Howard Finberg, POYNTER INSTITUTE, NEWS U, dir. of interactive learning: Mr. Media Radio (Rewind)

NewsU? Poynter Institute’s Howard Finberg tells Mr. Media, ‘That’s news to me!’

You may not know my guest today by name, but it’s safe to say that if you read an English-language newspaper anywhere in the world, Howard Finberg is having at least an indirect effect on its content.

Finberg is Director of Interactive Learning for NewsU, the online training and education arm of The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. That’s where I am today, in fact.

NewsU has enjoyed explosive growth since opening its virtual doors on April 11, 2005. Starting with just a few courses and little more than word of mouth advertising, the mostly free training for journalists now has thirty-five courses and 35,000 registered users.

In the interest of complete disclosure, I have often worked on assignment for the Poynter Institute and even wrote two white papers and the script for an animated video for NewsU. In fact, I wrote the following Dr. Seuss-inspired rhyme, which Howard himself recorded for NewsU:

You can do it wearing a hat.
You can do it with your cat.
You can do it at night,
And you can do it when you look afright.
You can do it when things are slow,
Or when you can’t get the creative juices to flow.
You can do it when mother’s not there,
And you can do it in your underwear.