This is a book about people, not technology. Sure, there’s a lot of technology in the pages to follow, but if you boil it all down to its core, its essence, you’ll find people trying to extend a noble and grounded craft into a new and unpredictable landscape. And it’s the people who matter, not the latest software or Web site. 

If the people in this equation learn how make technology work for them, the rest is just details.

As journalists, we need to change our practices to adapt, but not our values. We’re like sailors in the English proverb I chose for the title to this introduction: No amount of wishing for a return to smooth seas will calm the water around us.

To carry the sailing metaphor even further: It’s time to tack. It’s time to turn the bow of our ship and make the wind in this new sea work for us, not against us. We’ll use the best practices of other working journalists to point the way. We’ll draw from the groundbreaking and innovative work being done at newspapers, radio and television stations and Web sites around the U.S. We can learn from their experiences.

As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

This handbook will guide you along the way, breaking down each skill and technology into digestible lessons that will be immediately usable for you in your work. It is organized so you can focus on one discipline at a time. It is practical, not conceptual. You will be able to perform the skill the same day you read about it.