Summer is the perfect time to learn for j-school students.

So, I’m providing you with a summer reading list to make you a bona-fide new media journalist. Luckily for all of you, this summer reading list is more than just text (there’s reading too, for you print people).

You’ll need it too, since most of you aren’t learning what you need to know from j-school, and if you do have a robust and modern program, there is probably a thing or two more you can learn.

Here is the perfect place to start. An overview of new media, what it is and what you need to know to get with the program: Poynter Online.

Now you know why you need to get with the program. Here is the program:

Get amped:

You won’t want to do something on your own, especially when it’s not for credit or money, without some incentive.

Go to these sites and check out how awesome these projects are. New media rocks.

Not Just Another Number: 49th parallel productions and the Oakland Tribune combined to make one of the most powerful pieces of new media journalism chronicling the loss of life in the Bay Area due to homicides. They used an interactive Flash presentation to make it all happen.

The Bay Area witnessed a spike in homicides the last few years, but the impact of that increase was hard to convey to readers. Instead of just writing more stories, they came up with one of the most engaging special features I have ever seen.

The site has a map of every single homicide and where they occur. You can click on the locations of the map to find out who was murdered, how old the person was, how the crime was committed, the status of the case, etc.

The feature gets really powerful when you select a homicide that has audio interviews with family members and friends (it’s not possible to get this for every person). These clips really make you feel the enormity of the loss.

The site is much more than that. It also lists risk/resilience factors, has an area for people to comment on the situation, has voices from community leaders and encourages people to take action.

It’s community journalism at its finest.

Chicagocrime.org: A must see for any Chicago resident. It breaks down every crime that has happened in Chicago by crime type, location (whether it be by street, area of city, zip code), etc.

You can find out how many assaults occurred on the city block you live or work on. What makes this site so awesome is its integration with Google maps. Pins show you were each crime occurred (each crime type has a different color pin). You can easily see which areas or streets have more crime and what type of crime.

I would never buy or rent a home in Chicago without checking this site first. Now, that’s serving the community.

onBeing: onBeing is one of those incredibly quirky, crazy ideas that turned out to be a smashing success. It’s one of the most popular sections of www.washingtonpost.com, and it’s engrossing. What makes it even crazier is that a main-stream media company like The Washington Post signed off on it.

It’s just random, interesting people in D.C. sharing their thoughts on life and various topics. It doesn’t sound that riveting, but click the link. You won’t be disappointed. The interviews are great, but the onBeing site itself rocks.

It might be the best Flash video player I have ever seen. It’s this incredible visual way to scroll between recent interviews. You can also see a preview of each clip by mousing over the videos.

It’s a special section of the site dedicated to connecting with people. That’s something journalism needs more of.

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