Southeast Michigan Media Lab

Southeast MI Media Lab

[email protected]

What is a community media lab?

Journal Register Co. launched a local Community Media Lab in April 2012 to bring the audience in the newsroom and train community contributors in digital media. Recently, we renamed it the Southeast Michigan Media Lab with the intention of attracting participants from across the region to free workshops and offer individual training. We provide a learning-based and collaborative environment, as well as a vehicle for the community to document and chronicle the important events that shape their history and platform to share their voice, using our newspapers and websites. The lab is open noon to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday, and by appointment. Michelle Rogers , who is director of community engagement and editorial training, runs the lab.

WorkshopsThe lab offers free workshops to the community

News writing Column writing AP Style basicsPhoto editing Search engine optimization Understanding web analytics Google Drive SMS best practices Blogging for nonprofits Livestreaming video Holding live chats Public relations writing

LinkedIn Blogging Social media Marketing Photography and video Audiocasts/editing audio Freedom of Information Act Citizen journalism Online safety Visual storytelling tools Crowdsourcing stories Beat blogs

Sign up for a workshop on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaLab

One-on-One InstructionHow we have helped

Helped the Washtenaw Democrats and Saline Area Chamber of Commerce set up Twitter accounts Helped the owner of Lavin Lift Strap set up a YouTube account to share their product demonstration videos Helped local senior citizens set up personal Facebook page and Craig’s List account Helped local comedian edit video for her blog Helped local business owners write news releases Helped community members set up blogs and linked to them on our websites Helped a blogging partner learn data visualizations Helped an Internet marketer learn AP Style basics

Blogging PartnersWe host a blog roll

on our websites across Michigan under the “Life”

section and link to local blogs on

education, parenting, movies,

animals, retirement, financial planning,

health and spirituality, travel,

theater, teen issues, mental health and

agriculture.

Blogger Guidelines• Once we receive word that your blog is live, we will begin working on getting your

site linked to our site at www.heritage.com.

• In exchange for us linking to your blog, we ask that you allow us to post a news widget on your site which will provide your audience with the latest headlines from our newspaper. Once you're linked on our site, please add our headline widget to your blog.

• In order to keep your readers engaged, we ask that you please post at least three new messages a week on your blog, while checking in daily for comments and reader feedback. The worst thing for a reader is to come across a blog that hasn’t been updated in months. You’re almost guaranteed to have lost that person’s interest for good.

• To keep our standards, we ask that your blog be informational and not promotional. If you are blogging about the profession you have, please do not turn your blog into a customer recruitment tool where you are posting the latest offerings you have. Feel free to create a separate blog for your customers, but please share with us only the one that is informational.

Follow the Lab on Social MediaOn Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaLab On WordPress

http://communitymedialab.wordpress.com

Also on Twitter:@CommunityMediaL

Heritage Media

Eight print publications and the website Heritage.com The Chelsea Standard The Dexter Leader The Manchester Enterprise The Saline Reporter The Milan News-Leader The Ypsilanti Courier

The View in Belleville Ann Arbor Journal

Community Contributions

We welcome community contributions and are ramping up efforts to encourage more of

it. This column was provided after the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra approached us

about coverage and we asked for a volunteer to write it up. They found a student willing to

contribute and his column was published.

Here’s an example of a contribution from the Saline District Library. We would like to see more

content sharing from members of the communities we serve, as well as

representatives from nonprofits, churches, civic organizations, entertainment and art venues,

and public institutions.

Editor Contacts

• Chelsea and Dexter Editor: Kathleen Murphy, [email protected] and [email protected]

• Saline and Milan Editor: Austen Smith, [email protected] and [email protected]

• Ypsilanti and Manchester Editor: Krista Gjestland, [email protected] and [email protected]

• A2 Journal and Belleville Editor: Gary Winkelman, [email protected], [email protected]

734-429-7380