JenMusser.com: Homepage of Jennifer Musser-Metz (v 4.0)

Web Development Projects

Following are projects worked on as a developer/analyst.

Blogging software for reporters, built into our web publishing system. Worked with vendor to streamline submissions, built out functionality to mirror commercial blogging platforms we were replacing. (Winter 2007-2008)

PhillyClout: The Daily News' City Hall Blog. Second to launch of this platform.
PhillyGossip: Local gossip blog. First blog to launch on this platform; responsible for presentation layer implementation.

Redesign of web site. Implemented different designs for 3 publications (philly.com, Inquirer and Daily News), including Doubleclick advertising changes. (Fall 2007)

Presentation from International Digital Media Arts Association on 10 years' of Philly.com web design available by request.

Transition to new publishing system Helped build site from ground up, including feeds, site architecture, web page layouts, end-user training. (Spring 2007)

Multimedia News Presentation Projects

Following are a sampling of projects I worked on while on staff the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Flash development and integration

Faces of Pa. Voters
This multiple-Flash file integration includes an action script slider.

Bloomsday
I planned, developed and designed the entire Web package.*

50 years after Brown
For this group project, I developed and designed the daily entry pages.*

*Notes: These were developed to embed within a smaller fixed-width Philly.com page. In addition, due to irregularities within the Knight Ridder online publishing system, some of the stories associated with these projects are no longer online.

Audio production skills

In-studio production with mixer board, edited with Cakewalk: EaglesCast
Olympus DSS recording, edited with Cakewalk: The BroadCast
Also produced audio clips using Audacity, Windows Media Encoder, iTunes, Lucent Voice Player and Message Manager, Sony SoundForge and CoolEdit.

Pre-Flash multimedia project

Blackhawk Down
As the lead producer on this series in 1997, I integrated the audio clips into the daily story text, and worked with KR Video to integrate relevant video clips. The site became a meeting point for those interested in the Somalia battle, as the author answered questions for many months after it ran. This series won the 1998 Editor & Publisher Best Special Section in an Online Newspaper Award.

Other projects of note

Down with Crime: A multi-year series focused on irregularities in Philadelphia Police reporting processes, especially in cases of sexual assault. With searchable SQL database of city crimes by block, 1991-1999. This was a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service (2000, 1999), which specifically cited the "innovative" Web site.
From Here to There: Lewis & Clark's Expedition: Redesigned entire entry screen within KR platform using workarounds to achieve desired effect in 2003.
Terezin: Art in the Midst of Hell: Did multimedia presentations on survivors and one woman's artwork in 2004.
Killing Pablo: No longer online. A 30-day project syndicated to all Knight Ridder newspapers and Web sites in 2001. Featured audio, video and Q&A with the author in both English and Spanish.
Citizen Voices and Student Voices: No longer online. Two sites in 1999 focused on the Philadelphia mayoral race. Citizen Voices encouraged civic participation among voters around the city, and won a James K. Batten Award for Excellence in Civic Journalism in 2000. Student Voices was a project with the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication focused on getting juniors in social studies classes at the city's comprehensive public high schools to read campaign news, interact with the mayoral candidates and with each other. Project lives on at StudentVoices.org