I've been swamped lately with trying to keep up with paper deadlines and staying on top of my classes and dissertation proposal. But I'd be very ungrateful if I didn't post a little bit of thanks to the four guest speakers who spoke to the online journalism class I teach at the University of Missouri. They added insight and real world experience that I could never teach. I'm still baffled a bit that they agreed. One even drove all the way from Nebraska to be in class while still filing a story for ESPN on the road. But I think it shows the close community that can be fostered online among a group of like-minded individuals worried about the state of the news.

First, Dana Martin, editor of the Northwest Voice in Bakersfield, Calif. shared her insights on going from most popular blogger on the site to running the whole shooting match. The Northwest Voice is really the first citizen journalism site in the United States, and with Martin at the helm, still serves as the model for all others to follow. Martin deftly handled some tough questions from the class about running a news operation without a journalism degree, but what I think she showed the students is that enthusiasm and a belief in what you are doing may be just as important as knowing how to write an inverted pyramid story in today's world of journalism. Northwest Voice has always been smart about finding people who exemplify the community spirit that a citizen journalism site creates.

Next, Meredith Artley, executive editor of LATimes.com, gave students in class a realistic look at the journalism industry they'll face when they get their degrees. She's been working hard to bring the online and print staffs closer together in creating the best news product possible. What I appreciated most about what she said is she emphasized being able to tell a good story first. The technical PHP-coding skills come second. That's something I think our students in their rush to learn all they can about the Web need to hear.

Elizabeth Merrill, a senior writer for ESPN.com, reinforced that notion even more. Merrill, who was the Chiefs beat writer for the Kansas City Star before joining ESPN, still believes in newspapers and has found her newspaper experience pivotal to her success at ESPN. The key to online presentations, she said, is owning the story. Each element must not just repeat the others, and each has to bring something different to the ultimate story. I had the class read her piece A Town Torn Apart because I think it shows exactly what she's talking about.

Even at Yahoo! news, a good story drives the news, said Robert Padavick, our final speaker. As a senior producer, Padavick has organized projects such as Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone, and People of the Web, and even though these pieces have great video, he said he knows how important a good written story is as well. From his perspective, it seems as if Yahoo! understands its audience well. The company pulls information from hundreds of sites, including news wires and other blogs, but for its original projects it has to give audiences something they can't get anywhere else. He showed his understanding of his audience and the election season by asking the class a few direct questions about Sen. Obama and his impact on the election. I hope we gave you some good information for your blog.

In the end, I hope this blog posts helps you see the wealth of information we tried to expose students to. Teaching about the Internet will always be a challenge because it seems to constantly reinvent itself. But kindness and willingness to share are part and parcel of the online experience because we know the only way we'll get it is together. I'd encourage you to visit some of these links if you get the chance. Even as I added them to this entry, I remembered how I laughed at some, cried at others. I think they all represent good journalism in its many different forms.