At this point, most major news organizations have dedicated resources to create an app in the Apple Store or for the Android market. But what about smaller outlets that may not have $60,000 to properly develop an application?

I came across a new low-cost option in AppMakr, a web-based app builder that makes claims like “no coding required” and “built for free by people like you.” If it’s that easy, it’s worth a shot, right?

AppMakr does try to make the process as easy as possible. The general build is an RSS application, basically a souped-up version of a basic feed reader. While most users expect a bit more from an app, if you want to just play around with the possibilities, this is an inexpensive way to do it. AppMakr provides users with seven quick menus to plan out their apps: “Art,” “Tabs,” “Customize,” “Notifications,” “App Info,” “Monetize,” “Publish.” “Art” allows you to choose the images associated with your application. “Tabs” configures your RSS feed as well as photo albums, messages and a geolocation setting. “Customize” allows you to upload your own header, change the colors and determine the sharing settings. The “notifications” tab is pretty cool — it allows you to publish messages directly to an end-user’s phone, without the app being open.

This post is one of a series of blog posts from the first ONA class of MJ Bear Fellows describing their experiences, projects and sharing their knowledge with the ONA community. Fellow Lucas Timmons is a data journalist and web producer for The Edmonton Journal in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

“I became a journalist so I didn’t have to do math.”

You hear this far too often in newsrooms. Many journalists shy away from math because it can be difficult. There’s also a hint of underlying pride in not being able to do math. But not knowing something shouldn’t be a point of pride for any journalist.

The lack of basic math literacy can lead to shoddy journalism. This is a problem not just in pure math, but also in statistics. As Slate’s Libby Copeland recently pointed out, a misunderstanding of what numbers mean results in stories and headlines that don’t accurately portray what studies mean.

First off, I’d like to wish a happy 2012 to all our members. It’s sure to be another exhilarating year for those of us in journalism, and we’re thrilled you’ve chosen to experience it with us. Additionally, I’m personally honored to be serving as President of ONA this year. As a longtime board member, I’ve seen this organization grow dramatically over the past seven years, and I’m proud we’ve been able to build on the original vision our founders had when they created ONA in 1999.

I’m writing today to provide you with an update on our recent board meeting and some other important ONA news.

This was the first meeting of our 2012 board — with new members Mario Tedeschini-Lalli, Burt Herman, Juana Summers and John Keefe all in attendance at the offices of Dow Lohnes in Washington D.C. on Jan. 20-21.

Over the past year, our small but mighty staff has launched a new website with a wealth of original content, trained our membership, grown ONA Local groups around the world, and provided guidance to journalists on pressing issues. So it’s with great pleasure that I kick off 2012 by announcing promotions to reward tireless work and staff additions to meet the needs of our rapidly growing ONA community.

Jen Mizgata

Let’s start with our newest hire: Jen Mizgata, who has been connecting members and the journalism community at large through all of our social media platforms and the ONA Issues Tumblr, starts today as our full-time Communications and Social Media Manager. Jen’s role will expand to help create innovative engagement initiatives and campaigns to promote programming, and she’ll serve as the homepage editor for journalists.org.

This is one of a series of blog posts from the first ONA class of MJ Bear Fellows describing their experiences and sharing their knowledge with the community. Fellow Lam Thuy Vo is a multimedia journalist based in New York. She previously worked at the Wall Street Journal.

Throughout my time at the Wall Street Journal I edited a lot of videos that were shot by other reporters, often print reporters new to the joy of filmmaking.

This has taught me two things:

1. How to become a better shooter (knowing what and how to shoot)
2. How important editing is in storytelling

A lot of people concentrate on shooting when they take their first steps as video reporters. Rightly so. The footage you shoot is literally the stuff that videos are made of. But I do think that fewer people put the same amount of effort into improving their editing skills. And if there’s one thing I learned from editing a lot of footage from video beginners, it’s that editing can be crucial to making a story work.