to incorporate social media elements in your reporting from The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/metro/facebook-story-mothers-joy-familys-sorrow.html. The Post didn’t use Storify, but you could to achieve the same end.)
- ThingLink — A tool that makes images interactive.
- Audacity — Audio editor
- Soundslides — Audio slideshows ($)
- Zeega — A tool to create an interactive timeline, of sorts
- Klynt — A tool for editing and publishing visual stories ($)
- Cowbird — A tool, quite simply, to tell stories
- pearltrees — A tool to collect, organize and share the stuff you like
- Magisto — A video tool that takes your videos and turns them into movies
- Atavist — A tool that allows users to compile various elements — text, video, audio, animation — in an in-depth enterprise story
- Videolicious — A tool that will allow you to make videos in seconds
- SoundCiteJS — A tool that will embed inline audio players
- Visme — A tool that allows you to create many types of online visual content
Timelines
- Timeline JS
- AwesomeTimeline (requires some coding)
Maps
Graphics | Data
- infogr.am — A tool for creating interactive, engaging infographics and data visualizations.
- Fusion Tables (Google) — A tool that allows you to search for public data and create interactive maps and charts.
- Tableau ($)
- Tableizer!
- Gephi
- Piktochart ($)
- easel.ly
- visual.ly
- Canva
- Photovisi
- Recite — A tool for creating designed pull quotes
- Over — A tool that adds text and photos to art
- Datawrapper — A tool that creates charts and maps in minutes
- Census IRE
- Silk
- Venngage
Social
- Buffer — A tool for social media scheduling and engagement information.
- Title Maker — A tool that will generate “creative” titles to posts/for tweets.
- The Latest — A tool that shows you what people are linking to (not trending topics).
- Klout
- If This Then That — A tool featuring up-to-date information you want to track.
- Tweriod — A tool that gives you the best times to tweet based on your followers.
- bitly
Presenting Documents
Tools for Going Live
Converting Difficult Files
Polls
- Google Forms — (An example of Google Forms in action from the Baltimore Sun: http://apps.baltimoresun.com/baltimore-september-11-memories/.)
- Poll Daddy
General Reporting
- FOIA Machine
- Check the Validity of Government Social Media Accounts
- Four Types of Scoops
- Public Insight Network — A website that allows reporters to find a network of people willing to be sources for stories
- Hemingway App — A tool to help keep writing succinct and clear
- After the Deadline — A tool that checks writing as you go (with contextual spell check; has WordPress plug-in)
- CoSchedule — A tool that features a calendar plug-in for WordPress to help schedule posts
- Semrush — A tool to track competitor web traffic
- Expertise Finder — A tool to find an expert for your story
- Pipl — A tool for searching people
- TapeACall — A tool to help you tape phone calls on your cell phone
Mobile Apps
- WordPress
- Tumblr
- Google Voice
- Dragon Dictation — Voice transcription
- Evernote — A tool to help transcribe, take notes, organize
- Analytiks — A tool that visualizes Google Analytics data
Mobile Video Apps
- FiLMiCPro — A tool that allows control over iris and focus points ($)
- Vimeo
- YouTube
- VHS Camcorder — A tool that gives your videos a VHS tape-style look
Mobile Audio Apps
Mobile Photography Apps
- Photoshop Mobile
- Camera+ — A tool that provides white balance, iris seperation and focus controls ($)
- Photo Transfer — FTP photos ($)
- True HDR ($)
- PhotoFX Ultra — A tool for photo correction, including red eye ($)
- Camera Zoom FX — For Android ($)
- Pano — A tool to create panoramas ($)
- Genius — A tool to improve camera controls ($)
- Pic Monkey
- VSCO
Moving Mobile Files