Jennifer Sturm, Online Content Producer, Savannah Morning News

Nicole Pentracosta: Why and how did you become involved in online journalism?

JS: I attended a workshop hosted by the Lawrence Journal-World in Lawrence, Kansas, during the summer of 2005. Daily Iowan publisher Bill Casey, Dailyiowan.com Webmaster Tony Phan and I spent a few days learning how they became the leading news source in their area. The newspaper’s owner, The World Company, was one of the first media companies to combine its print, Internet and television news into one newsroom. What we took from the workshop turned into three specific projects: We started Daily Iowan Television, planned to increase our online presence, and put more emphasis on local/community coverage.

NP: How do your responsibilities in online journalism compare with your previous responsibilities in journalism?

JS: I am more hands-on when it comes to the technical aspects of presenting content. In college, I did not focus on the technical aspect of news-gathering and after graduating, I took a news design position. When I moved to the online staff, I learned basic HTML coding and how to shoot and edit video. I think having worked as a news designer on the night desk helps me to understand the path a story takes from reporter to print and then to online. That experience has helped me to troubleshoot some hiccups within the system.

NP: How do you view blogging and online journalism?

JS: I don’t have a solid view. My views depend on the blogs I read.

The New York Times has impressed me with their Lens blog. Admittedly, I only found this blog because UI alumnus and former Daily Iowan photographer Nick Loomis writes occasionally for it. (http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/) I like this blog because of the space given for the photos, the content within the photos and the text explaining and adding to the story the photo tells.

NP: What challenges do online journalists face today?

JS: I’m not sure who said this, but it has stuck with me: Report for the Web, write for the paper.

The principal standards in journalism still apply to news-gathering in general: You can’t report something without it first having an identified source confirmation.

Online journalism allows us to tell readers what’s happening right now – and how it might affect their day. An example would be a road or lane closure during the morning commute. Maybe a Web post helps someone to avoid the traffic. The news can continue to grow online before the print version comes out, but might not be as in-depth as some print stories.

I think, at times, quality is overlooked for quickness and it takes a committed journalist to double check their facts, contact the appropriate people and get to the bottom of what is happening and then what’s going to happen next.

Just because we’re filing faster doesn’t mean you can shortcut our methods. I’ve learned that through my own mistakes. For example, I searched Google Map for a location of a robbery and it was completely wrong. The metro editor said that’s why we take time to pull out an actual map.

NP: How do you balance your job and social/family life in your online journalism career?

JS: I try to keep my laptop off for a while when I get home from work or during my off days. At some point, regardless of if I’m on the clock or not, I’ll check our site and see if there’s anything I can post or update.

NP: Have you experienced any gender issues in online journalism?

JS: No.

NP: Do you have a dedicated fan base on your Facebook and Twitter accounts?

JS: Our Savannah Morning News Facebook page has 1,470 fans and our twitter.com/savannahnow account has 994 followers.

NP: Do you feel Facebook and Twitter are primary sources of gaining information for many of your readers?

JS: I do, and I also think it gives readers an opportunity to pass along the news and also comment about the news. We’ll ask questions on our Facebook page, which usually starts a conversation among our fans. Also, some of the people who comment on Facebook about a particular story will then go to the actual story link on our site and also post a comment there.

NP: What do students need to learn in order to find careers in online journalism?

JS: When competing for a job, students who are strong writers (even if you’re not applying for a reporting position) and who have had an internship at a professional newspaper or media outlet will be ahead of other journalists. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is you have to be a strong writer in this age in which most communication is typed. If you can’t adequately get your point across to one or 1,000 people, you’re going to be stuck. Everything else can be learned and perfected over time.

NP: What is the future for online journalism?

JS: I don’t know.

NP: Do you have any advice about online journalism for young, aspiring female journalists?

JS: Be flexible with your daily tasks but have a backbone. Start working on things you love as much as you can – whether it’s a topic or a skill. The more you do, the better you’ll be.

NP: With so much of online journalism turning to social networking sites like Facebook, what advice would you give to newspaper companies to target the online audience?

JS: Promoting your site and subsequent social media accounts are important. People have to know to look for you and you need to know how to target your audience. Contests can be useful to gather information about users and to gather e-mail addresses for another level of communication, but before those work, people have to know to look for you.

That being said, I have reservations about using too many contests to entice users. I have a 2005 Newsday cartoon hanging by my monitor addressing old-school and new-school journalism. On one side, there’s a drawing of a newspaper with the headline: “Who’s Deep Throat? Brought down president.” On the other side there’s another newspaper with the headline: “Where’s Waldo? … Win a free T-shirt.” I kept the cartoon for four years, because it bothered me so much. It helps to remind me that well-written content, analysis and accuracy still need to be priorities.

Interviewee: Jennifer Sturm

University of Iowa grad Jennifer Sturm is an online content producer for Savannahnow.com, the Savannah Morning News' Web site in Savannah, Georgia.

Born and raised in Washington, Iowa, a town about 55 miles south of Iowa City on April 9, 1982, Sturm always loved reading and writing. Her love for writing and fascination with the idea of telling stories flourished as she attended a writing workshop as a pre-teen and went on to write for her high school newspaper. She credits her high school journalism instructor Donna Manfull as a mentor who helped her find her current career path.

Sturm was graduated from the University of Iowa in spring of 2006 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication. During her time there, she was editor-in-chief of the Daily Iowan and oversaw a staff of more than 100 student journalists. The Daily Iowan staff during Sturm's term as editor won a National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Award for Excellence in American Student Journalism.

Sturm started her career at the Savannah Morning News in June 2006 as a news designer and moved to the online staff two years later. As an online content producer, some of the daily tasks Sturm is responsible for include checking the online site to ensure content has been posted correctly, researching and compiling searchable databases and managing Savannahnow.com's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Interviewer: Nicole Christina Petrancosta
Nicole Christina Petrancosta is currently a sophomore at the University of Iowa. She was born on Oct. 24, 1989 in Chicago Il and is younger than her sister. She grew up in Mount Prospect IL, a suburb of Chicago, and has lived there a majority of her life. As a child her favorite hobbies included playing soccer and scrapbooking. Soccer has always been a big part of her life throughout her childhood because she felt it taught her self-discipline, confidence and responsibility. She believes it has a big part into who she is today. She has always had a strong outlook on school and in high school was awarded for being a seven-semester-honor-student. Currently, she is in the pre-nursing program at Iowa and she will apply to the nursing school in April 2010. In 10 years Nicole hopes to have a family and a career as a nurse. Becoming a nurse means a lot to her because she loves helping people any way that she can. Nicole is interested in gender and mass media because she feels we live in a society that is surrounded by mass media and is important to remember what women in this field have gone through and the importance of media around the world. After college she would love to return back to the Chicago-land area where a majority of her family lives.