Grady College presented Rebecca Burns, recently appointed Director of digital strategy at Emmis Publications, who spoke to students on a topic which was entitled Paper, Pixels, and iPads: Rethinking Magazines.
Burns spoke briefly about her background in the industry: editor and later editor-in-chief for Atlanta Magazine, editor of Indianapolis Magazine,Interactive Director and Digital Strategy Director for Atlanta Magazine,as well as author of three books.
Burns explained how Atlanta Magazine and Emmis publications still adhere to the standard magazine format, being one of few magazines that still publish 9,000-10,000 long-form articles. They also publish narratives, features and investigative reports as well.
Burns then talked about where their roots were as far as digital concepts were concerned. Atlanta Magazine had a website, however, there web-presence was inconsistent. Their resources and expertise in this field was limited. Whatever work they did do online did not illustrate their editorial excellence.
Burns personally took the lead on making improvements on their digital weak points. Her strategy was to begin with the overall look of the websites. Once the websites were up to standard, they focused the magazine's strengths. They did not want to t fall into the trap newspapers fell into by offering all of their services and information online for free. They would offer particulars online (e.g. restaurant information) and the rest the reader would have to refer to the actual magazine for. The third thing they did was to offer online only content. This added to the number of visitors to the website and did not lower their readership.
My takeaways: creativity and foresight can help a sinking ship stay afloat. Although print maybe disappearing slowly, readership will not. People will always want to read. We must find ways to publish on new mediums.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Olivia Batty - Paper, Pixels, and Ipads Blog Response
Rebecca Burns spoke Tuesday in the Drewry room of Grady College.
Her impressive resume includes editor, historian, author, and now Director of Digital Strategy. Burns began her lecture by describing the ways in which magazines are different than other print mediums. She said that the below list depicts the major characteristics of magazines:
- long form fiction stories
- investigative reporting with high standards for fact checking
- great photographs/design/illustrations
- lifestyle stories (especially food)
- narrative stories
- service journalism (stories about education, doctors, etc.)
Burns essentially created her own position at Atlanta magazine because the website for the magazine was in such bad shape that it needed a complete overhaul. Burns signed herself up for the job.
The major issue was that the web content of the online site did not match up to the magazine. It featured random blogs and a design that did not reflect the magazine's style. With hardly any technical expertise, Burns managed to place herself in the readers' position and redesign the whole web layout.
She began by thinking about how to supplement the articles in the magazines instead of just reiterating the content of the magazine or adding random gimmicks. The point of online content is to include interactive elements that draw in the reader and get them involved with the magazine in between issues. This way, they stay tied to the magazine and the brand even when a monthly issue has not been recently released.
Burns did this by adding an easy to use search system and guides on the website, web content that reiterated the strengths of the magazine, blogs that addressed a few central ideas instead of random subjects with few followers, a better understanding of each city the magazine represented, newsletters that offered teasers for the upcoming issues and supplementary content to the articles (Burns and her colleagues planned that these newsletters would eventually turn into "apps" for iphones.)
By transferring the newsletters to ipads, one can still get the effect of the images produced in a magazine while adding page buttons to the screen and making links to the articles that are easy to send to people and share with friends and relatives. Other interactive elements included slideshows and audio such as interviews with radio hosts.
The lecture was informative about the ways that the internet and web design has made certain jobs in the magazine business obsolete while introducing others that have never existed before.
Her impressive resume includes editor, historian, author, and now Director of Digital Strategy. Burns began her lecture by describing the ways in which magazines are different than other print mediums. She said that the below list depicts the major characteristics of magazines:
- long form fiction stories
- investigative reporting with high standards for fact checking
- great photographs/design/illustrations
- lifestyle stories (especially food)
- narrative stories
- service journalism (stories about education, doctors, etc.)
Burns essentially created her own position at Atlanta magazine because the website for the magazine was in such bad shape that it needed a complete overhaul. Burns signed herself up for the job.
The major issue was that the web content of the online site did not match up to the magazine. It featured random blogs and a design that did not reflect the magazine's style. With hardly any technical expertise, Burns managed to place herself in the readers' position and redesign the whole web layout.
She began by thinking about how to supplement the articles in the magazines instead of just reiterating the content of the magazine or adding random gimmicks. The point of online content is to include interactive elements that draw in the reader and get them involved with the magazine in between issues. This way, they stay tied to the magazine and the brand even when a monthly issue has not been recently released.
Burns did this by adding an easy to use search system and guides on the website, web content that reiterated the strengths of the magazine, blogs that addressed a few central ideas instead of random subjects with few followers, a better understanding of each city the magazine represented, newsletters that offered teasers for the upcoming issues and supplementary content to the articles (Burns and her colleagues planned that these newsletters would eventually turn into "apps" for iphones.)
By transferring the newsletters to ipads, one can still get the effect of the images produced in a magazine while adding page buttons to the screen and making links to the articles that are easy to send to people and share with friends and relatives. Other interactive elements included slideshows and audio such as interviews with radio hosts.
The lecture was informative about the ways that the internet and web design has made certain jobs in the magazine business obsolete while introducing others that have never existed before.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
UGA Fights Against Cancer
By Joe Willeford
On Friday, hundreds of people came together at the University of Georgia to unite as a community in the fight against cancer. Relay for Life, created by the American Cancer Society, is an annual event to raise money for cancer research, spread cancer awareness, celebrate the lives of survivors, and remember those who lost their lives to cancer.
This year, it took place at the UGA Track on Lumpkin Street. People of all ages, sexes and races came together in a display of solidarity.
“The power of community is truly amazing, and it is absolutely on display here tonight,” said Christine Santayana, a sophomore from Virginia.
This year’s Relay for Life was the biggest ever since its creation in 1999 - but this could not have been possible without the help of many individuals and groups throughout Athens.
Lo Asidro, a senior from LaGrange, Ga. is a member of the “spirit committee.” For an event like Relay that lasts all night, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., it is a hard job keeping people motivated and spirits high. “Our aim is to make sure that everyone stays awake, stays excited,” said Asidro.
Groups such as Asidro’s spirit committee have been meeting for months to prepare for the overnight event. Fraternities, sororities, clubs, businesses, and other organizations throughout Athens donate money, assist with organizing the event and encourage others to join in their efforts.
There is definitely no lack of enthusiasm for Relay for Life at UGA.
Kevin Madsen, a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis, is a member of the American Cancer Society’s collegiate scout team. He visits and observes Relays across the nation to see what works especially well and what needs improvement. In his opinion, the Relay at UGA is one of the best in the nation.
“It amazes me the energy this campus has for Relay. Just being here, it’s really empowering.”
High levels of emotion were present everywhere Friday. Surrounding the track were candles, each representing a loved one who had lost the fight with cancer.
“The [candle] ceremony was a very powerful thing, to see all these people come together and honor those who have fought – and lost to – cancer,” reflected Madsen. The sheer number of candles surrounding the track at UGA was a small testament to the devastation cancer causes.
As Asidro said, “It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t know someone that has been affected by cancer.”
Having the support of family and friends is crucial to one’s fight against cancer, a point that was made throughout the night. Kaylea Notarthomas, a junior from Atlanta, spoke about her experience with thyroid cancer. “All the support I had on the journey far outweighed the negatives,” she said. “I couldn’t have done any of it without my support system.”
Melissa Baxter, a sophomore from Tipton, Ga., is also a cancer survivor. “Relay is a very special night for me and my family,” said Baxter. Her favorite part of the night is the survivor lap, when survivors of cancer walk a lap around the track, surrounded by cheering supporters.
On Friday, hundreds of people came together at the University of Georgia to unite as a community in the fight against cancer. Relay for Life, created by the American Cancer Society, is an annual event to raise money for cancer research, spread cancer awareness, celebrate the lives of survivors, and remember those who lost their lives to cancer.
This year, it took place at the UGA Track on Lumpkin Street. People of all ages, sexes and races came together in a display of solidarity.
“The power of community is truly amazing, and it is absolutely on display here tonight,” said Christine Santayana, a sophomore from Virginia.
This year’s Relay for Life was the biggest ever since its creation in 1999 - but this could not have been possible without the help of many individuals and groups throughout Athens.
Lo Asidro, a senior from LaGrange, Ga. is a member of the “spirit committee.” For an event like Relay that lasts all night, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., it is a hard job keeping people motivated and spirits high. “Our aim is to make sure that everyone stays awake, stays excited,” said Asidro.
Groups such as Asidro’s spirit committee have been meeting for months to prepare for the overnight event. Fraternities, sororities, clubs, businesses, and other organizations throughout Athens donate money, assist with organizing the event and encourage others to join in their efforts.
There is definitely no lack of enthusiasm for Relay for Life at UGA.
Kevin Madsen, a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis, is a member of the American Cancer Society’s collegiate scout team. He visits and observes Relays across the nation to see what works especially well and what needs improvement. In his opinion, the Relay at UGA is one of the best in the nation.
“It amazes me the energy this campus has for Relay. Just being here, it’s really empowering.”
High levels of emotion were present everywhere Friday. Surrounding the track were candles, each representing a loved one who had lost the fight with cancer.
“The [candle] ceremony was a very powerful thing, to see all these people come together and honor those who have fought – and lost to – cancer,” reflected Madsen. The sheer number of candles surrounding the track at UGA was a small testament to the devastation cancer causes.
As Asidro said, “It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t know someone that has been affected by cancer.”
Having the support of family and friends is crucial to one’s fight against cancer, a point that was made throughout the night. Kaylea Notarthomas, a junior from Atlanta, spoke about her experience with thyroid cancer. “All the support I had on the journey far outweighed the negatives,” she said. “I couldn’t have done any of it without my support system.”
Melissa Baxter, a sophomore from Tipton, Ga., is also a cancer survivor. “Relay is a very special night for me and my family,” said Baxter. Her favorite part of the night is the survivor lap, when survivors of cancer walk a lap around the track, surrounded by cheering supporters.
“The survivor lap is a time when all the people who supported you for so long can come out and show you just how much your battle means to them.”
Libby Cordell, team leader for the sorority Alpha Delta Pi, saw the effects of cancer first-hand when one of her best friends, Caelyn Brady, was diagnosed with cancer their junior year of high school. “It opened my eyes,” said Cordell. “Caelyn doesn’t talk or complain much, but when she told me what she was going through, I felt like I needed to do something.”
In college, Cordell was immediately drawn to Relay for Life. At first, she didn’t know what to expect from the event, but quickly found out. “Once I was there, I loved it,” said Cordell. “It was such a great experience for me that it just made me want to do anything I could to make it better next year.”
With continued effort and participation, the sky is the limit for Relay for Life. This year’s event featured the most participants in its history – and also raised the most money with a little over $306,000. For more information on Relay for Life at UGA go to ugarelay.org
Libby Cordell, team leader for the sorority Alpha Delta Pi, saw the effects of cancer first-hand when one of her best friends, Caelyn Brady, was diagnosed with cancer their junior year of high school. “It opened my eyes,” said Cordell. “Caelyn doesn’t talk or complain much, but when she told me what she was going through, I felt like I needed to do something.”
In college, Cordell was immediately drawn to Relay for Life. At first, she didn’t know what to expect from the event, but quickly found out. “Once I was there, I loved it,” said Cordell. “It was such a great experience for me that it just made me want to do anything I could to make it better next year.”
With continued effort and participation, the sky is the limit for Relay for Life. This year’s event featured the most participants in its history – and also raised the most money with a little over $306,000. For more information on Relay for Life at UGA go to ugarelay.org
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
There's Just Something About Sport
“There’s just something about sport.” This line was the mantra of Dr. Richard Lapchick’s speech to a group of roughly 50 interested UGA students, professors, and fans Tuesday, April 20. The College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology welcomed Dr. Lapchick as part of the 2010 Clifford Lewis Scholar Lecture series. The audience sat at rapt attention as they listened to Dr. Lapchick, who has been nicknamed the “racial consciousness of sports”, discuss his experiences and lifelong efforts to combat racism within sports.
Lapchick is the son of the legendary Joe Lapchick, the Original Celtics center and later coach of the New York Knicks. Lapchick explained how his first exposure to the hate of racism centered on his father. Joe Lapchick, then the coach of the New York Knicks, signed the NBA’s first African-American, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, in 1950. Lapchick recalls his five0year-old self picking up the phone on numberous occasions only to hear “nigger lover, nigger lover” in reference to his father. But his passion for civil rights truly ignited after a visit to a German concentration camp as part of a European trip to the 1960 Olympic Games. “Seeing what people would do to each other for differences in race and religion made basketball seem a little less important for the rest of my life,” muses Lapchick. Yet, once he got to Rome for the Olympics, he remembers the exhilarating feeling of seeing people of all different races, religions, ethnicities, nationalities, and cultures coming together peacefully to participate in the international games. “Sports bring people together in ways other things don’t,” he said with a smile.
Lapchick’s passion for sports runs deeper than just love for the game or a rooted family history: it’s the colorblind unity of sports that breaks down discriminating barriers. He shared with his audience his favorite part of sports: the huddle. “In the huddle,” he said, “when you’re a member of the team, it doesn't matter if you’re white, black, Latino, Catholic, you can’t win if you don’t act like a team.” He went on to talk about the renewing power of sports through the scheduled baseball game on the first Friday after the Virigina Tech shootings of 2007. “[Initially] The president [of Virginia Tech] got a lot of criticism for that [allowing the game to go on] but he knew something,” said Lapchick, going on to explain how the usually modestly attended baseball game was packed with over 1,000 fans. Lapchick praised the event, and how sports had the power to unite and heal a damaged community. “When they got there, life suddenly had renewal.”
“You never just change one person,” he says, a lesson to remember.
Something about sports.
“There is something about sports.” So went Richard Lapchick’s message to a group of over 100 people at the Georgia Center’s Master Hall on Tuesday, April 20. The words served as a sort of theme or motto for his lecture. “You can’t win if you don’t play as a team,” he said. “Imagine if you could project that concept of the huddle to [everything else].”
Richard Lapchick was tabbed to give the 2010 Clifford Lewis Scholar Lecture, an event sponsored by the UGA College of Education’s department of kinesiology. The lecture, in honor of the late associate dean and physical education professor Clifford Lewis, focused on two subjects of Lapchick’s expertise: race and sport.
From the segregation of basketball players in the mid-twentieth century to the current discrepancies of race in sports management, Lapchick, an author, professor, and racial pioneer, talked about how he has seen sports change in his lifetime. The son of former Boston Celtics basketball player and New York Knicks coach Joe Lapchick, the younger Lapchick spent his whole life immersed in sports and racial inequality.
As a child, Lapchick saw his father berated by racists for signing Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton, the NBA’s first African American signee. Years later, Lapchick would face a public, racial fight of his own. In 1978, the civil rights activist helped to lead a sports boycott of South Africa. While protesting the country’s Davis Cup team’s scheduled game in Tennessee, Lapchick was severely beaten and cut for his cause.
22-year-old University of Georgia student Josh Patterson said it was easy to see why Lapchick was chosen to give this year’s Clifford Lewis Scholar Lecture: “I am excited to hear about what he has to say about sports being a common ground between races because I feel like athletes have potential to do a lot of good for race relations.”
Lapchick began his lecture, titled “Sport: A Bridge Across the Racial Divide,” by congratulating the University of Georgia for hiring the first African American athletic director in the Southeastern Conference, adding, “Hopefully that change is not reversible.”
His opening gave the audience an idea as to what the rest of Lapchick’s lecture would entail: a frank discussion of race, sports, responsibility, and accountability.
Having paid for his cause in blood before, Lapchick provided the students and faculty on hand with a rare commitment towards both sports and race. From Eddie Robinson to the Virginia Tech campus shootings to the New Orleans Saints winning the recent Super Bowl, Lapchick touched on situation after situation in which sports helped to bring a community back together, despite differences in race, religion, gender, and socioeconomic class.
Lapchick, who started the nationally ranked DeVos Sport Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida, also spoke of the importance of leadership and standing up for justice, a principle he believed could slowly change the world.
“You never change just one person’s life. It’s a circle of growth… That’s the power we all have,” he said, pausing before adding, “If we use it.”
If he did nothing else in his lecture, Lapchick at least left his audience wondering one thing: “Maybe there really is something about sports.”
Richard Lapchick was tabbed to give the 2010 Clifford Lewis Scholar Lecture, an event sponsored by the UGA College of Education’s department of kinesiology. The lecture, in honor of the late associate dean and physical education professor Clifford Lewis, focused on two subjects of Lapchick’s expertise: race and sport.
From the segregation of basketball players in the mid-twentieth century to the current discrepancies of race in sports management, Lapchick, an author, professor, and racial pioneer, talked about how he has seen sports change in his lifetime. The son of former Boston Celtics basketball player and New York Knicks coach Joe Lapchick, the younger Lapchick spent his whole life immersed in sports and racial inequality.
As a child, Lapchick saw his father berated by racists for signing Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton, the NBA’s first African American signee. Years later, Lapchick would face a public, racial fight of his own. In 1978, the civil rights activist helped to lead a sports boycott of South Africa. While protesting the country’s Davis Cup team’s scheduled game in Tennessee, Lapchick was severely beaten and cut for his cause.
22-year-old University of Georgia student Josh Patterson said it was easy to see why Lapchick was chosen to give this year’s Clifford Lewis Scholar Lecture: “I am excited to hear about what he has to say about sports being a common ground between races because I feel like athletes have potential to do a lot of good for race relations.”
Lapchick began his lecture, titled “Sport: A Bridge Across the Racial Divide,” by congratulating the University of Georgia for hiring the first African American athletic director in the Southeastern Conference, adding, “Hopefully that change is not reversible.”
His opening gave the audience an idea as to what the rest of Lapchick’s lecture would entail: a frank discussion of race, sports, responsibility, and accountability.
Having paid for his cause in blood before, Lapchick provided the students and faculty on hand with a rare commitment towards both sports and race. From Eddie Robinson to the Virginia Tech campus shootings to the New Orleans Saints winning the recent Super Bowl, Lapchick touched on situation after situation in which sports helped to bring a community back together, despite differences in race, religion, gender, and socioeconomic class.
Lapchick, who started the nationally ranked DeVos Sport Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida, also spoke of the importance of leadership and standing up for justice, a principle he believed could slowly change the world.
“You never change just one person’s life. It’s a circle of growth… That’s the power we all have,” he said, pausing before adding, “If we use it.”
If he did nothing else in his lecture, Lapchick at least left his audience wondering one thing: “Maybe there really is something about sports.”
Speech at UGA Article
By: Brooke McMillan
“What will you have done to make people want to come say thank you?” asked Richard Lapchick who spoke to a combination of students and fans on April 20 at the 2010 Clifford Lewis Scholar Lecture. The lecture was sponsored by the College of Education's Department of Kinesiology at UGA. A crowd of about 60 sat and listened closely as Lapchick passionately spoke about his experiences and efforts to decrease racism specifically in the sports arena.
Lapchick received his Bachelor of Arts in 1967 from St. John’s University and his doctorate in international race relations from University of Denver in 1973. He is credited with writing more than 450 articles over the years and continues to write for companies such as ESPN. Lapchick has delivered more than 2700 speeches in his lifetime thus far. Many awards and honors have come his way over the years, and in 1994 he was specially invited to Nelson Mandela’s inauguration.
Throughout his captivating lecture, Lapchick constantly inserted the phrase “there’s something about sport,” stressing the great impact sports have on people. As the son of famous Celtic player and recognized basketball coach, Joe Lapchick, young Lapchick felt the expectation to grow up and play basketball. He attended basketball camp in Europe at the age of 14 where he experienced his first exposal to race and racism. Ever since, he has made large efforts to decrease racism.
Through his father, Lapchick learned that racism was a huge issue in sports. His father experienced non-integrated basketball teams, and learned about racism through watching sports. Once Richard Lapchick viewed racism in his generation, it was apparent that integration in the coaching position was very hard to achieve. Lapchick seemed very excited to deliver his speech at the University of Georgia boasting the fact that “Georgia had the guts to hire the first African American athletic director in the SEC.”
Lapchick focused largely on those who influenced his life, and those he has been exposed to while on his journey through life. He emphasized the great impact sports have on people’s life such as the Saints win after the devastation Louisiana experienced due to hurricane Katrina. Lapchick was raised to hate the New York Yankees. Even so, he rooted for the New York Yankees to win the World Series after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, destroyed much of the state and the hearts of many people.
The importance of change was expressed through the words of Lapchick. He is a man who adovocates change, and the belief that people have the capacity to influence those who continue hate crimes across the world. The audience nodded their heads in agreeance with Lapchick as he expressed the need for change. He said “the reason I wanted to be here today is because you can be difference makers,” leaving his listeners to think about how influential each person can be in the world.
“What will you have done to make people want to come say thank you?” asked Richard Lapchick who spoke to a combination of students and fans on April 20 at the 2010 Clifford Lewis Scholar Lecture. The lecture was sponsored by the College of Education's Department of Kinesiology at UGA. A crowd of about 60 sat and listened closely as Lapchick passionately spoke about his experiences and efforts to decrease racism specifically in the sports arena.
Lapchick received his Bachelor of Arts in 1967 from St. John’s University and his doctorate in international race relations from University of Denver in 1973. He is credited with writing more than 450 articles over the years and continues to write for companies such as ESPN. Lapchick has delivered more than 2700 speeches in his lifetime thus far. Many awards and honors have come his way over the years, and in 1994 he was specially invited to Nelson Mandela’s inauguration.
Throughout his captivating lecture, Lapchick constantly inserted the phrase “there’s something about sport,” stressing the great impact sports have on people. As the son of famous Celtic player and recognized basketball coach, Joe Lapchick, young Lapchick felt the expectation to grow up and play basketball. He attended basketball camp in Europe at the age of 14 where he experienced his first exposal to race and racism. Ever since, he has made large efforts to decrease racism.
Through his father, Lapchick learned that racism was a huge issue in sports. His father experienced non-integrated basketball teams, and learned about racism through watching sports. Once Richard Lapchick viewed racism in his generation, it was apparent that integration in the coaching position was very hard to achieve. Lapchick seemed very excited to deliver his speech at the University of Georgia boasting the fact that “Georgia had the guts to hire the first African American athletic director in the SEC.”
Lapchick focused largely on those who influenced his life, and those he has been exposed to while on his journey through life. He emphasized the great impact sports have on people’s life such as the Saints win after the devastation Louisiana experienced due to hurricane Katrina. Lapchick was raised to hate the New York Yankees. Even so, he rooted for the New York Yankees to win the World Series after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, destroyed much of the state and the hearts of many people.
The importance of change was expressed through the words of Lapchick. He is a man who adovocates change, and the belief that people have the capacity to influence those who continue hate crimes across the world. The audience nodded their heads in agreeance with Lapchick as he expressed the need for change. He said “the reason I wanted to be here today is because you can be difference makers,” leaving his listeners to think about how influential each person can be in the world.
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