In 2009, when Mike Reilley joined the faculty at DePaul University's College of Communication journalism program in Chicago, he and his students had an arsenal of multimedia software at hand, including Soundslides. But they needed a thematic focus and an online platform for their work. Choosing a theme wasn't easy. Their subject would have to produce continual news stories and present easy access. The students also wanted to publish stories about areas of the city that were underserved by some of the major media outlets.

They zeroed in on Chicago’s Red Line, a 23.4 mile-long El train ... Read the full story

Audio slideshows are especially suited for people profiles. In a conversation with Soundslides earlier this month, freelance digital media producer and videographer Eva Gilliam suggested we look at an audio slideshow that was part of the Children’s Radio Foundation Young Reporters Network project.

(What are your techniques for making great audio slideshows about people? Tell us in the comments section below.)

Yolanda Benya: Cape Town, South Africa from Children's Radio Foundation on Vimeo.

In the piece, 18-year-old Yolanda Benya of Khayelitsha Township, Cape Town, moved with her family from a corrugated zinc hut in an impoverished slum, where people ... Read the full story

Editors can only do so much with the material they’re provided. Freelance audio slideshow and video producer Eva Gilliam, who lives in Cape Town, South Africa, and produces videos and audio slideshows for various news agencies and NGOs, likes to provide a checklist to photographers and reporters she works with. One late night on Skype, she shared her list with the Soundslides community. What do you have on your field checklist? Tell us in the comments section below.
Photography strategy

Develop a rough scripting of the story before you go out: where is it, who are the characters, what ... Read the full story

Photographer and educator John Freeman teaches an annual study abroad multimedia program in Berlin for the University of Florida. Soundslides is an important part of the program, as students need to quickly produce a project they can share during the workshop. The students often gather together in their hotel late at night to edit their audio slideshows.

Freeman describes a couple of guidelines he thinks greatly improve the student's success with the software.

“When teaching Soundslides, I have really strict guidelines that help to make the projects look really good,” he says. “One is, the students have to use all ... Read the full story