Books
Here a few books that can inspire any journalist:

• Journalism Next: A Practical Guide to Digital Reporting and Publishing (Second Edition) by Mark Briggs. Briggs has published a second edition of his popular book, Journalism Next. This book features updated information and tips to help reporters learn about the latest digital tools and techniques in order to work in the news industry today.

• Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki.This book came out in 2011, but still has relevance for any entrepreneurial journalist. Kawasaki focuses on how one can master the art of influence and persuasion in daily life and business.

• Entrepreneurial Journalism: How to Build What’s Next for News by Mark Briggs is another must-have for the entrepreneurial journalist. This book provides information and tips to help the start-up news venture as well as the established news organization as they build their business.

• Journalists are always seeking ways to master the art of writing. To inspire the writers on your team, consider Paula LaRocque’s The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well. The book is from 2003 but has timeless advice to help any writer perfect their writing skills.

Tools for the On-the-Go Journalist
Nowadays, reporters must have a digital toolbox at their disposal while out on the job in order to get the story produced and published. Here are a few tools to consider for the digital journalist’s toolbox:

• Virtual Keyboard. The virtual keyboard is an innovative tool that transforms any flat surface into a digital keyboard. Using laser technology and Bluetooth© wireless technology, it can transform any flat desk into a keyboard that can hook up to a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

• Mophie Powerstation. Digital devices eat up a lot of battery power and it can be a challenge for a reporter on-the-go to make sure they have enough battery power while out covering the story. The Mophie Powerstation has a rugged case to handle any kind of condition (weather or otherwise) and provides extra battery power to your digital devices.

• Portable Charging Station. Another option for charging your digital devices on the go is the AViiQ Portable Charging Station that is a zip-up bag with one outlet port to charge up to four digital devices in a small, portable bag.

• Power Series Messenger Bags/Backpacks. Another option to charging your digital devices while on-the-go is having the ability to charge your devices within your bag. The Power Series by Timbuk2 features a messenger bag and backpack that has a built-in Joey® Energy charging pack that can charge a smartphone and tablet while in the bag.

• Dropbox Subscription. Journalists work with many digital files on a daily basis that can take up a lot of room on a computer and newsroom server. A Dropbox subscription can be the perfect holiday gift. Dropbox provides a way for an individual to host their digital files in the cloud and access those files from anywhere and any device. A basic account is free and provides up to 2GB of space, but starting at $9.99 a month you can get up to 500GB of space.

• iTunes gift cards or Google play cards. Reporters have a variety of apps on their smartphones and tablets nowadays that can help them record audio or video, take photos and/or produce multimedia content from the digital device. An iTunes gift card (for the iPhone or iPad) or Google play gift card (for android devices) can be a perfect holiday gift. The gift card allows your reporters to pick and choose which apps they want to download and experiment with on their digital device for their daily newsgathering and reporting work.

Happy Holidays!!