Region 1 Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists

Christine Fisher - Multimedia Journalist

This March I was honored and humbled to win the Region 1 Mark of Excellence Award for general news reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists.

This award recognizes the best collegiate journalism in the country, and Region 1 spans along the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Pennsylvania. During this award cycle, SPJ received more than 4,000 submissions from the 12 regions, and the other recipients of this award were from Harvard and Yale.

I received the award for the series I produced on the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s property auction in 500 vacant, scattered-site properties were auctioned for more than $11 million. Because a majority of the properties were sold in bundles of anywhere from two to 25, many local residents were upset.

I could not have received this award without the award winning, hyper-local news site PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com or partner site PlanPhilly.com, and I truly appreciate the support they provided.

Multimedia Series: PHA Property Auction Causes a Stir

In October I went to a informational community meeting meant to educate Philadelphia residents about the auction of 400 Philadelphia Housing Authority properties. It was immediately clear that local residents were upset by the auction. The following series of multimedia pieces follows the auction and the differing opinions.

The series combines text articles with photo, audio and video segments.

• North Philadelphia: Philadelphia Housing Authority Auction Upsets Residents http://sct.temple.edu/blogs/murl/2011/11/10/north-philadelphia-philadelphia-housing-authority-auction-upsets-residents/

• Center City: Housing Authority Makes Money on Auction; Critics Complain Neighborhood Buyers Left Out http://sct.temple.edu/blogs/murl/2011/11/17/center-city-housing-authority-makes-money-on-auction-critics-complain-neighborhood-buyers-left-out/

• North Philadelphia: Resident Wonders if PHA Auction Will Have an Impact http://sct.temple.edu/blogs/murl/2011/12/07/north-philadelphia-resident-wonders-if-thursdays-auction-will-have-an-impact/

• West Philadelphia: Housing Authority Makes $4 Million on Second Property Auction http://sct.temple.edu/blogs/murl/2011/12/08/west-philadelphia-housing-authority-makes-4-million-on-second-property-auction/

Photo Samples: Mayor Nutter Visits Key Bridge Construction Site

On one assignment with PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com and partner site PlanPhilly.com this past semester, I got to attend Mayor Michael Nutter’s visit to the 40th Street bridge between West Philly’s Mantua and Parkside neighborhoods.

Read the full story here…

Audio Slideshow for PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com

In addition to producing news packages with print, photo and video elements, I produced this audio slideshow using Soundslides - North Philadelphia: Resident wonders if Thursday’s auction will have an impact

Videos Produced for PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com

As part of my journalism capstone for the Temple University Journalism Department, I produced weekly articles and several multimedia news packages. The links below will bring you to two of my multimedia packages. Both include text, photos and video. Enjoy!

 

• Parkside: Fairmount Park Conservancy Collaborates on Centennial District Master Plan http://sct.temple.edu/blogs/murl/2011/10/06/parkside-fairmount-park-conservancy-collaborates-on-centennial-district-master-plan/
• Parkside: Credit Union Opens in Shopping Center http://sct.temple.edu/blogs/murl/2011/09/27/parkside-credit-union-opens-in-shopping-center/

Multimedia Storytelling: Wooden Shoe Books

In the Multimedia Storytelling course I took in the spring semester of 2011 we revisited Final Cut Pro. For my video project I met with an employee of Wooden Shoe Books to learn more about the anarchist bookstore tucked away on Philadelphia’s South Street.

Wooden Shoe Books from Christine Fisher on Vimeo.

Hand Coding: CSS + HTML / Photo and Audio Slideshows

In the Multimedia Storytelling course I took with the Temple University Journalism Department in the spring 2011, we also learned how to code using CSS and HTML. To demonstrate my skills, I teamed up with Philabudance, a Philadelphia-based hunger relief organization, to produce two, hand-coded, interactive multimedia packages.

• Philabundance Fresh For All, an interactive slideshow

• Philabundance Community Food Center, a multimedia package

Adobe Flash: Animation and Audio Slideshow

In the spring of 2011, I took Multimedia Storytelling through the Temple University Journalism Department. In this course we learned Flash Animation, CSS + HTML and revisited Photoshop and FinalCut Pro.

This (highly entertaining, engaging and critically acclaimed) .swf was the first Flash Animation I created: http://astro.temple.edu/~tub71085//multimed/BalloonMovie.swf

Using Flash we then advanced to created audio slide shows, like this project featuring Barry S. Slosbug, Inc., a Philadelphia auctioneer company.

Christine Fisher’s Magazine Layout

In my Design for Journalism class we had to design a magazine cover and two page spread. It was my favorite project of all my classes this semester. I really like doing this kind of design. I think I’m going to look into doing more layout/graphic design stuff in the future.

PhilaStory 2: Christmas Village, Philadelphia

This was the final video project created for my Audio Visual News Gathering course. I worked on this project with three other students.