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Some good advice to budding journalists on Journalistopic, the blog run by Danny Sanchez, a web producer for the Orlando Sentinel.

He recently visited his alma mater, the University of Florida, to speak with about 250 journalism freshmen. Before he went, he canvassed opinion and outlines the advice in this entry.

His advice:

“The changing media landscape means we have a whole array of new tools to tell a story. Sometimes a narrative is best. Other times, it’s a database-backed Flash graphic. You, the journalist, must have the wisdom to choose which is the best tool for a particular story.”

I agree with this entirely. Journalism today is all about using the right tools to tell a story in the best way possible for the audience. Just because we can do Flash, does not mean we should. Editorial judgement sound guide all our choices.

As Sanchez concludes:

“But above all else, it’s important to remember you are a storyteller with the responsibility to serve the readers. You might tell the story of crime in a city using a Google Map. You may tell it through a Soundslide, plain text, a graphic or in some other form. But in the end, you still need to have solid news judgment, a strong sense of ethics and the dedication to serve the public interest.”