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ALLEGED GUNMAN ROAMS STONY BROOK CAMPUS

Full Coverage-Alleged Gunman on Stony Brook Campus

Stony Brook University students and faculty received mass alerts in response to the report of an alleged "armed perpetrator" on campus.

 Alert System

Personal Accounts

Are We Safe on Campus?

(Link to more photos here)

Press conference held with campus police around 4 p.m. after mass media coverage was reported about the incident.

Did you run or hide???
How did you react to the SB Alert?	I called my mommy. Angrily ran out looking for the perp Flew to Canada Frantically installed sturdy dorm locks
	Current Results

We want to hear from you, tell us your experience!

The Mother of All Index Posts

Police questioned students about Monday's alleged gunman incident.

Our team was all over this one from the beginning:

The top story from Rachel Young:

After receiving a call at 1:25 p.m., University Police and Suffolk County Police responded to reports of an alleged armed perpetrator. A little over two hours later, an "All Clear" text message was sent to members of the Stony Brook community...

To continue reading click here

Amanda Mayo asks are we safe on campus?

A poll of Stony Brook students:







Stephanie Brumsey says there are unanswered questions

JC Chan posts a photo journal from from the aftermath

Rachel double-dips with her second look at the day, this time in a personal account

Below is the video of the press conference with Assistant Chief of Police Doug Little and President Shirley Strum Kenny
Video shot by Adrian Carrasquillo and edited by Stephanie Brumsey

Press Conference

Video of the press conference at Stony Brook University concerning the alleged gunman

Adrian Carrasillo shot this video
Stephanie Brumsey cut and posted this video

Alert System

Stony Brook University faced a myriad of emotions today as it was announced that an armed perpetrator was on the academic mall, a space that spans the equivalent of about 2 ½ Manhattan city blocks. A series of alerts went out to students and staff as the day progressed, but the question of the day was “does the alert system truly help?”
Students received the first of the text messages at the 2:05 pm, about 30 minutes after the event occurred. Students and faculty alike were told to “Remain alert and follow directions of emergency personnel. Go to the Stony Brook website for updates.”
Except there were no updates on the website until 40 minutes after the initial text message, not that it would’ve mattered because the school’s website was flooded to the point that many people couldn’t access the alerts anyway.
Many students calling news stations such as News 12, the local news station of Long Island, had nothing but negative things to say about Stony Brook University’s security and the alert system, stating that they never received an alert and the messages that they did receive came to them in a round-about way.
“A friend of my boyfriend’s cousin who saw it on the news and called me to tell me what happened….I could’ve died,” said a caller to Long Island News 12. Mind you, no shots were fired an no one was injured.
Shirely Strum Kenny, President of Stony Brook University made it a point to note that the Alert system isn’t mandatory, though it is suggested that people sign up.
“On a campus this big we can make it mandatory. It’s not something we can do, but we hope after this that people will sign up. Sorta how you can’t shut down a city of 40,000 people – 23,000 students, 13,000 faculty and employees and 4,000 outside people on the campus at the time.”

Gunman Situation leave many questions unanswered

Our news team was all over this one from the beginning. From Rachel comes a personal account and overview of the day. JC chronicled the aftermath and the press conference that followed in a series of photos. Amanda offers a piece on the question many people are asking today. Are we safe on campus? And Stephanie takes a look at the alarm system that was largely hit or miss during a crucial time.

http://jrn320mw.blogspot.com/2008/02/four-hours-of-reporting-and-counting.html

http://jrn320mw.blogspot.com/2008/02/photojournal-campus-gunman-incident.html

http://jrn320mw.blogspot.com/2008/02/are-we-safe-on-campus.html

http://jrn320mw.blogspot.com/2008/02/alert-system.html

Four hours of reporting and counting

At 2:07 p.m., I was getting ready to leave my room in West Apartments to go to my broadcast journalism class. After putting my coat on, I leaned over to close my laptop's screen when I got an instant message from Rohma Abbas, my colleague and the editor in chief of the Stony Brook Independent. "There's someone on campus with a gun in Harriman Hall," she said. For a split second, I thought about staying within the safe confines my room. But when you're a journalism major and managing editor for a campus publication, getting the story is worth taking a risk. I grabbed my purse and headed outside.

It was a beautiful day, and the sky was clear. Walking toward the Academic Mall at around 2:10 p.m., I spotted two male students wearing RSP jackets. "Can I walk with you guys?" I asked them. We talked about what was going on. They told me about someone possibly having a gun in Harriman and that they were told to report to the RSP office in O'Neil Hall. As we neared the SAC bus loop, one of the men said to the other, "What do you think? Should we go this way or around? I think it's safer to go the other way." I walked with them, avoiding the SAC loop, and watched as students headed in the direction they had just deemed unsafe. My heart began to race. The men told me they would escort me to the library, where my class was, but then changed their minds, saying they thought I should avoid going there.

I walked toward Harriman Hall, expecting to see police, but there were none. I breezed right into Harriman, walked into the cafe, and walked back out. I heard some students whispering about what was going on, but most still seemed unaware.
After leaving Harriman, I turned left toward Old Chemistry and saw a group of police officers. I approached one, who told me, "We're trying to be prudent. Unfortunately, when you try to be prudent, it raises a lot of questions." He told me things were "as okay as they could be right now."

I walked toward the library, ignoring what RSP told me. There, I spotted another journalism major t talking to a police officer and a student. "It's not a campus-wide issue, it's a country-wide issue, yo!" the student said to the cop.
Our notebooks were out. I took down the student's quotes and kept walking around the Academic Mall. Some students came up to me, asking if I knew what was going on. I told him what I knew. The consensus was confusion. People said they didn't know if their classes were cancelled or not. Others said they were able to get into some buildings but not out of them.

Shortly after that, I took perch near the SAC loop. A News 12 reporter with caked red lipstick was interviewing a couple students, and people were taking pictures of the scene with their camera phones. Crowds began gathering, interested at the increased police and media presence. I got a lot of great quotes from people, including the same students the News 12 reporter spoke to. They were confused, pissed off, and wary. One of them said he was going to the bookstore - "I gotta get a book," he said. Later, I saw him and he told me the bookstore was closed.

My adrenaline was on high all day. My heart still feels like it's racing more than six hours later. I went to the press conference at the University Police headquarters at 4 p.m. President Kenny stressed how important the safety of the students was to her, but many people complained about there not being an official campus lock down. "That's a false concept," Kenny said. "There is no way to have a full lock down on a campus."

After the press conference, I went to the Independent's office in the Union to write a news story. I had pages of notes and wasn't sure where to begin. I was irritated because all I had eaten were Wheat Thins and I wanted everyone to shut up so I could write. I managed to publish a comprehensive article that hopefully gives people perspective and answers on the issue. All I want to do is go home and take a hot shower.

Photojournal - Campus Gunman Incident

Photo Gallery on Flickr

-JC

Are we safe on campus?

A recent string of crime and theft on the SBU campus has pushed the community into a state of confusion. Between armed robberies at Kelly Quad to an alleged armed gunman incident that occurred today, students and faculty say they don’t feel that their safety has been compromised, but they still have questions.

“To be honest, I didn’t feel endangered at all,” Francesca Rachmanow, a senior, said. She added that she just wanted to know what was going on. She said she heard that students were not allowed to enter or leave some buildings on campus, but hadn’t heard any details about an alleged gunman, and whether or not the police were able to locate him.

“The only thing I was told was that I shouldn’t leave the Union,” Rachmanow said. She said she was at the SINC site in the Union between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

“I feel like the campus police are useless,” she said. She referred to recent reports of rapes at Roth Quad and students allegedly being held up by a gunman in Kelly Quad. “They couldn’t catch the gunman?” she said.

University police were stationed in the Student Activities Center throughout the day. They declined to comment about the alleged gunman, but said that no changes have been made in the situation since an “All Clear” text message was sent to the campus community around 3:30 p.m. Police said they don’t believe campus security has been compromised in light of this event.

Elbazar Rodriguez, a supervisor at the Student Activities dining center said he feels the campus is safe. “I work here everyday,” he said, “It’s fine.”

“I honestly think it can happen anywhere,” Joseph Awadalla, a Stony Brook sophomore, said. He said he wasn’t concerned about campus safety more after today’s events than any other day. “I can go to another college and it could happen there,” he said.

As of now, University police insist the campus is safe, even though the alleged gunman has not been caught. They said there is no longer any immediate danger in the situation.

Gunman on Campus Makes Stony Brook Students Feel Unsafe

WUSB coverage

Here is the Internet archive of the WUSB coverage about today's incident:

http://stream.wusb.stonybrook.edu:8090/content/1Mon-1430.1.pls

You can't fast-forward/rewind/pause. Therefore, I've noted the following (these are approximately):

6 minutes into show: George Agathos, the DJ and Publisher of the Stony Brook Independent, lets listeners know about the situation from an AP story.

28 minutes: George says there is no new info being reported at that time; advises listeners to go to the Independent and the school's websites for up-to-date info.

40 minutes: George reports that the school sent out a message stating everything is okay. He mentions a story from a caller who said she was in the SAC at the time of the incident.

Personal Accounts

Alleged Gunman at Stony Brook University This Afternoon

After receiving a call at 1:25 p.m., University Police and Suffolk County Police responded to reports of an alleged armed perpetrator. A little over two hours later, an "All Clear" text message was sent to members of the Stony Brook community.

"Police have searched the area and there is no longer any immediate danger. All clear," the message said. The suspect remains at large.

At a 4 p.m. press conference at Police Headquarters in Dutchess Hall, President Shirley Strum Kenny said a plain-clothes security guard at the Student Activities Center approached the suspect after an apparent theft.

"At that point, the perpetrator showed what appeared to be a gun," Kenny said.

Assistant Chief of Police Douglas Little said that at that point, the security guard, who he described as a "greeter" who works for the Faculty Student Association, "backed off and called police."

It is unclear if the same guard ran after the suspect.

Mariann Woolley, a senior who witnessed the incident at about 1:30 p.m., said she and a friend saw the suspect being chased by a security guard. The suspect is reported to be a black male with a long black trench coat, black knit hat and gloves, and a goatee. being chased by a security guard. Little said he has a tattoo between the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

"I saw him running - he went out with a pizza box in his hand. I didn't think he was, like, a gunman," she said. "We made the joke - wow, he's running for pizza?"

Woolley said the perpetrator ran between Harriman Hall and Old Chemistry toward the Sports Complex.

"I'm really scared, 'cause there's a whole lot of this stuff going on," Woolley said.

Across campus, some students echoed her response, while others reported feeling confused, angry, and worried.

Cesar Acosta, a senior, said, "No one really knows what's going on. It's just word of mouth."

A female senior who didn't want to be identified called WUSB 90.1 FM shortly after 4 p.m. She said she was sitting on a bench at the Student Activities Center just before the incident when someone matching the suspect's description sat down next to her and asked her for a dollar.

A woman who approached the Stony Brook Independent said, "I have a midterm tonight, but frankly, I feel safer off campus."

Although the incident occurred around 1:30 p.m., students reported not receiving an initial text message from SB Alert until at least half an hour later. "Remain alert, and follow directions of emergency personnel. Go to the Stony Brook Web site for updates," the text said. Some students said they didn't receive the message until around 2:20 p.m.

No official campus lockdown was issued. Noah Pirozzi, a freshman, said, "I'm pissed because you need some sort of lockdown device. They said this was one of the safest campuses when I applied."

According to Newsday, University Police said they believed the individual fled the campus shortly before 4 p.m.

One of the key questions raised at the press conference by reporters was why a campus lockdown was not instituted.

Kenny said a full lockdown is a false concept. "You cannot, on a campus, have an open lockdown," she said. She said said the school has been working on their emergency system "time and again." Stony Brook University has a 1,000 acre campus of about 40,000 people.

"Over 11,000 instant messages were sent out," she said, and added that the campus actually has less crime now, compared to last year.

The Student Activities Center remained open and as of 2:15 p.m., entrance and exit from Harriman Hall was possible. People reported a lock-down in parts of Administration. Lockdowns were also reported in Humanities, Engineering, and the Wang Center.

Around campus, University Police told students to go about their business but proceed with caution. "If you see something, immediately say something," said Patrick Bazemore, a University Police officer.

"I am really confident that we do everything we can to keep students safe," Kenny said.

Little said University Police will review what happened and hopes police will be able to get more information from video footage. "We have surveilliance equipment in the SAC," he said.

Kenny said that if she was the parent of a student here, her nervousness would depend on what her child told her about the incident. "If I had watched News 12's coverage, I would have been much more nervous," she said. "My brother in Waco, Texas saw it on Fox News."

Little said students should be aware of their surroundings. "If my son or daughter went here, I would tell them to challenge police to get as much information as possible," he said. "We're still looking for our bad guy out there."

Gun scare at Stony Brook University shakes up campus

Police: Pizza perp pulls pistol.
By Lynn Hsieh

Reports of a gunman on the loose left some students confused and shaken as police and university officials sent out a series of text messages to students alerting them of the danger.

After a two hour search by police, an “all clear” message was sent to students through the campus alert system.

The suspect has not been found.
A Faculty Student Association (FSA) employee in the SAC cafeteria approached the individual, who police describe as a 5’ 9’’ male between 25 and 28 years of age with a tattoo on his right hand, after it was determine that he was trying to steal food.
President Shirley Strum Kenny told reporters in a press conference "at that point, the perpetrator showed what appeared to be a gun," Kenny said.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the suspect fleeing the Student Activities Center (SAC) and run towards the back of Harriman Hall between the Old Chemistry buildings at around 1:30 pm.
Mario S., an exchange student, witnessed the event. He and his friends described the suspect as a black male dressed all in black with a long coat and dark boots with a red-green pizza box in his hands.
The security personnel chasing the man yelled “Stop. I won’t touch you,” Mario S. said.
Assistant Chief of Police Douglas Little described the security guard as a "greeter" who works for the Faculty Student Association, "backed off and called police."
Police arrived minutes later.



Timeline of Events
• 1:33 p.m. A report of a gunman on campus is reported to university police.

• 1:37 p.m. University police arrive at scene.

• 1:58 p.m. About the time the first text message (11,000) sent to students, faculty and staff, informing them of the situation. (Messages are distributed on a rolling basis. E-mails and voice mail on cell phones are distributed as well.)





• 2:51 p.m. Stony Brook updates its Web site with details about the incident.



• 3:55 p.m. Web site is updated giving the all-clear after police determine there is no longer an immediate threat.


• 6:35 p.m. University updates the website for a third time. Promises to keep students updated with the ongoing investigation.

Berkman's Alarm System story.

Updates to Soundslides assignment

I changed the due date (now March 12) and added a few notes and tips. Please have a fresh look at the Soundslides assignment.

Layered flag exercise - Example

Europeans horde Oscars

Top acting awards go across the pond on a night of diverse winners and ho-hum comedy.
• No Country takes Best Pic
• List of all the winners |  Winners slideshow
• Blog: A review | Was Stewart funny? Comment

Reminder: Label your posts here

Please remember to label (some sites call it "tag") all your posts in this blog.  That will allow me or anyone to click the label below the post and see everything you've posted in the blog.

You can go back and retroactively label all your posts - please do.

Photoshop Exercise Part 1

This Champion Sandplum Ridge Pot of Gold named Pogo from Azle, Texas shows off after the show at the 132nd Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Feb. 11, 2008. William Perlman/The Star-Ledger.

With this image, I cropped it and re-sized it to 220 x 332 so that the focus was on the dog's face and his costume. I also sharpened it to give it a crisper look up-close.


This Champion Sandplum Ridge Pot of Gold named Pogo from Azle, Texas shows off after the show at the 132nd Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Feb. 11, 2008. William Perlman/The Star-Ledger.

With this image, I wanted to capture the Texas flag that accompanies the dog, showcasing his "rebel" personality, so I cropped it and re-sized it to 332 x 220. Sharpening the picture was it needed to make it look great.

Photoshop Exercise Part I

Here is one example of my photoshop practice work:

This Champion Sandplum Ridge Pot of Gold named Pogo from Azle Texas has his eye on the prize at the 132nd Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. (WILLIAM PERLMAN/THE STAR-LEDGER)

I cropped this image to fit the 280px X 100px dimension configuration, brightened the image with the curves application and also sharpened it. I tried to emphasize the dogs stare to give him a competitive aura.

This Champion Sandplum Ridge Pot of Gold named Pogo from Azle Texas shows off as he has his photo taken after the show at the 132nd Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. (WILLIAM PERLMAN/THE STAR-LEDGER)

I cropped this image 332px X 220px to capture his whole "costume." I also brightened the image with curves and sharpened it.

The complete assignment is on my personal blog space.

Soundslides assignment

Important updates:

Remaining work time: You will get one hour of class time today and one hour of class time on Wednesday.  At the end of that hour on Wednesday, your project must be copied to the folder named below or it will be considered late.

Sizing: The standard output size for Soundslides is too big for a Blogger blog.  Follow menu commands Modify > Output Size to make the output size of your show 380 wide and 285 high.  This must be done before you export.

Finishing and exporting: When your project is the way you want it, you need to carefully follow the "Publishing basics" instructions in the Soundslides manual for how to export - you will be following "Someone else will be uploading the files to a server."  The place to put those files is explained in the next note here.

Turning it in:  When you are finishing your slideshow, you will create a "publish-to-web" folder. Rename that folder to your name (no spaces, all small letters) and put in the JRN320 Liss folder on the journalism drive in a folder called "Soundslides folders here." Paul will be moving all those folders to webspace he controls and he will give us the URL for obtaining the embed code.

Due date: Wed., March 12, end of one-hour work period.  Late work will be penalized two letter grades.

Value: 10% of your grade for the course

Turn-in method: Post it to the class blog; link to it from your blog.  Instructions for posting to a Blogger blog, like ours are in the Soundslides manual. (You will need to size the slideshow to the right dimensions for a Blogger blog.)

Objective: In this assignment, you will create a Soundslides presentation of at least 3 minutes, including at least 40 images (more on image-to-time ratio below).  The presentation should be on a local, national or international news event, trend or personality of significance.  If you have any doubt that your topic is appropriate, please discuss with me.

Additional notes:

• Your photos can be from any source, but understand that unless you have the rights to the photos (most likely because they're either your shots or they're AP shots) this presentation cannot be submitted for publication.  Except for your own images, you must include the source of your images in your credits. Use some style to attribute photo source (MLA, Chicago, etc. Here's a useful link).  
• For shooting your own images, there are nice digital cameras available for sign-out. See Paul in the newsroom.
• Your music can be from any source, but, again, in order to be publishable outside class, you must obtain the web rebroadcast rights. You must cite your source here in one of the accepted styles.
• You will need some Web space for this assignment.  There will be a solution for the class that will be detailed here.  For anyone who wants to work independently on this, you may open your own free account on webng.com.  Soundslides offers tips and a demonstration for how to export your slideshow to webng. This is a very good solution and it may become the class solution, so you are encouraged to explore this option.  Update (March 5).  Webng is presenting some problems - Uploading files from the newsroom seems to not be happening.  Our webspace solution is going to be some help from Paul.  When you are finishing your slideshow, you will create a "publish-to-web" folder. Rename that folder when it's been created to your name and put in the JRN320 Liss folder on the journalism drive in a folder called "Soundslides folders here."  Paul will be moving all those folders to some webspace he controls and he will give us the URL for obtaining the embed code.
• Your presentation should include panning movement in a high percentage of your images.  The image movement and flow should be "choreographed" to the music to some degree. The better the image movement and music work together, the better.
• Your topic should be something of significance in the very local world of SBU (a campus incident, a basketball game, a guest lecture, etc.) or of some news significance in the larger world.  Your selection of topics will have to be determined to some degree on the availability of images.  Some of your images can be multiple crops of the same image, keeping in mind that the tighter the crop, the more important it is to have a somewhat hi-res version of the image. We will spend some time brainstorming topics.
• Your music should be appropriate to the topic. Length must be at least three minutes, but as you go longer, you should look to include more images.  You shouldn't dip below an average of one image every six seconds.   Soundslides will import an MP3 or several other audio types, but you cannot edit sound for length or anything else inside the program - once it's imported, other than killing a song and trying a new one, that's it. Follow instructions here for shortening an MP3 file using applications available in the Newsroom.

Monday, Feb. 18 - Class topics

Today in class:

• Prepare for 7:30 iChat with Kevin Whitmer, managing editor of the Star-Ledger.  Here's how I explained to him what I'd like to do today:

  I want to focus on the advent of the CND, what it meant to the paper to get that started on as many levels as you can cover – what it has meant to the mindset of the newsroom, what it’s done regarding resources, etc. We can do this as Q&A, and I want my students to be asking questions. We have spoken in general about some issues I’d expect you to cover, but we haven’t delved deep. I think I’d also want to bring up some issues around interactivity and blog comments – to contrast our way of working as opposed to how the NYT is handling comments and how you and your staff have discussed this and feel about it.
  
  Finally, I’m thinking about spending some time before you arrive to talk about the set of news-biz-related articles in today’s NYT biz section and maybe getting some react from you on whatever issues that might raise for us. In case you haven’t seen, here are a few links – interesting stuff - Times to cut 100newsroom jobs,  - 4th LA Times editor in 3 years, Companies combine to sell ads on the web 

  I'd like to spend some time preparing for this as if it were an interview, and if there's a little more time, we'll read those articles and discuss.

• wrap on this chat
• time on Photoshop (exercise 1 and 2) and Soundslides exercises.

Layered Photoshop flag exercise

Photoshop layer practice

1. Open one of the docs in the JRN320 Liss folder called “Photoshop templates” These are layered templates for 175x126 images that include various effects and a text overlay. Save-as the image with your name on it so you are not modifying the base image the class is working with
   
2. Toggle the eyeball icon for some of the layers to become familiar with what each one does to the image
   
3. Double-click some of the effects and play around with them.
   
4. Cut an image of your own and paste it in as a new layer. Most of the templates have a “paste image here” layer that should be selected when you paste. Otherwise, paste it in anywhere and experiment with dragging layers up and down in the layer menu to get it “under” the various effects. (Be prepared to delete steps in your “history” if you get stuck.
   
5. Experiment with the text layer. (Go to Window > character to make sure the character window is visible) – font size, letting, color.
   

When you have practiced enough, create two layered images of your own starting from one of the templates. Your overall mission is to create a pair of “flags” that each tease a story and create a package as if it were going to go on a Website homepage.

• Select an image and text that start to tell a story. Create your layered image
  
• Upload the image to your blog and position it in a blog entry along with a headline and some copy that teases a story for a reader to read and interact in some way – comment, upload their own photo, etc.
  

Photoshop practice Exercise

Hannah Rocks, as well as others, during a night full of music!

I cropped the picture to 220x332 pixels.  After cropping it I then took the image and changed the lighting, following up by sharpening the image.  I wanted to show her enjoying herself while rocking out on stage and I wanted to show how a person who was equally as happy to rock out.

Photoshop practice exercise - example 1

University of Newark's Quianna Trawick (left) and Tiffany Green try to grab a rebound from Murry-Bergtraum's Shakira Washington during the Prime Time Shootout at Friday.  (FRANK H. CONLON/THE STAR-LEDGER)

Here's what i did in photoshop and what I was trying to do to tell a story

Photoshop practice exercise - Part I

Cropping, resizing, simple adjustments, saving for web

In your own blog, create an entry for this exercise and call it Photoshop practice exercise I.  We will use part of class on Feb. 11 and Feb. 13 to work on this.  Use the tips we have discussed in class and that are available in this blog

Using 5 images in our class space on the Journalism drive "Photoshop practice images," practice cropping and sizing images for maximum effect. Create 10 images by cropping each source image two different ways.  Under each image, write a caption that includes a credit (look in "file Info"). In italics below that, indicate what Photoshop tasks you performed on each image and what you were trying to do to tell a story with that image.

Notes: 

1. Your images should all be one of the following dimension configurations: (width x height) 332 x 220, 220 x 332, 135 x 101 or 280 x 100 - and you must use all of these sizes at least once
   
2. These images may NOT be distributed beyond this class and the assignment you are doing. They are the property of the Star-Ledger.

Photoshop cheat sheet

Here are some of the basics that we discussed in class.  Remember, these are the absolute basics.  To unleash the true power of photoshop, unnecessary for most web publishing, I recommend a graphic design class.

Workspace brightness: Be sure that the brightness on your monitor is turned all the way up before you get started.

When working with images from the Journalism network: Be sure to save the image first to your desktop or someplace that's yours.  Otherwise you will be modifying the base image we expect everyone to start with.  When you save your "final" version of the image, save it to the "JRN 320 Liss" folder with your name as part of the filename.

File info: Under File > File Info you will often find caption and credit information.

Resolution and page load: Almost all images on the Web are set at 72 dpi or pixels/inch - technically not the same term, as you'll see if you investigate further at techsoup.  When you do a "file > save for web and devices" this will optimize your images to 72 dpi.  Even large images on the web (500x300 is pretty big) shouldn't be more than 60K.  While high-speed internet connections have obviated most concerns about overloading, you should still take care not to weigh down a page with much more than 100K of image load, unless the page is specifically set up to display a bunch of large images (and your users are prepared).

Resolution and cropping: Your source image may well be higher-res than 72 dpi. It's often a good idea to start with as hi-res an image as possible so you have minimum constraints when cropping for a particular photo slot on a web page.

Measurements and rulers: Best to use pixels as the global measurement when working in photoshop for the Web.  Photoshop > Preferences > Units & rulers -- then under "units" set ruler to "pixels" and set "type" to "points"  

Crop tool: Use the crop tool to pre-set the pixel size (and h/w ratio) for the photo slot you are cropping for.  Click on the crop tool and set hight and width dimensions in pixels in the boxes near the top of the screen.  Then drag the tool over your image, noting that the proportion is perfect for your desired result.  When you stop dragging, right click for a crop/cancel menu, or go to Image > Crop.

Rectangle highlight: Use the rectangle highlight tool to select part of an image. That part may then be cropped (Image > crop) or singled out for various other effects and filters.  

Image size: To find out the size in pixels of any image you are working with, do a select-all on the image and then look in th "info" box in the right rail of your Photoshop desktop.  To re-size an image, go to Image > Image Size, then set the image dimensions to what's desired. Note that once you change one dimension, PS will automatically adjust the other to keep the correct proportion.

Lightening, darkening, contrast, color adjustment: There are many options for these types of adjustments in PS.  The simplest and quickest (even if it may not be the most advanced and precise tool) is Curves (Images > Adjustments > Curves).  Making sure the preview box is checked, drag the diagonal bar up and left to lighten an image.  Sometimes slight adjustments are all that's required, and you should always be careful not to washout an image by sliding too far.  If curves don't get the job done, consider some of the "auto" adjustments under Image > Adjustments (Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, for example).  Dive in for manual adjustment as you have time to practice.  It's not likely you'll ever need to go beyond curves and the auto adjustments for basic adjustment for web work.

Sharpening images: Any time you make an image smaller than the original, you will lose sharpness.  Use Filter > Sharpen as your final step before saving to get the image as sharp as possible.  If you have only slightly decreased the image size, Sharpen could leave you with some odd shine around the edges of faces or other borders. If this happens, consider not sharpening.

History and Undoing steps: Make sure the History window is open in the right rail of your desktop. If it isn't, go to Window > History.  You can then select any action you've taken since opening it and delete it, reverting back to a prior state of your work.  Undo will work for your very last step only.

Save for Web: You will want to configure this feature to allow one save box to create a 60 percent quality - usually just fine. Make sure the file type being saved is jpg.

SoundSlides manual

Here's a link to the online manual for SoundSlides

Web-only news sites

Working on a list - comment in with others.

• Slate.com
  
• Politico.com
  
• Huffingfton Post
  
• Poke around here for a big list of blogs - not all are suitable for this assignment
  
• DailyKos
  
• Another decent index of political blogs
  
• Watchblog
  
• Gawker.com
  
• Kind of old list, but potentially helpful
• Another somewhat old list, but best-of from the washington post
• 
  

Web eval: Liss example

Here's a mini, mini example of a very focused Web site evaluation, along the lines of what I'm expecting for your first assignment.

Comparing cnn.com and abcnews.com on the topic of Super Tuesday results.

I. Content & value adds

A. CNN - Politics page - organizing principle is a grid of state-by-state results, with out much setup or any context-adding set of stories

B. ABCNews - results page - similar setup, but more of a list.  All the numbers you could want, projected winners, etc.

C. Analysis: This was not what I was looking for in a results page.  Sure, I wanted to be able to see the numbers, but I would have much preferred a page that gave me access to the numbers while giving me the context of what happened Super Tuesday, some 24 hours after the polls closed on the East coast.

II. Interactivity

A. Analysis story - CNN - McCain clear leader; split decision may help Obama The bar across the top offers "Interactive" but click on it, and there's not much that's clearly interactive - no place to comment, no evidence of other user comments

B. ABC analysis story - How did Hillary capture the Hispanic vote? - No clear link on top to interactivity, but this is a blog with user comments clearly indicated at the bottom of the page

C. Analysis - Both of these are clearly analysis items, ripe for soliciting user comments.  Neither goes too far out of the way to invite user input.  ABC's does have clearly labeled "User comments" at the bottom of the page.  I find it a little disappointing that user input doesn't appear to be valued at all on CNN, at least in this context.  CNN's blogs may have more clear opportunity.  ABC's user opportunities were a bit more clear, and users were taking advantage - there were dozens of user comments below the blog entry.

III. Navigation/design

A. CNN homepage - way down, almost below the fold, a tiny, somewhat vague "Your Super Tuesday" - also a tiny text link on top - popular links

B. ABC homepage- Higher on the page, but about the same size "Super Tuesday results - See all Super Tuesday results here" - same real estate, but much clearer and more effective

C. Analysis: On CNN, I initially followed the wrong link at the bottom of the page to an I-report, CNN's way of doing citizen journalism.  On ABC, I followd the link to the results, but that's all I got. I wanted more.

'A Reported Blog'

Interesting masthead on a blog on the Atlantic monthly's website.

What do you make of the term "A reported blog on politics"?

Feb. 4 Classwork: Super Tuesday Website evaluation

Similar drill as last week's Super Bowl eval:

• Pick two sililarly categoried sites from the following list: NYT, Wash Post, ABCNews, Huffington Post, politico.com, cnn.com, slate.com – suggestions?
• each person in group has a role for reporting to class – content, interactivity, value-adds, nav/design
  

Taking and using screenshots

This is a reference for how to take screenshots.

There are any number of tips out there for how to take screenshots on a Mac.  Just do a Google search for "Mac screen shot.  One simple result is at Youthtech.com - 

Once you get the "picturex.png" on your desktop, open it up in Photoshop and edit it for the web - i.e., get it down to 72 dpi resolution and size it for your purpose.  Save it as a jpg and then it's ready to be uploaded to a blog or some other web purpose.