Live blogging can be defined as a blog post which is intended to provide a rolling textual coverage of an enduring event, similarly to live television or radio. In an article published by Matt Wells on the Guardians website he outlines a number of key benefits of live blogging.
Wells says that blogs provide a useful way of telling stories which are characterised by incremental developments and multiple layers. “They are open about the limitations of journalism and draw in the expertise of the audience – and even take input from journalists on rival publications,” he says. One of the key benefits he outlines is that live blogs give the ability to post significant developments quickly without the need for editing and re editing like in a news article. Furthermore they allow the author to link provide links to other coverage such as comments from Twitter or Facebook and multimedia (pictures, video and audio), and also to include the audience through the use of comments below the post. As Neil McIntosh, the online editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe states, "It's a form that's charming in its directness; at its best it generally does away with any writerly conceits, and demands the author just get on with telling you what's just happened.”
However, much like a live news broadcast there certain drawbacks are associated with live blogging. Wells explains that when covering stories without a defined timescale, such as the Arab Spring uprisings, live blogs have the potential to become long and confusing. Robert Mackey, who writes live news blogs for the New York Times, states "You are more or less providing readers with raw material rather than telling them a story. You also tend to get swept up in the rush of events, and don't have nearly as much time as you'd like to think about what's happening and make connections, or write any sort of news analysis."
In conclusion, Wells states that almost everyone involved in live blogging experiences these drawbacks. “The potential for confusion, and the difficulty that users can encounter if they come across a live blog in the middle of a story, is clear,” he says. Despite this however, the beneficial features unique to live blogging including its transparency with regard to sources and audience involvement, significantly outweigh these drawbacks, and as Wells states the live blog is surely the embodiment of the future of journalism.
Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/28/live-blogging-transforms-journalism
http://louseandflea.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/the-guardian-newsblog-and-the-death-of-journalism/
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/87930/live-blogging-how-it-makes-us-better-journalists/
Thursday 13 October 2011
Sunday 9 October 2011
Steve Jobs: The man who changed Journalsim
Steve Jobs: "I believe in media, and in news content." (2010)
This week the world was saddened by the news that Apple Co Founder Steve Jobs had passed away. Part of the legacy this man left behind however, was forever changing the nature of journalism and the way news is consumed and distributed. Whether you view the current shift from print media to digital content as a change for the better, or see it as the end of quality journalism, no can deny the impact this man had in facilitating the change.
The invention of the iPhone and iPad changed many aspects of mobile consumer technology, through its full face touch screen, high speed internet browsing and use of third party apps, it’s clear that Apple revolutionised the way audiences could access news content. As Jeff Sonderman pointed out, the majority of media companies have had to adapt to the market created by Apple; “Currently 88 percent of national U.S. newspapers already have an iPhone app and most that don’t already have an iPad app are probably planning on one.” Despite this however, Jobs repeatedly insisted how much he valued professional journalism. In a 2010 press conference he was quoted as saying, “Anything that we can do to help The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal find new ways of expression so they can afford to get paid, so they can afford to keep their editorial operations intact, I’m all for it,” and later at the same conference, "I don't want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers myself." For journalists, time will tell if his legacy was for the better or for worse.
Sources:
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/media-lab/mobile-media/144051/how-steve-jobs-has-changed-but-not-saved-journalism/
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Science%2Band%2BTech/Story/A1Story20111007-303787.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judy-lubin/steve-jobs-and-the-future_b_1000180.html
Thursday 6 October 2011
Final Story
Brisbane City Cat terminal fails to be used
Brisbane’s newest City Cat terminal at Hamilton may be of little use until planned residential development has been completed according to local business owners.
View Untitled in a larger map
City Cat driver Mark said also that very few people were using the terminal, with as few as two people using the ferry on some weekdays.
Construction of another terminal at Teneriffe has also recently begun and is due to be completed by the end of the year.
Brisbane’s newest City Cat terminal at Hamilton may be of little use until planned residential development has been completed according to local business owners.
The $5million terminal was unveiled two weeks ago by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk as part of a series of upgrades to Brisbane’s ferry terminals planned by the Council.
The terminal is located in the Northshore Hamilton Urban Development Area where apartments and townhouses are currently under construction and are expected to be completed mid way through next year.
View Untitled in a larger map
Map showing the location of the new terminal
In a media release, Councillor for Hamilton Ward David McLachlan said it would provide a fabulous destination for residents of Brisbane and visitors, particularly on weekends.
However local business owners fear that opening the terminal before people had actually moved into the area may have been a costly mistake, worrying poor patronage might lead the council to abandon the weekday service.
Northshore Cafe owner Simon said he had not seen anyone using the terminal since it opened and was upset it had failed to bring him any extra business thus far.
“At the moment it’s always closed and I haven’t seen anyone using it,” he said.
“It’s a great idea but I would like to see it being used by more people.”
Simon said that more people would probably use the terminal once the units were completed but until then it would remain of little benefit to his business.
The terminal gates remain locked for most of the day with only six services run daily
City Cat driver Mark said also that very few people were using the terminal, with as few as two people using the ferry on some weekdays.
“I think the Council is just trying to get its foot in the door before the apartments are built,” he said.
Mark said he wasn’t aware of any plans for the Council to add additional services at the moment but suspects more will be added upon completion of the nearby units.
Currently six services are being run from the terminal to cater for morning and afternoon commuters.
Weekend services run approximately every ten minutes between 9am and 4pm.
Weekend services run approximately every ten minutes between 9am and 4pm.
The successful north side Bretts Wharf terminal, approximately three kilometers up river, runs 41 services a day, during the week, with a City Cat departing approximately every ten minutes during peak hours.
Inside the terminal - the design supposedly resembles that of a shipping container
Construction of another terminal at Teneriffe has also recently begun and is due to be completed by the end of the year.
New terminals have also been proposed for 6 existing sites that were damaged during the January floods including the University of Queensland, Regatta, North Quay, QUT Gardens Point, Holman Street and Sydney Street.
#QUTOJ1 New City Cat terminal at Hamilton is of no benefit to local businesses: remains unused for most of the day
@MitchDunkiii Mitch Dunk
Sunday 25 September 2011
Blogging as a tool for online journalism
The ever changing nature of journalism in lieu of new technological developments has been heavily discussed in this blog, but what of the use of blogging itself as a tool for journalists in the online environment.
explains a number of advantages that blogging provides over other media.
One of many examples he outlines in his article is that blogging journalists don’t need someone to tell them who the readers are and what they want. This is because their readers are already on their blogs, posting who they are and what they think effectively cutting out middlemen such as editors in the delivery of news to the audience. This also applies to official sources such as PR spokespeople and firms. Story leads can now be discovered from the posting of comments and other communications related to the blog i.e. emails. As Bradshaw explains journalists can also use their blogs to “put the call out” for information and sources once they are pursuing a story and may utilize the public nature of the reporting process to pressure official sources to reply; a form of crowdsourcing.
Obviously these are just a few examples of the advantages blogging could provide to journalists but clearly it has potential for use as a powerful tool to help journalists succeed in the rapidly expanding online environment.
Sources:
Sunday 18 September 2011
Media Inquiry: Pros and Cons
This week Communications Minister Stephen Conroy revealed the terms of the Independent Media Inquiry which has been generating controversy for a number of weeks now. In particular one of the Terms of Reference which is of particular relevance to online journalism was ‘the ways of strengthening the independence and effectiveness of the Australian Press Council, including in relation to on-line publications, and with particular reference to the handling of complaint’.
As Tim Dick from the Sydney Morning Herald pointed out in this article (http://www.smh.com.au/national/no-one-to-turn-to-when-online-gets-out-of-line-20110916-1kdvf.html) a major flaw with the Press Council regulatory system is the fact that articles published online that do not belong to a print media organization are not regulated by the Press Council. This means that if someone reads a story published online and is offended or wishes to make a complaint, that person can only take it up with the website itself and unless there is a possible legal action e.g. defamation etc, the website is entitled to deal with it however they like, which might mean doing nothing.
This is an interesting problem as some people believe that less regulation makes for better quality journalism e.g. Greg Hywood, chief executive of Fairfax Media who said in Dick’s article that independent journalism flourished in a less-regulated environment. However, with no regulatory organization in place for dealing with online stories can websites really be trusted to self regulate?
I’m still on the fence with this one. Really I think that a journalist should be able to write without fear of reprisal, after all its part of the job to report things that some people don’t want reported but at the same time the floodgates are way open for ethical breaches if no one is there to regulate what gets published online.
It will be interesting to see what the inquiry eventually determines.
Sources:
Sunday 11 September 2011
Social Media: Remembering 9/11
Through the evolution of social media young people who may have been too young to remember 9/11 or who could not grasp the historical significance of the event can now obtain a deeper understanding through new and interactive technology. In remembrance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, social media is being used to tell the stories and experiences of those affected in ways not possible when this event occurred. One such example is ‘Call to Remember’ a new app for the smartphones that enables users to record and upload their own accounts what happened on September 11. Those stories can then be linked to any location in the world so that when people go there, they can listen to stories associated with that specific location. Explore 9/11 is another example. This app uses ‘augmented reality technology’ which superimposes images of ground zero as it looked on September 11 2001 when users aim their phones at certain positions around the site.
I think that for people who were affected by 9/11 and did not get the chance to tell their story, many will be comforted to know that thanks to social media they now have that opportunity.
Sources:
Sunday 4 September 2011
Online Journalism Award Finalists Announced
This week the Online News Association announced it finalists for the online journalism awards to be held in September this year. Some of the nominees include National Public Radio’s coverage of the Arab Spring in the “community collaboration” category and Flipboard (for the iPad) and ScraperWiki in the technical innovation category.
I must admit that before this announcement I was unfamiliar with the Online News Association but apparently they are a non profit organisation with over 1600 members who aim to provide guidance to journalists working in an online environment through training, awards and community outreach programs.
Regardless it’s reassuring to know that organizations like this exist and that quality journalism in an online environment is recognised.
Sources:
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