The Columbia Journalism Experiment, First Amendment Awards, and the answer to short attention spans: this week’s Fresh Powder Report.

A weekly summary of journalistic tidbits

The Experiment:
14 students from the Columbia Journalism School created a collaborative site that takes a look at the most successful and prominent experimental journalism of today. Why? So they’re better prepared for the industry when they graduate, so they learn to adapt to new-age journalism; to share their experiences with the rest of the journalism-hopefuls out there. Regardless of their intent, it’s worthwhile project to spend some time investigating.

In fact, here’s a little preview— one article published to the Experiment’s site addresses how journalism schools are adapting to the new age of digital journalism. The article weighs in on the topic from a J-school perspective, backing the issue with a variety of different opinions from reputable sources. If you’re still wondering how journalism education is adapting to a digitized medium, this is worth your time.

Fighting for that First Amendment:
There’s still some time to nominate your brave student for the SPLC’s Freedom Awards! All you have to do is submit a written description on how your student has continued to (lawfully) exercise their First Amendment rights in the face of resistance. The deadline for entries i June 8th, so make sure to send them in soon!

How to write well:
In remembrance of the late William Zinsser, here’s an article written by a lifelong fan, who reflects on some of his most meaningful writing advice. His manual, “On Writing Well” is an absolute must for anyone hoping to make a career out of their own writing someday.

Internet attention deficit:
Have you noticed the exceedingly short attention span most audiences seem to have these days? Would you even occasionally include yourself in that demographic? In the age of 6 second Vine videos, it’s not surprising that analytics reports are showing that readers often won’t finish a story, no matter how great the content. How do you fix this? This article lets you in on all the secrets; what devices tend to increase a reader’s attention, the type of traffic that will ensure they stay a little bit longer, and how to utilize more multimedia to gain a more thorough read-through.

Mobile last:
Concerned that your content isn’t “mobile first” enough? Apparently, you don’t need to be too worried; here’s why “mobile first” and “mobile only” platforms are actually not the most innovative or effective way to reach an audience.

These things also happened:
+ A candidate in a local UK election demanded a recount after he was told he had no votes, claiming that was impossible because he had definitely voted for himself. What a graceful, respectable way to accept a loss.

+ The series finale of Mad Men took place Sunday night; hopefully, those of you following the lives of Don Draper and Co. got a satisfying ending.

+ The president finally joins us on Twitter— how long until angry tweeters chase him off? Just ask Joss Whedon; it can happen to anyone.