After reading this blog about new media, I was pleased to find that I had actually used several of the media listed: Google Maps, Moms Like Me, Politifact, Newseums Front Pages, MLB.com At Bat, Kaiser Family Foundation, Flu Trends, and Wikipedia.
Out of all of them, I really found Politifact an excellent model for investigative/political journalism. I used it during the election when I was practicing my fact-finding on candidates, and I love how they take politicians' quotes and fact-check them. There's no point in reporting the news without questioning the sources. The site, a project of The St. Petersburg Times, even has an Obamameter that verifies all of the president's claims in his speeches and rates them from "true" to "false." Very useful, especially after the recent State of the Union address last month.
Flu Trends is a pretty neat concept: the spread of influenza is tracked across the nation based on people's searches online. The Centers for Disease Control is actually using the data mapped by searches to isolate the flu in hard-hit areas. This concept can be applied in so many areas. For instance, news sites can track which stories readers want to know more about, like the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. People will search for both questions answered in news stories and also let editors know of any holes in the story.
I really like that the blog mentioned Wikipedia as a useful source of information. Being a college student, many of my college professors warn against trusting Wikipedia because it's generated by users... so what. The site does have a team verifying information, and the more users using the site means the faster the information is updated. I would never used Wikipedia as a primary source, but it is a great starting point for research and may make you consider something you never thought about before. It starts from the beginning and gives you the background in detail instead of just the latest covered in news stories.
Newseums Front Pages has come in handy this semester as a new design student. With a project due every week, it's nice to have a reference point of what other people are doing. Online news sites are great, but they aren't the same as the front page, and for me, I'm designing for print, not online, so this is extremely useful. Plus it gives you a tour around the country, with all the news stories legible in the newseum. The only problem about this site is that the pages aren't logged except on very big news days, like Sept. 11 or Haiti Earthquake. But there is an easy solution: Save the pages as a PDF.
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After looking at ads from the Newspaper Association of America, my thoughts were confirmed: I don't need to panic about my future as a journalist. I need to adapt.
All the world-is-doomed talk has been driving me nuts for the past three years. All I know is that I LIKE news. I LIKE people stories. I LIKE being connected to the world around me. Yes, the newspaper industry did suffer a loss, but so did every other business during the recession. When times are hard, toughen up. I'm trying my best to educate myself and prepare for my future-- hence, taking two capstone (specialization) courses at the University of Florida, and possibly a third. It isn't enough to graduate with an editing specialization. Writers are self-editing, and copy editors are being laid off. Specializing in magazine production is no good if I can't write anything worth reading to fill the pages. And advanced feature writing is useless without an appealing place for publication. Right now, my three specializations are giving me the chance to learn from people who have been through it all, which to me, is the best way to prepare for a career in journalism.
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I loved the article on the Times' policy for its writers and Facebook.
One of the biggest rumors going around the career fair this week is that an interviewer will ask an interviewee to pull up his or her Facebook page during an interview. If he or she refuses, consider the rest of the interview and application worthless. I think it's a valid test. Why would a company hire someone whose personal life does not represent the company's mission. Why would the Times hire a completely biased reporter or a party-consumed college kid? They wouldn't. It's like a reporter walking into a barbecue restaurant while wearing a shirt that says 'PETA loves animals' and expecting a good interview.
Facebook has become a social "Big Brother" of my generation. People are quick to delete things they are ashamed of so no one else can pass it on. Privacy settings help conceal bad behavior from family members but allow people to share photo albums of party pics with their closest friends.
At my college paper, a recent ethical problem I've been seeing as an editor is students enrolled in the College of Journalism using other journalism/public relations students as sources in their freelance stories: It is a conflict of interest to interview someone for a story if they, too, have been published by the same publication. I don't understand how students are missing this. If someone says her major is journalism, don't interview her. Simple as that.
In another article, Facebook Connect received great reviews. I'm not sure if I understand what it does. It sounds like you can link Facebook to blogs. I'll have to play around with it this week and return to blog about it.
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The last article I read this week wrote about job-searching online-- using online resume sites (like Monster.com).
The main problem for sites like these is the applicant pool is far too large. Recruiters are resorting to using niche job-search sites.
Applicants can also stand out by using multimedia sites to build an online resume that shows off talent better-- journalists can load their clips, sound files, video footage and photos all in one spot. Who is a recruiter going to hire? The student who has been blogging once a week for two years and updating their portfolio, or the person who writes a good essay/cover letter? The flat resume doesn't represent your personality fairly or give you a place to present your work. From a recruiter's point of view, a resume is the only way to get to know you, so be smart and don't do like these people did: NotHired.com-- great source of what not to do.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Google Alerts
As seen in the Jim Morrison and Charlie Crist anecdote, the reporter would have never gotten the story if his Google Alert didn't notify him that Crist was involved in this.
For me, as a reporter/editor and college student, I have set my Google alerts for my name and the college paper I work for, so that I may see whenever our publication is mentioned on other sites or my articles are used. Although my portfolio is small, a recent sexToon (satirical toon for our entertainment section) caused some controversy. Googled alerted me that The Gainesville Sun's The Chalkboard, Gatorsports.com, the Poynter Institute, and several bloggers had been running feedback for the cartoon. Although it was controversial, it's cool to see how far news travels.
For me, as a reporter/editor and college student, I have set my Google alerts for my name and the college paper I work for, so that I may see whenever our publication is mentioned on other sites or my articles are used. Although my portfolio is small, a recent sexToon (satirical toon for our entertainment section) caused some controversy. Googled alerted me that The Gainesville Sun's The Chalkboard, Gatorsports.com, the Poynter Institute, and several bloggers had been running feedback for the cartoon. Although it was controversial, it's cool to see how far news travels.
Social Media
I think in Gainesville,Fla., hyper local news coverage is overkill (and too expensive). It's such a small town revolving around the university, that people go to two print sources for news: The Gainesville Sun (city paper) and The Independent Florida Alligator (unofficial college paper). As an editor at The Alligator, I know that most of the staff's tips come from our fellow students and from wannabe freelance writers (enrolled in UF's College of Journalism). A lot of them come directly to the newsroom to pitch story ideas (and a lot have a personal agenda), but sometimes we get tips from Facebook event invitations, Facebook statuses and Twitter tweets. I don't think the majority of tips come from all these new medians. Most people post about their favorite subject: themselves. For this reason, I think the best source for stories is still word of mouth. Because our staff is so small (and paid so poorly), it's hard to get reliable writers to cover events. Oh the woe of working for a non-profit. Freelance writers and stringers will write about what they want. They'll cover the local pet adopt-a-thon instead of a city commission meeting. They don't care that the downtown square is turning 100 years old.
So how do we still manage to cover the most important issues?
I have not been swept up in the Twitter craze, and I still do not own a smartphone. However, I do still talk to everyone, about everything. My two roommates are in sororities, the business fraternity and the pre-med fraternity. My best friend works the local bar scene. The girls I work with are as different as can be, and they keep me informed. The people I deal with daily are my moles. Aside from the people I see every day, I think one of the most important sources for story ideas is our Letters to the Editors, and now, our comments on the paper's Web site. Most people read the print-version of the paper because they read it while on campus when they're bored and don't have their laptop. If they bring their computer and they're bored, they'll check Facebook and their e-mail. Guys may visit ESPN.com and girls might see what Perez Hilton's latest rant is about. But there is hope. People do still give feedback. People do still complain.
Our readers follow the 90-9-1 rule: Ninety percent of readers are lurkers who never contribute, 9 percent contribute a little and 1 percent contribute every day on every story. People feel special when their Letters to the Editor get published. They think they're right because we ran their letter. We ran their letter because we're curious to see how other people will react to the letter. This is where crowd-sourcing plays a part in news stories. Message boards and user comments on Web site are a great source of feedback from locals. Reporters can read about common concerns, and perhaps even get tips. But I still think that everyone needs to step back and remember that people are the heart of news stories. All the latest social media are just medians for people to speak up and say what's on their mind. I bet they'd just tell you if you asked in person.
By the way, my Facebook status reads: "I love my fwends <3."
-Yeah, that would make a great news story ;)
So how do we still manage to cover the most important issues?
I have not been swept up in the Twitter craze, and I still do not own a smartphone. However, I do still talk to everyone, about everything. My two roommates are in sororities, the business fraternity and the pre-med fraternity. My best friend works the local bar scene. The girls I work with are as different as can be, and they keep me informed. The people I deal with daily are my moles. Aside from the people I see every day, I think one of the most important sources for story ideas is our Letters to the Editors, and now, our comments on the paper's Web site. Most people read the print-version of the paper because they read it while on campus when they're bored and don't have their laptop. If they bring their computer and they're bored, they'll check Facebook and their e-mail. Guys may visit ESPN.com and girls might see what Perez Hilton's latest rant is about. But there is hope. People do still give feedback. People do still complain.
Our readers follow the 90-9-1 rule: Ninety percent of readers are lurkers who never contribute, 9 percent contribute a little and 1 percent contribute every day on every story. People feel special when their Letters to the Editor get published. They think they're right because we ran their letter. We ran their letter because we're curious to see how other people will react to the letter. This is where crowd-sourcing plays a part in news stories. Message boards and user comments on Web site are a great source of feedback from locals. Reporters can read about common concerns, and perhaps even get tips. But I still think that everyone needs to step back and remember that people are the heart of news stories. All the latest social media are just medians for people to speak up and say what's on their mind. I bet they'd just tell you if you asked in person.
By the way, my Facebook status reads: "I love my fwends <3."
-Yeah, that would make a great news story ;)
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Media Ride-along
I was thinking of doing my media ride-along on The Huffington Post because it is a liberal blog and news site that covers almost every topic. It now has versions in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver. I love how bloggers are linked to the news site as columnists.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
My backup site would be the Drudge Report or the Political Simpleton. However, I think both sites Web sites pale in comparison with The Huffington Post because they are not organized very well and the layouts are ugly.
http://www.drudgereport.com/
http://www.politicalsimpleton.com/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
My backup site would be the Drudge Report or the Political Simpleton. However, I think both sites Web sites pale in comparison with The Huffington Post because they are not organized very well and the layouts are ugly.
http://www.drudgereport.com/
http://www.politicalsimpleton.com/
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Eagle snatches dog
With every story, it is the editor's job to be skeptical, especially of information sources provide. If it's not possible for the claim to be confirmed through background research, then the best alternative is finding as many witnesses as possible to describe the wild story. Even if witnesses are found, the editor must then question the plausibility of their claims-- for example, is what they're saying unreasonable?
In the example with the eagle snatching the puppy, there were too many variables unknown to really justify publishing this it in a newspaper. The gas attendant was the only witness. The story's location was miles and miles from the newspaper's circulation area. There's no attribution for any of the statements (about the owners' exclamations). This just seemed like an amusing story on a slow news day. Still, I think readers enjoy these tales. Perhaps creating a blog for the newspaper's Web site would be a good compromise: The paper doesn't get criticized for running "non-news," and the readers still get their laughs.
For the article and critique, visit this link: http://www.snopes.com/critters/mishaps/dognap.asp
In the example with the eagle snatching the puppy, there were too many variables unknown to really justify publishing this it in a newspaper. The gas attendant was the only witness. The story's location was miles and miles from the newspaper's circulation area. There's no attribution for any of the statements (about the owners' exclamations). This just seemed like an amusing story on a slow news day. Still, I think readers enjoy these tales. Perhaps creating a blog for the newspaper's Web site would be a good compromise: The paper doesn't get criticized for running "non-news," and the readers still get their laughs.
For the article and critique, visit this link: http://www.snopes.com/critters/mishaps/dognap.asp
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