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/

Week 5: Father of online news aggregation retires

This week it was announced that Jim Romenesko, founder of the self titled blog run through the Poynter Institute website, will be retiring from the blog at some point next year.  Mr Romeneskos blog is widely considered to be the first news aggregation site and allowed readers to  connect through an online community in which they could debate and comment on the story of the day.

According to the New York Times Mr. Romenesko describes his decision as a ‘semi-retirement’.  “I’m not going to be doing three-sentence summaries of other people’s work, that’s behind me,” he said.

Instead Mr Romenesko will focus his efforts into his new website JimRomenesko.com which will, in addition to media, discuss other topics such as food, finance and real estate.  

Since beginning my studies of Journalism I have enjoyed reading Mr Romeneskos work and am excited to see that the Romenesko blog on the Pointer Institute website will continue to operate and host his works after his retirement.    

Sources
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/business/media/jim-romenesko-an-original-blogger-about-journalism-retires.html
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/romenesko-medias-chronicler-announces-retirement/
http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=5136
http://www.poynter.org/

Week 4: Social media and freedom of speech

Since there were no lectures or readings this week I wanted to talk about something that occurred in the aftermath of the London Riots.

Consider this article by Juliette Garside published on the Guardians Website today.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/aug/21/riots-throw-telecoms-firms-social-media-controls-into-spotlight

In it she states that politicians are rethinking the extent to which police can block access to communications networks and social media during times of civil unrest.  The most glaring quote comes from the British Prime Minister David Cameron who states “When people are using social media for violence, we need to stop them.”   

First of all I want to make it clear that at no point do I agree with the acts committed by the people involved in the recent London riots or support the use of technology to commit violence, however this attempt by the British government to censor social media and mobile communications networks appears to conflict with the way western countries celebrated the use of social media in the political upheavals throughout the Middle East.  In fact in February of this year, in a speech to Kuwait National Assemble Mr Cameron stated that freedom of speech and the Internet in freedom of assembly should be the entitlement of people everywhere, “of people in Tahrir Square as much as Trafalgar Square.”  Most people would agree that celebrating social media as a platform for democracy overseas whilst attempting to restrict its use at home is a huge contradiction.   

In fact news sources have reported that during the riots social media was used more to report on the riots and inform people about which areas were safe and to organize cleanups than they were to plan criminal activity.  Whether you enjoy using social media or not, no one can deny that it contributes more good than harm in a crisis situation as we have seen in response to the Christchurch Earthquakes or Queensland floods this year and blocking social media is just an attempt at a quick fix, rather than try to understand the real cause of the problem.

Sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/aug/21/riots-throw-telecoms-firms-social-media-controls-into-spotlight

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/british-prime-minister-does-180-internet

http://theconversation.edu.au/dont-shoot-the-instant-messenger-david-camerons-social-media-shutdown-plan-wont-stop-uk-riots-2854

http://www.newstatesman.com/middle-east/2011/02/kuwait-british-arab-security

Week 3: The future of mainstream journalism

In a speech made to UC Berkley Graduate School of Journalism, Mark Danner highlighted a paradox within the rise of online journalism in the traditional newspaper business model. 

Using the example of the New York Times, the leading and most authoritative newspaper in the United States,  it appears that the amount of newspapers being sold is declining, yet,  readership numbers are higher than ever.  Danner compares the decline of print news as being similar to the effects that online file sharing had on the music industry, labeling the consequences for the industry as dire.  Despite this he believes that the newspaper will survive both in print and digital format. 

I agree with the second part of his statement.  It is likely that there will always be a dedicated audience who prefer to read their news through a printed medium, however, as the internet continues to grow  it is unlikely print newspapers will ever be as widely read or profitable as they were before the internet. 

However, if the mainstream newspapers are going to find way to adapt to the digital audience, they need to realize that digital content is completely different from print and in order to generate revenue it needs to be marketed to a more specific audience.  If publication is aimed toward a target audience, readers might be willing to pay for subscriptions and advertising could be tailored to appeal to the audience's interests. As evidenced by entrepreneurs such as David Parkin, founder of Thebusinessdesk.com, it is definatly possible to operate online and be financially sustainable.


Sources:
http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2010/01/18/nujs-making-journalism-pay-online-five-points/
http://lifeofwylie.com/2010/01/17/new-ways-to-make-journalism-pay-2/
http://gigaom.com/2010/03/28/what-does-the-future-hold-for-newspapers/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNPcQdNr7pU