A cutting edge practical introduction to online journalism, drawing on over 30 interviews with award-winning online journalists, editors, and producers

For today's students and journalists, knowing how to build a website is not enough - knowing how to craft a news story for maximum impact via the web is a must in today's media-saturated world. Drawing on interviews from more than 30 award-winning online journalists, editors, and producers (from the likes of NYTimes.com, WSJ.com, MSNBC.com and washingtonpost.com), author David Craig helps students understand the meaning, importance,and elements of journalistic excellence in today's online environment. Organized around four elements of online excellence - comprehensiveness, speed and accuracy, open-endedness in story development, and conversation with users - the book provides detailed discussions of multimedia projects, blogs, user-generated content, and breaking news. In addition, it examines the connection between ethics and excellence in order to more critically evaluate the work and practices of online journalism.

Review
"I think it is a great idea and will fill a need, both for my class and other, more skills-oriented online journalism courses. I like that it includes ethics but goes beyond that - the four elements of excellence on the Web go to the unique characteristics of the medium and therefore give students something new to think about and discuss, whether from the viewpoint of journalists or as media consumers. ... The book, by looking specifically at opportunities and challenges of ethical journalism ONLINE, will contribute to understanding both journalism ethics (because there are new challenges online) and the general practice of online journalism." — Kathy Olson 20100621 “Reading about the practices and insights of working professionals is the book's greatest appeal. Chapters are richly detailed and address significant issues in online journalism. The writing is brisk and highly readable, and the examples are well chosen.” — Steven D. Koski 20100913 “The greatest benefit is Craig's focus on the interrelated nature of the multiple forms of information presentation and the need for practitioners to move beyond the traditional journalism model.” — Michael Williams 20100913 “Excellence in Online Journalism provides a great deal of concrete information for students. Its grounding in the tradition of journalism ethics makes it particularly valuable since the ethics become so well integrated into the practice. Students should easily learn that becoming an ethical reporter will make them a better reporter. Those teaching online journalism will do their students a good service by considering this book.” — Paul A Soukup, SJ Communication Research Trends 20120402 "Craig uses the philosophical approach of the Notre Dame scholar Alasdair MacIntyre as applied by the media ethicists Sandra Borden and, to a lesser extent, Edmund Lambeth. This philosophical approach allows for the consideration of developing standards in the digital era, challenging some old rules while incorporating most of them into a rede?nition." — Mark Neuzil, Ph.D. Journal of Mass Media Ethics "Institutions, such as media companies, come in for criticism when the balance of quality and pro?t get out of whack. Craig does a good job providing examples of how the professionals he interviewed attempt to keep quality in the product." — Mark Neuzil, Ph.D. Journal of Mass Media Ethics “Craig's book is appropriate in a journalism ethics course, although I would be tempted to assign it in an advanced multimedia reporting class to flesh out the ethical dimensions of a journalist's decision making while showcasing the new best practices.” — Mark Neuzil, Ph.D. Journal of Mass Media Ethics

David A. Craig is an associate professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. He teaches journalism ethics, editing and graduate research courses. His research interests include excellence in journalistic practice, the ethics of journalistic language, coverage of ethics in professions and values for ethical decision-making. Craig worked for nine years as a news copy editor. He earned an M.A. in communication from Wheaton College and a Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He taught editing courses at Northwestern University and Missouri. He has been a professor at Oklahoma since 1996.