The changing face of photojournalism - Indiana University School of ...

Newswire: Can you give us an example?Peterson: We have a news writer here who’s been on staff for25 years, so he knows old school media relations. But he’s a greatadopter of new technology. He was doing some communicationson behalf of an antiquities exhibit, which included an Egyptianmummy. So he created a Facebook page for the mummy, lettingfans know what’s going on at the exhibit — all from themummy’s perspective. It’s such a fun idea, and the mummy nowhas 9,000 followers. Also, we did a press release about a paleontologist’sdinosaur discovery, and we posted a video interviewwith the faculty member on YouTube. The New York Times wrotea story about the discovery that didn’t use our press release,but that did link to our video. So our video sits on the New YorkTimes website.Newswire: What’s the biggest adjustment traditional mediaspecialists have to make to a new media environment?Peterson: Relinquishing control and letting the audience communicateabout you. We’re not telling people what to say, but weare offering them a space in which to say it. And that means wehave to let go a little bit of our “moderator,” “editorial” role andlet others take over. That’s going to strengthen our link with ouraudiences in ways that are good for universities — especially inthe area of alumni engagement. Also, new media operate sort oflike a journalism beta model. It’s not the same as print. You don’thave to have every comma correct, because the Web is a living,breathing thing, and you can change and update as you go.Newswire: Speaking of “new” things, what advice do you havefor new graduates of the IU School of Journalism?Peterson: Value your education, first of all. The skills I developedin J-school have been useful in every arena I’ve entered.I always need to be able to listen to a lot of information andsynthesize what’s important from it. So covering a school boardmeeting is great experience for chairing a meeting later. J-schoolalso taught me to whittle my communications down to somethingsuccinct, to get the main points across. Also, the exercise ofthinking through how an audience will interact with the informationyou’re sharing is valuable in the decision-making processlater in life. Be flexible in how you employ the skills you’ve pickedup at IU. There’s no reduction in the need for communicators. Ihire people with those skills every day. That’s not going to dry upany time soon. But be aware that the media moguls of today creatednew forms of communications — like the CEO of Facebook.This is a fun time to be leaving J-school. You may create the nextTwitter.Newswire: Tell us something about yourself that isn’t high-tech.Peterson: I am a karaoke addict. I sang for fun in the Schoolof Music at IU, in choral ensembles and amateur shows. Aftergraduating, I didn’t really have any outlet for that, so a colleaguetook me to a karaoke night at a bar in Bloomington. Turns outit’s kind of a cult thing. In fact, my partner, Mark, whom I met ata karaoke night, and I started a karaoke business, which we thensold a few years ago. My absolute favorite song to perform isOrange Colored Sky, the Natalie Cole version of the old Nat KingCole song. It’s a blast — and a great escape from work.Russell Jackson, BA’83, is a freelance writer in WestHollywood, Calif.< 38 > newswire / Spring 2010