It's been far too long since I've updated this blog, so let me start by catching you up on the digital projects that we've been working on at The Record over the last month.

First off, I'd like to update everyone on the success we had with live-tweeting our first murder trial in Rensselaer County Court last month.

Reporter Dave Canfield spent more than three weeks sharing details from inside the court room, attracting a large number of new followers and helping change the way local trials are covered in the Capital District. The Albany Times Union also began to tweet the trial, along with local television station anchors who were camped out at the courthouse, but only after our reporter got the OK from the judge to start doing so from inside the courtroom with his laptop.

Here's a recap from the reporter's point of view:

Covering a recent murder trial on Twitter as I sat in the courtroom with a laptop proved more engaging with readers than anything else I’ve done here at The Record.

We asked for special permission to cover a long-awaited double-murder trial on Twitter, breaking the usual rules of no cell phones—let alone computers—in the courtroom. It increased the number of followers I had on Twitter by a third by the time the trial had ended.

It got the most important revelations about a well-known 9-year-old murder case out there faster than any other means I can think of could have. The added followers aside, putting our hashtag feed on our main page at troyrecord.com put it out there to people who do not use Twitter as well. I heard from some of those people.

I also heard from various followers asking about the testimony or sharing their thoughts. The mothers of both prosecutors began to follow me. Family members of both victims did as well.

Read more »

On Friday, I attended a small alumni ceremony at my alma matter, The College of Saint Rose, where I was honored as part of a newly-unveiled wall of the college's Communications Alumni Notables.

I got word that this was happening a few months ago but was never really clear on the selection process behind it before that night. After talking to a few of my former professors, many of whom I had not seen in four years since my graduation, I learned that the wall was designed to showcase what some of the department's graduates were doing in the world - including a mix a those just starting out and other who had been out in the communications field for years.


The idea is that the wall will be updated and panels will be rotated out to honor future graduates and other alumni who continue to do great work in the field and make a name for themselves and the Saint Rose Communications Department.

It is certainly a great honor to be recognized for my work with The Record and Journal Register Company after only a few years in the field. I can't thank Fred Antico, Mary Alice Molgard, Cailin Brown, and everyone else at Saint Rose enough for the recognition as well as the education I received there.

If you're interested in seeing the full wall, visit the college's Center for Communications and Interactive Media located at 996 Madison Ave. in Albany.