#cit izenrelay Repor ter T r a i n i n g S c h e d u l e : Thursday 3rd May, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness

09.30-10 Welcome and introductions

10.00 #CitizenRelay – an overviewThe opening session will contextualise the #CitizenRelay project with reference to the wider #media2012 initiative (and charter) and other citizen media initiatives. They will a l so focus on t he spec i f ics of t he #citizenrelay social media infrastructure, detailing how the project will work physically and virtually to amplify local

stories around the Olympic Torch Relay. Finally, they will introduce the main platforms and channels being utilized, including blogs, Twitter, F a c e b o o k , F l i c k r a n d Youtube and the overarching social media guidelines for the project.

11.00 Principles and pract ices of community reporting: Telling the story

This session will focus on the principles underpinning the p rac t i c e o f commun i t y

reporting, including finding the story, avoiding churnalism, seeking sources, building contacts, working as a team of

reporters, editing work and problem solving.  The session will also cover how to ensure that local communities on the Torch Relay route can have their voices heard.

12.30 Lunch and chat

13.00 Practical workshops 1: Interviewing Skills (Audio and Video)

The focus of this session is around video and audio interviewing, using smartphone and mobile camera equipment. The session will concentrate on training people to shoot interviews with minimal need for editing.  Reporters will get the opportunity to record interviews with each other, edit and upload to a mock site prepared for the day.  There will also be a discussion of online and offline content and the difference between doing it live and organising/preparing content to be uploaded in the evening.

15.00 Practical workshop 2: Writing for the web and amplifying the message

This session focuses on the skills required for writing for the web that includes preparing engaging blog posts, curating inspiring tweets and using multimedia effectively in order to support and enhance your stories. It also covers utilising networks, promoting content, cross-posting and contextualising on a local, regional, national and international level (#media2012 and the Olympic lens) partnerships and relationships and using hashtags.

Eden Court Theatre, Inverness is the location for the first #citizenrelay reporter training workshops

Remember to bring:Equipment for audio/video recording will be provided on the day but if reporters have their own equipment including cameras, audio recording devices, smartphones and laptops, then this would also be helpful.