Commentary is not something readers often find on Fast Draw Media and, when it is, it usually doesn’t come in such an informal manner. However, as editor and publisher of this site, I am making an editorial decision to revert to my newspaper practice of publishing an editorial column, so there will be a larger use of personal pronouns in this piece than in others stories on this site.

An online friend of mine, Robert Moore, who practices digital history in writing about the Civil War, Southern Unionism, and memory of these topics on Cenantua’s Blog, recently wrote a post about who Civil War history bloggers are and and why they do it. Robert has been examining, for quite some time, the impact digital space has on the study and practice of history. Robert’s piece got me to thinking about why I do what I do with digital news.

Photo courtesy of Bruno Cordioli via Flickr. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/br1dotcom/5007899775/)

Citizen journalism is the catchphrase in media circles right now and, I believe, there are some stories, driven by local influence and desire to know, that are better published by local news websites. Are they being covered in other local media outlets? Possibly, but consider this point. I practice digital journalism in a rural area served by the Dallas-Fort Worth television and radio markets. Many of the local stories covered by these stations and received by viewers in the community trend toward the negative. That doesn’t mean that negative stories should’t be covered, but it leaves the negative and inaccurate perception that small towns only have bad things happen there.

Local newspapers in rural communities have always filled the positive news void and will probably continue to do so for a few more years longer than their urban counterparts. Some of it is that people in small towns love their local publications, but part of it is also that, in many rural areas, the infrastructure is not present to bring digital content to rural Internet users with the same kinds of speeds as urban Internet users receive. This frustration leads many in rural areas to rely on the local print product for news of all types.

When I first started this website as part of my master’s studies in New Media Journalism at Full Sail University, I knew I wanted to fill the digital void in coverage of local news in my community. While that makes the approach to and the appeal of this site more limited than the average website, I saw original content, maximized for the digital environment, as being what was needed to generate an interest in and a demand for local digital news content. I’m still working on it, but this is a start. Independent journalists, whether citizen journalists or professionally trained ones, will drive this in rural communities since most digital content is currently regurgitated print product. The concept is changing, but it’s taking time, somewhat because rural newspapers are not losing readers to the Internet at the same rate as urban newspapers, and the print product is still the primary product.

Journalists need to bear in mind that the Internet is dynamic, making the exchange of information as important as, maybe more than, providing information. The news cycle is real-time. Verification and correction can, and should, occur instantaneously. Remember the recent incident with CNN and FOX News publishing the wrong information about the recent Supreme Court ruling on healthcare? It’s still an evolving science, but it is exciting to watch it happen.

Content is no longer simply published, it’s engineered. As online editors and publishers consider how stories will be covered, the types of available media and the platforms on which it is presented are taken into consideration. Do we live blog an event on Twitter while gathering video, audio and images for a complete story after an event? Is this story best told through images, text, video, audio or a combination? Will reports from other sources be aggregated to tell the story as it happens or will later reports be curated to tell a story later? How much context, background and localization are needed to attract the target audience? All of this is taking place, in many instances, in real time or a significantly reduced time than putting out a print product and faster than airing a TV or radio program. News will continue to become some form of hybrid of all existing media forms traditionally used to report stories.

So, what does all of this really mean for the average news consumer, especially of local content? First, the news consumer no longer has to wait if the news organization is reporting in the digital arena. Does the paper come out on Friday? Yes, but has someone published before then? Can the information be accessed sooner and supplement an understanding of events and issues? Second, news organizations do not have to report in a vacuum, not that they ever should have been. Did we do a story last week? Is this a follow-up story? Then, for crying out loud, link back to the original story so readers can find out why it’s important in a complete way instead of the report-in-brief that is used in all updates and follows. Vary the content. If video was used last week, try something different in the follow-up. Third, for local readers, there is the opportunity to use media that is not often seen in the community to cover stories. Most of the time, rural, small town and suburban news consumers get text and images in the newspaper. With digital content, the potential for video, audio and interactive photo slideshows are available.

I’m not looking to replace any news entity in my local community. The local paper has over 100 years in the community and I will never be able to compete with that. What I do hope to accomplish if to present news in a variety of formats, offer the opportunity for interaction and allow local interest to drive content. I welcome suggestions from the community on how to accomplish this goal. I encourage you to respond in the comments section below.

WILLS POINT – Fast Draw Media (FDM) has been online offering news from the Northeast Texas region for a little over a year. However, for Gregory A. Rowe, publisher and editor, this is not the first venture into web publishing.

“American Civil War Essays & Research” is another blog offering from the publisher of “Fast Draw Media.”

In June 2008, he began a blog related to teaching history, generally, the American Civil War, specifically. The site contains reviews of history literature, interviews with history authors and interactions with historians and his students. Rowe took the site offline when he left teaching history, but sees it as a means of showcasing his experience in web publishing and has brought it back online and will publish there from time to time.

“Issues as I See Them” is another blog offering from the publisher of “Fast Draw Media.”

A new effort from Rowe is a site that will include political commentary. While Rowe has offered, and will continue to do so, commentary on this site, direct political commentary will be offered on the new site. The site was started in February 2011, but up to this point, Rowe has not been active in publishing, but that is set to change.

“I am looking for a way to share my knowledge and experience in web publishing by putting both these sites back online and becoming active on them again,” Rowe said. “I want FDM to maintain journalistic integrity by being the main site for news, allowing the other two sites to serve as places for commentary and editorials.”

In addition to the links in this story, you can link to the sites in the “Other Blogs” menu under the “About” tab at the top of the page.

This screenshot from Google Analytics for fastdrawmedia.com shows the visitors trend since statistics were first kept on the site. It shows three of the four highest traffic days were after the in-depth report was published and distributed.

Fast Draw Media (FDM) has experienced some success since the first in-depth report was finalized on the site on May 30.

Distributing through various social media channels, the story gained the attention of a major arthritis advocacy organization on Twitter as it was retweeted by the Arthritis Foundation. The story also gained exposure through a retweet by a supplement company marketing products to arthritis patients.

These tweets show how the distribution of this story progressed.

The story has attracted the most page views on the site since a record of site visits was first analyzed in February. Three of the four days of highest site traffic have occurred since May 30.

Overall, since the story was published, 70 visits have been made to the site, 50 of them new, according to Google Analytics. Over 68.5 percent of the visitors have been new. During the period from May 30 until June 17, there have been 147 page views with visitors viewing 2.10 pages per visit.

This screenshot from Google Analytics for fastdrawmedia.com shows the visitors trend since the in-depth report was first published.

Dallas, Texas ranks number one for location of visitors followed by Atlanta, GA; Mount Vernon, Texas; Quinlan, Texas and Denton, Texas. Since FDM serves the northeast Texas region and four of the top five cities for page visits are in the region, it appears FDM is reaching the area. Atlanta, GA is where the offices for the Arthritis Foundation are located; meaning a target audience for this story was reached in that regard.

FDM will continue to provide quality reports for the region on a variety of topics as it has done in the past. Readers are encouraged to interact in the comments section or via Twitter or Facebook.

FHS hosts ‘Shattered Dreams’ alcohol awareness program

Students participate in the first-ever presentation of the dramatic production

Storified by Gregory Alan Rowe · Thu, May 24 2012 12:10:54

Next week, FDM will publish the final product of the first in-depth project for the site. You may click the link “Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children leads research of juvenile arthritis” above or here to preview the project. Follow us on Twitter (@fastdrawmedia) and Facebook for updates throughout the week for announcements leading up to final publication.

The company’s website, General Mills is a co-sponsor of food drive.

According to Wanda Bristow, manager of the local store, from now through May 27, customers can assist the store by purchasing and donating non-perishable food items in the store, donating money or even make purchases elsewhere and bring them in for the food drive.

“We have over 10,000 stores and every store is taking part,” she said. “Each store picks the local cause, food bank or church to donate food to in the community.”

Bristow said the store has chosen House of Grace Church of Edgewood to receive the benefit of their efforts.

“We have a lady who works here whose dad attends that church,” she said. “We held a drive last year and donated the food to them. We wanted to give the food to them again this year.”

Bristow added that if you choose to donate cash and let the store use the money to make purchases, the store keeps track of what is collected and spends on food and turns that in to the district manager and that all money is accounted for to someone higher in the company.

If you would like to make a non-perishable food donation, go by the store, located at 855 E. Pine St. (US Hwy. 80 E. across from the Edgewood schools), make a purchase and leave it in the marked box for donations. Remember, you may also donate cash and let the store staff make purchases or you can leave items you have purchased elsewhere in the marked box.

“We give Google Apps for Education to schools and districts for free because we believe in the importance of education and the benefits of incorporating technology into that education.  I’m continuously amazed by how teachers and students are using Google Apps in new, innovative ways to enhance learning.

“Google Apps for Education fosters real-time collaboration in and out of the classroom – a student at home can write an essay in a Google Doc and share it with her classmates for peer editing; teachers can set up a Google group for their class to send students updates about lesson plans and assignments. There’s no limit to how these tools can be used to promote learning, and we love hearing examples from the more than 16 million faculty, staff, and students using Google Apps for Education worldwide.”

For more information, visit Google Apps for Education website.

File sharing, online collaboration and cloud computing are terms heard or read about almost daily as various electronic tools permeate the workplace. While emailing a file might be a way to get it to your coworker or client, what happens when the receiver doesn’t have the correct program or version to open the file?

Additionally, in this era of budget-conscious businesses and government organizations, companies and agencies are looking for ways in which to limit as much overhead and labor costs as possible.

Quinlan Independent School District (QISD) in Quinlan, Texas, began a transition to using Google Apps two years ago by first migrating to Gmail™. The district has continued to add Google products made available to faculty and staff since then, allowing for expanded collaboration among teachers and students and allowed for a more versatile work environment for staff by giving them access to materials wherever they have an Internet connection, including mobile devices.

Mike Roberts, QISD Director of Technology, said the district initially looked at Gmail for the cost savings it provided the district over running its own email server and Google Apps was something that has been added on for the additional benefits it has offered the district.

He said the migration has saved the district money on a variety of fronts.

“Before we had always run our own email server,” he said, “but every few years, you have to look at upgrading.”

He said the cost savings to the district in terms of hardware and software upgrades, user licenses and labor costs have been significant for the district, but he did not have an exact dollar figure available. He added the labor costs and the overall hassle of running an email server has been greatly relieved.

“One benefit has been, with Google, we have redundancy of server space, whereas before we had one point of failure because we had only one server,” he said. “Google has multiple servers in multiple locations and, unless we have a fiber (optic wire) cut, we have access, not just here, but anywhere we are.”

Roberts said initially there was some hesitancy and resistance on the part of the staff with the change, but that the staff and students have adapted pretty well. The district has recently purchased Google Chromebooks ™ with grant money and the science and English departments at the middle and high schools are using them in a pilot program.

Besides cost savings and ease of access, Google Apps makes it easier to collaborate through sharing resources and even mimicking other well-known and often-used software products in an online environment, further reducing the cost of software licensing for businesses, charities and other users.

Google has a variety of products that can be easily integrated into a business of almost any size. The Google name has almost become synonymous with the Internet itself with many people using the company name as a verb meaning to do a web search.

If you are an entity looking for a low-cost IT solution, Google probably has a plan that will fit your budget. Check them out and see if they have a solution that’s right for you.

Photographers and videographers need to maintain their rights to their work and protect it against unfair use through some form of copyright. Their images are their livelihoods and a part of their toolbox as much as their equipment. (Gregory Rowe/Fast Draw Media)

Looking at his images, one can see a high level of dedication to the art and craft of photography. Often presented in a subdued manner, the people and events in his photographs don’t seem like flat still images, but rather moments of emotion and movement frozen for all time.

David Cheney, who owns a photography business bearing his name in Greenville, Texas, has been in the business for four years and wants to protect the images he works so hard to produce.

In talking to his legal representation, Cheney understands the photographer maintains rights to his images both in a digital format and for printing purposes from the time the image is created. He uses a copyright notice on his website, but he said he has not registered his site with the U.S. Copyright Office, nor registered any individual images up to this point.

In showing his work to potential clients on his website, Cheney said he uses “a Flash website to help control random downloads” while maintaining the quality of his work for people to see. He said he also uses metadata tags in his images that help him control how photos are downloaded off the site.

“I also have a password-protected proofing area on my website for clients to look at to keep the access limited,” he said.

“I have been surprised at how well professional photo printers, even Wal-Mart, helps photographers protect their work,” he said.

Cheney said he had one client, in the early days of his business when he basically turned all of the images over to the client for a set fee, which attempted to make prints at Wal-Mart.

“They called me and wanted my verbal permission before they would make the prints,” he said.

For this reason, Cheney said he began releasing certain specified rights to photos he takes. He said he includes the printing and use rights for up to 15 images he takes in the photo and portrait packages he offers clients, but retains the right to use the photos for marketing and display purposes. The release form he uses includes both an agreement for the client’s use of the 15 images, as well as a release clause for his future use of the images.

Cheney said he does want to protect his work, but also sees a need to balance client goodwill and marketing of his product with the need to copyright his work.

“Most of what I do with portraits and weddings is pretty personal,” he said. “In four years, I haven’t had any trouble with people downloading and using random images off my site.”

He did say he began offering a print package of the released images for clients to maintain quality control over his work after he noticed an early client print photos on standard copy paper with a bad color ink cartridge. He said he didn’t want to have is name associated with poor quality printing, which he sees as being as big a deal as protecting his investment in his work through copyright and fair use agreements.

Cheney admits that as his business grows, he will need to seek the advice of a legal professional in maintaining control over the distribution and use of his work.

And, judging from the images on his site, he may need to do that sooner than later.

The major federal law regarding the privacy of student information is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This law limits access to a student’s information to school officials for school related purposes, to the student’s parents or legal guardians until the student turns 18 and to the student individually after age 18. According to information found on the U.S. Department of Education website, “Parents and students put their trust in the stewards of education data to ensure students’ personal information is properly safeguarded and is used only for legitimate purposes and only when absolutely necessary. The Department deeply values this trust and strives to ensure it is doing all it can do to protect the privacy of our students as the uses of their data to improve education increase.” The law seeks to provide these protections to American students and their families and applies to all areas of education: public or private; primary, secondary and post-secondary (colleges and universities).

In Texas, Government Code § 552.114 governs the privacy of student records. Chapter 552 of the Government Code is actually related to open records in the state, but student educational records are one exception to the open record requirements, basically eliminating the possibility of a reporter making a request under the Texas Open Records Act or the Freedom of Information Act.

“The reason for these privacy issues is we don’t want to give out any information of an address where someone may live,” said Juan Solis, PRIDE Academy Principal and Bullying and Peer Mediation Coordinator at Quinlan ISD and an education doctoral student. “We don’t know what other people’s ideas may be, what their thought process is or what may lead to a very, very traumatic incident. We don’t want to be responsible because we were the ones that gave out an address where an angry parent went to confront someone and something bad ended up happening.”

Solis said this is the reason Quinlan ISD policy is that information about a student is not given to anyone not on the student’s contact list, unless it has been requested by a law enforcement or child protective agency.

He also stated that most districts have policies in place that allow parents and guardians to opt-out of having student information, like honors and awards, and images submitted to the media, even to have those images and information barred from the district’s own website.

Solis said the severity of consequences for educators who violate student privacy protections is largely based on the nature of the breach and how severe an action parents take. He said they could range from a simple reprimand up to an educator having a teaching license revoked.

The basic thing, Solis said, is for educators at all levels, to remain professional in the interactions with students and parents and in the handling of student information.

“The advice that has been given to us by our professors and other professionals is, ‘If you think it could make headline news, you probably don’t need to do it.’”

One of the major engagements this site has accomplished is to begin following and being followed by the Arthritis Foundation on Twitter. While no active engagement has taken place, it is good to know that this organization is reaching out to begin a dialog with its own constituency.

A poll was posted to Fast Draw Media’s Facebook page. The question was simple. “Do you know someone with arthritis?” While simple and straightforward and not highly responded to as of this posting (it was posted last Friday), it is a step to further engage the audience in the discussion of the research being conducted.

A lot of wok remains to engage blog readers and to build an audience, but the efforts of recent research has shown engaging and building an audience takes the active effort of the blog editor. While that might seem a little simplistic, it is often taken for granted that successful blogs and sites are actively engaged with their audience, directly leading to and controlling its success.