Web-Based News Site Dateline Alabama Launched At UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ­ A collaborative effort between Birmingham-based Walls New Media Inc. and the College of Communication and Information Sciences at The University of Alabama has produced a new Web-based news and information site called Dateline Alabama.

The new site, located at www.DatelineAlabama.com, was officially launched for public view on Nov. 5. Originally titled The Alabama Journalist, the Web site is the official student/faculty-produced news and information site housed within the department of journalism at UA. The site provides an electronic publication outlet for student journalists, while also providing a wide variety of news and information resources to site visitors, including up-to-date local and campus news stories, feature articles, news graphics, photos and (in the near future) audio and video.

Editors will also run sports, arts and entertainment, weekly polls and career pages, according to John Tyler, managing editor. Links to other popular news and information sites, including The Weather Channel, “The Crimson White,” ABC News, and UA programs, will also be placed on the site.

DatelineAlabama.com is powered by Walls New Media’s proprietary software known as SteelRivet , and the site is hosted on their servers. Walls New Media has invested more than $50,000 in this project, which represents 300 hours of time on design and database engineering, as well as hardware purchases. They have also committed an additional $10,000 for a second phase to the project.

According to Lee Walls Jr., company president and creative director, rapidly changing network and computer technology is creating a new era in journalism. The partnership between his company and The University of Alabama will allow each to explore and take advantage of these changes.

“While our software, SteelRivet, and its functional abilities are important, and as proud as I am of my staff in the creation of SteelRivet, there is a more important aspect to this project. That is, the partnership between Walls New Media and the College of Communication and Information Sciences here at the University,” said Walls.

“I believe firmly that newspapers, especially community newspapers, are best positioned to adapt to the world of publishing online. What makes this so exciting for newspaper publishers are the incredible opportunities in terms of what they can offer their communities. To put it another way, when you take newsprint tonage and barrels of ink out of the equation, it truly is a new world,” Walls continued.

The collaboration between the College and Walls provides UA students with the ability to move traditional journalism into the electronic world, where more and more news readers are turning daily for information and entertainment. This, in turn, gives students an additional outlet to present their creative professional work, while also giving them the educational background into this advancing technology. This exposure will be a necessary requirement of future journalism students entering the workplace upon graduation.

Dr. Ed Mullins, chairman of the department of journalism and, along with Dr. Jim Stovall, site co-director of the student venture, said the investment of resources and time from Walls will go a long way toward student training and public service.

“We invited Lee Walls Jr. to come and see what we were doing, and he saw quickly that the project could help him develop a marketable product and help us develop a valuable teaching tool,” said Mullins. “To date, he and his company have invested nearly $60,000 in the project to develop — with our full participation — software that enables Dateline Alabama to concentrate on coverage and content.

“We are extremely thankful for the efforts, commitments and dedication of Mr. Walls and his staff to this venture and to our College and its students. In a recent article, The Birmingham Business Journal ranked Walls New Media one of the top Internet companies in Birmingham, and we are thrilled to have this expertise associated with our product and service.

“I am hopeful that students, alumni, faculty, staff and the countless others throughout this state and associated with this University, will pay us a visit and experience the quality of our students, the quality of this technology, and our commitment to provide factual and entertaining news and information to the public.”