Heading to Rhode Island

I recently had a conversation with my capstone advisor about this project and he reminded me of my desire to use my skills as a video journalist to contribute a bit of video story telling to this project. He's right. I DO love being a video story teller. So I will travel to Rhode Island to shoot video pictures and conduct interviews to see how Jim Hummel, one of my profile subjects, is trying to make a living doing investigative journalism online.

To be successful in the world of online journalism, I'm learning, you have to have a brand - which is often your name. And you have to be good at self promotion. I think this is one of Jim's strong suits. Here's how a Rhode Island magazine is portraying him.



He has a unique approach - from what I've seen so far. This is from his website:

"The Hummel Report is in 501 (c)3 non-profit application. We do not sell advertising. We sell good government and we only accept donations. Thank you for your support."

That's right - like giving grandma's dishes to Goodwill or donating a car to The Salvation Army - you can get a tax deduction for the contributions you make to his site. It's an approach that is worth exploring. Maybe there are some lessons to learn here for other journalists who will try and venture out on their own. I'll keep you posted on what I learn. The trip happens from Wednesday, March 31st till Friday, April 2nd. Then I'll need to look at my tape and write a story and track it and edit it. So you won't see if for a while. But it will be a story worth waiting for. Please come back to see it in a few weeks.