The top gifts for online journalists, 2008 edition

Last year, OJR presented its list of top gifts for online journalists, and today we continue the tradition with this year’s list.

In recognition of the current economy, we’ve kept all the items on this year’s list under $200, so we won’t be talking about the laptops, digital cameras, video equipment and other goodies that many of use want, but that would break a bank account faster than being bought by Sam Zell.

Feel free to e-mail this list to your friends and loved ones (or print it out for the Luddites), if you’re the type of person who never can come up with a list on your own.

1. First up on this year’s list is a carry-over from last year’s: Apple’s iPhone, this year the 3G model ($199 with two-year AT&T contract).

The iPhone comes closer than any other device to date to being the online journalism Holy Grail that many of us have envisioned: A single hand-held unit that surfs the entire Web, including audio and video, that allows you to update websites, to shoot photos and send them to the Web, to record and post audio, that supports e-mail and includes a phone, and that offers a GPS with maps and directions to help you find your way to wherever your reporting takes you.

It’s not perfect yet. The inability to cut and paste text drives many Web publishers nuts. You can’t shoot video, and, most maddeningly, you can’t record phone conversations, even though the unit includes a phone, a large hard drive and (with the right application installed) an audio recorder.

Still, the iPhone’s ease of use and superior Web surfing capabilities have made it almost ubiquitous at online journalism gatherings. The 3G’s faster connectivity and support for corporate e-mail systems clear away a couple of the leading objections to the first-generation iPhone.

2. Every journalists needs a good audio recorder. Last year, we recommended the Belkin TuneTalk, a lovely plug-in for iPods that turned those digital audio players into recording devices. The TuneTalk worked seamlessly with iTunes, making uploading and managing interviews and other audio files easy.

Unfortunately, the TuneTalk doesn’t work with iPhones. Fortunately (nod to Remy Charlip), several developers have written audio recording applications for the iPhone. Our pick is the iTalk Voice Recorder (Free with ads on the application display, $4.99 without).

The iTalk app provides simple, one-touch recording, using the iPhone’s built-in microphone. You can choose from three audio quality levels from the recording screen. To get the files onto your computer, you do need to download a free application from the iTalk website, but the application provides the URL and both Windows and Mac version are available. Once the application is installed, your computer grabs the files from your iPhone automatically, provided both are on the same WiFi network.

We also looked at Voxie Pro Recorder ($1.99). We found it harder to use at first, requiring more taps to record, and with an initial quality setting that was far too low. Yet, by making some adjustments in the application’s settings page, we got it working just as well as the iTalk. The Voxie recorder does not require a desktop application to download; it provides a URL where you can retrieve your files from the Web. It also allows you to e-mail audio files to yourself or to others.

That’s a great feature, and well worth the two bucks, if you’re willing to mess around in the settings to get the Voxie recorder working right.

Hook your favorite online journalist up with an iTunes gift card to buy either of these recording applications. Throw in a Starbucks gift card, too, so he or she can get wired on a cup of Joe while enjoying the free WiFi that the coffee chain offers to iPhone users. If you are feeling especially sadistic toward your reporter friends, you can even make a crack about the gift card tying them over until their Starbucks’ employee discount kicks in.

Beware of karma when making such jokes, however. Ask not for whom the Zell tolls. It might toll for thee.

3. Now, let’s talk video. For decent-quality video at low price, in a small unit that’s simple to use, you can’t beat the Flip Ultra ($150).

Here’s OJR contributor and online journalism pioneer Robin “Roblimo” Miller on his Flip Ultra: “I got a Flip a while ago because I’m doing training and tech support for a citjourn venture that’s handing the things out like mad. And I like it. Fits in shirt pocket, decent in low light, passable sound (for a built-in mic), no tapes to hassle with… really a perfect unit for the point & shoot crowd, plenty good enough for Web-published work.”

If you really need video in 16×9, instead of the traditional 4×3 proportion, Flip’s got an HD model out now, the Flip MinoHD. It retails for $230, over our self-imposed $200 limit, so we’ll leave it off the list unless you can find it on sale somewhere.

4. A “backpack journalist” needs… a backpack! And the uber-cool geek daypack for 2009 is the Voltaic Converter ($199). Made from recycled plastic bottles, and featuring a trio of solar panels, the Voltaic will hold your stuff (including a laptop) and keep your iPhone charged, even when on the road and well away from that sweet electrical juice.

So when the economy collapses and the electrical grid fails, hey, your iPhone’s not going to die! (Even if it has no network to connect to anymore….)

If you are headed to the backcountry for a few days, or looking for a carry-on pack for a short reporting trip, Voltaic offers a larger backpack for $249. No additional power from the larger pack, though.

5. Even the geekiest online journalist reads offline now and then. So we’ll wrap up with a couple of options for smart reading when off the grid (due to flights, incarceration or the aforementioned global economic collapse.)

We reviewed Markos Moulitsas’ Taking on the System ($24 retail), earlier this fall [link], and we will recommend it again here. Kos’ latest book not only provides useful background on the “netroots” dynamic that helped propel Barack Obama to the White House, it provides a useful primer to anyone wanting to challenge established media businesses and narratives. That makes it perfect for the emerging journalist entrepreneur.

Throw a copy into your Voltaic back, and pull it out whenever you’re feeling insubordinate.

6. No journalist ought to be without a subscription to The New Yorker (one year/$40). We’re not betraying our online cred to give credit to TNY for its outstanding reporting on Iraq, the Bush administration and the economy over the past several years. The magazine’s news writing and fiction should inspire any writer, as well.

Sure, the magazine’s beefed up its website recently (about time!), but the dead-tree edition is well worth the investment. If you’re going to keep a subscription to any one dead-tree publication, make it this one.

So… what else is on your wish list for the holiday season? (Please, no abstract suggestions such as “world peace,” “good health” and “a job.”) Feel free to post a few words about the tools and toys you’d like to have, in the comments below.