Twin Cities Media Alliance
Be the media! Classes, training and community journalism
March Update: Greek Feast, new staff members, classes and more…
Lots of news to report this month: new staff members, our fourth annual Greek Feast at Gardens of Salonica on March 27, moremedia skills classes, workshops and newsroom cafes, and reports from editors Mary Turck and Jay Gabler, and community engagement coordinator Bruce Johansen. Scroll down for details.
Meet the newest members of the Media Alliance / Daily Planet staff:
Lolla Mohammed Nur (lolla@tcdailyplanet.com) is the community engagement editor of the TC Daily Planet, and has written for local and national outlets. She writes about the African/African American community, social justice, religion and gender. A self-admitted social media addict, she can be found at @lomonur and www.lollamohammednur.tumblr.com. Lolla has lived in four countries, but now resides in St. Paul. She is always in transition.
Maggie Pearson (Maggie@tcdailyplanet.net) is the community asset mapping / neighborhood engagement specialist for the Twin Cities Media Alliance. Maggie grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and moved to Minnesota in 2007 to pursue Geography and Environmental Studies at Macalester College. She now lives in the Corcoran neighborhood of Minneapolis with a cohort of wonderful people, nine chickens, and a whole bunch of vegetables.
Harry Kent (harry@tcdailyplanet.net) is the new Community Asset Mapping Intern with the Twin Cities Media Alliance and a Senior Geography Major at Macalester College. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, he enjoys seeking out great local restaurants, pickup games of any sport and is a recreational funk and soul music enthusiast.
Greek dinner at Gardens of Salonica:
You’re invited to join us for the fourth annual Daily Planet Greek Dinner from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on March 27 at Gardens of Salonica, 19 5th St. NE, Minneapolis.This dinner has sold out every time, and it’s easy to see why: it’s great fun, great food and great value. Four courses of delicious Greek cuisine served family style, prepared by Gardens of Salonica owner-chef Anna Christoforides, with specially selected Greek wines and other beverages accompanying each course. Plus a great opportunity to meet and socialize with the Daily Planet staff, and other Daily Planet writers and readers. Cost is $40 per person for TCMA members and their guests, $45 for non-members. (This is also a great opportunity to join or renew your membership by making a contribution of $10 or more. )
Click here to see the menu, or purchase tickets.
Classes:
If you are interested in reporting for the Daily Planet, or want help with a story-in-progress, stop in at the Newsroom Café. Editor Mary Turck will talk about stories we are looking for, and story ideas that you bring. We’ll be meeting at Kopplin’s Coffee – 2038 Marshall Avenue in St. Paul. Look for the laptop with the “I Heart the First Amendment” sticker!
Do you have a story or a question? Drop in and talk about the Daily Planet, our news coverage, and how you can contribute. Associate editor and arts editor Jay Gabler will be working at the Coffee Shop Northeast—just look for the laptop with the Freaky Deeky sticker.
Learn how to develop a free or inexpensive website for your small business, community organization or blog using WordPress or another user-friendly platform. This class includes instructions how to set up a site, how to navigate the settings so that the site represents your business, and tips on how to generate traffic.
This class will be taught by Steffen Ryan. Thanks to our partnership with the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA), this class is offered free of charge, but pre-registration is required as space is limited. To register, call 952-227-1500.
You know that social media is a great way to market your business and share information about your brand, but where do you start? How do you find time to fit it all in? During this hour and a half workshop, learn how to set up a business Facebook page and engage your fans. Discover ways to curate and distribute consistent information and grow your fan base. This workshop will also offer suggestions for how to set up your own editorial calendars related to social media content, ways to maximize your Facebook efforts when your time is limited, and general best practices in social media.
This class will be taught by Melissa Harrison. Thanks to our partnership with the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA), this class is offered free of charge, but pre-registration is required as space is limited. To register, call 763-767-3853.
What is Twitter, and how can you use it effectively to connect with your friends, colleagues, and – for business owners – potential customers? Go from being a novice to a power user by taking this two-hour class from Jay Gabler, associate editor of the Daily Planet, who was voted #1 best tweeter of 2011 by the readers of Vita.mn. The cost is $10.00. Scholarships are available. Register at TheDataBank.
If you are interested in reporting for the Daily Planet, or want help with a story-in-progress, stop in at the Newsroom Café. Editor Mary Turck will talk about stories we are looking for, and story ideas that you bring. We’ll be meeting at Black Dog in St. Paul – 308 East Prince Street in downtown St. Paul. Look for the laptop with the “I Heart the First Amendment” sticker!
You know that social media is a great way to market your business and share information about your brand, but where do you start? How do you find time to fit it all in? During this hour and a half workshop, learn how to set up a business Facebook page and engage your fans. Discover ways to curate and distribute consistent information and grow your fan base. This workshop will also offer suggestions for how to set up your own editorial calendars related to social media content, ways to maximize your Facebook efforts when your time is limited, and general best practices in social media.
This class will be taught by Melissa Harrison. Thanks to our partnership with the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA), this class is offered free of charge, but pre-registration is required as space is limited. To register, call 952-448-3886 .
Do you have a story or a question? Drop in and talk about the Daily Planet, our news coverage, and how you can contribute. Associate editor and arts editor Jay Gabler will be working at Shish on Grand Avenue—just look for the laptop with the Freaky Deeky sticker.
Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Pinterest—wherever you are online, if you’re a little confused, you’re not alone! Come to our monthly social media clinics at the Daily Planet office and get a hand from Twin Cities Daily Planet associate editor Jay Gabler—in addition to connecting with other community members and sharing your own best practices. Our social media clinics are meant to help you successfully navigate your way through the online forest of information, and to reach the communities you want to reach for your nonprofit, small business, or personal interests.
WHO: Jay Gabler and up to 15 registered participants.
WHY: As part of our nonprofit mission to help members of Twin Cities communities connect with one another and with our larger global communities using the power of new media.
HOW: We ask participants to pre-register so as to guarantee that space will be available and to pay the participation fee of $10 for each workshop. Participation is free for all Daily Planet advertisers (click here for more information about how to advertise with the Daily Planet), and scholarships are available upon request. Bring your laptop—wi-fi is available. If you want to participate but don’t have a laptop, inquire with us; we may be able to provide you with a computer for the session.
Photojournalism is more than the ability to take a good photo. In this 2-hour class, freelance photographer Tom Baker will teach you how to report with a camera. You will learn the basic nuts-and-bolts of photojournalism, including caption writing, identifying the best storytelling image, what equipment you’ll need, and using your cell phone to take reportage images. Ethics of photojournalism will be explored, too. Emphasis will be placed on the community-driven reporting style of the Twin Cities Daily Planet.
Tom Baker has worked at three newspapers and has been freelancing since 2006. By sharing stories from the field, he will illustrate the challenges and rewards of being a photojournalist. He will also share some tips on networking and on what it takes to become a successful photojournalist.
Tuition for this class is $10.00. Scholarships are available. Please register at TheDataBank.
Learn how to develop a free or inexpensive website for your small business, community organization or blog using WordPress or another user-friendly platform. This class includes instructions how to set up a site, how to navigate the settings so that the site represents your business, and tips on how to generate traffic.
This class will be taught by Matt Bartel. Thanks to our partnership with the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA), this class is offered free of charge, but pre-registration is required as space is limited. To register, call 651-695-3700.
What is Twitter, and how can you use it effectively to connect with your friends, colleagues, and—for business owners—potential customers? Go from being a novice to a power user.
This class will be taught by Jay Gabler. Thanks to our partnership with the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA), this class is offered free of charge, but pre-registration is required as space is limited. To register, call 952-707-1770.
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Community Engagement Coordinator Bruce Johansen reports: 
Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:
Ten people, diverse in race, gender, age, ethnicity, geography and life experience started a new adventure together at the end of February as our first class of Media Skills Fellows. We picked the ten from 75 people who indicated interest in the Bush Foundation-funded program. They’ll work on basic reporting skills, use of social media, photo and video skills, all with the aim of better communication in/about/on behalf of their diverse communities. Our reporting is another kind of involvement in our community. That means Sheila Regan eating spaghetti with student organizers at South High School and Makula Dunbar visiting North High to find out about the first semester of its new program. Sheila and Makula are South and North alums, and that’s just one small way that our reporting is deeply connected to our community.
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Upcoming Classes
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