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.

Paul Bradshaw (http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100696) 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:

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100696

http://www.newmediabytes.com/2008/03/09/journalists-blogging-explore-nich-social-networks/

http://publishing2.com/2007/05/22/every-newspaper-journalist-should-start-a-blog/

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:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/no-one-to-turn-to-when-online-gets-out-of-line-20110916-1kdvf.html

http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2011/254

http://radioadelaidebreakfast.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/media-inquiry-explained

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 10^th 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:

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20110911/OPINION/109110331

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110911/NEWS/110909704/1001/sitemaps?p=2&tc=pg

http://www.smh.com.au/world/social-media-brings-911-stories-to-life-20110909-1k0i3.html

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:

http://journalists.org/news/71914/Finalists-announced-for-the-2011-Online-Journalism-Awards-.htm

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/310997

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/144669/online-news-association-announces-finalists/

http://www.npr.org/