Last Thursday I went to see Jeremy Iggers, former Star Tribune writer, philosopher, current executive director of the TC Media Alliance, Web site administrator of the Twin Cities Daily Planet, and contributor to Minneapolis online publication, The Rake. The event was co-sponsored by the Philosophy department, College of Business, and the Department of Mass Communications at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
I thought he would mostly stick to the title of the lecture, "The Increasing Irrelevance of Journalism Ethics," but to my surprise most of the discussion dealt less with the decreasing ethics in journalism, and more with the increasing importance citizen journalism.
In his lecture, Iggers discussed how advertisement in print media is down, which causes circulation to decrease and advertising to continue its downward spiral and when this happens, staff is cut. This makes me nervous since the Star Tribune laid of more than 75 staff in the last year. These are more than likely people that have already obtained their BA or BS in mass communications, completed an internship or two, and have more experience in the field than I do and I've always hoped for my job destination to eventually be within the Twin Cities area at a newspaper such as the Tribune or Pioneer Press.
He mentioned that niche publications that cater to a specific audience have great growth potential, as do online publications, but that print news is on its way out, saying "the long-term prognosis for print journalism is very bleak."
Writing for an online news publication might seem like the way to go, but people expect online news to be free and online ads bring in far less revenue than print ads, again adding to the downward spiral, or what Iggers called "possibly a dead spiral."
This means that salaries for online publications are low, and freelance is even lower.
Many of these publications, such as MinnPost, have a tiny operating budget and follow a Public Radio business model. For serious, committed journalists for non-profit news publications, their salaries depend highly on advertising, corporate sponsors and donations. But are there enough readers? And more importantly, are there enough professional journalists willing to write for $100/per story? I don't need a lot, but I don't know if I could live like that.
Iggers also discussed how the digital revolution has placed powerful tools, such as the internet, digital cameras, laptops and cellphones, in the hands of the ordinary citizen, thus creating citizen journalism as we have come to understand it.
Iggers said, "if journalism is to have a future it will be a 'new' type of journalism with strong collaboration between citizens and journalists," saying that citizen journalists are filling many gaps in journalism, creating richer, deeper coverage than ordinary print media has been able to provide. This new journalism, however, will have to follow the same journalism ethics of accuracy, fairness, accountability and accessibility, according to Iggers.
With the decline in newspapers and the increasing number of blogs and their popularity, as journalists we may not have much of a choice but to work for pennies if the economy and public interest can no longer support news rooms. Likewise, the public may not have much choice but than to look to less than credible sources for information.
Still, citizen journalism is better than nothing at all.
John Dewey in his book The Public and its Problems said, “The ties which hold men together in action are numerous, though and subtle. But they are invisible and intangible. We have the physical tools as never before. The thoughts and aspirations congruous with them are not communicated, and hence are not common. Without such communication the public will remain shadowy and formless, seeking spasmodically for itself, but seizing and holding its shadow rather than its substance. Till the Great Society is converted into a Great Community, the Public will remain in eclipse. Communication can alone create a great community.”
One important role of the news media is to provide information which emphasizes dialogue, deliberation, diversity, accuracy and accessibility. Without informed citizens, we can not have democracy. The digital revolution has finally brought us the tools to make democracy in a new era. Take the electoral college, for example. Supposedly the electoral college was set up so citizens, who did not have access to newspapers, the internet, television or the radio, could elect a local public official that they saw fit to cast their vote. Today, this is simply unnecessary, and in the 2000 Presidential election the popular vote of the ordinary citizen was overruled by the electoral system.
The problem with citizen journalism, according to Iggers, is that citizen journalists are often passionately involved in the community, otherwise why would they do it? The way to solve this is to actively seek to make sure the widest range of view points possible are represented. Iggers also said the new technique of crowd sourcing will become increasingly important, saying "Google has made us all much smarter."
He also mentioned the popular slogan, "We fact check your ass," meaning errors are increasingly easy to spot. So instead of balance, transparency is valued. Iggers said as far as accuracy is concerned, professional journalists are key, but some of our current attitudes need to be revised. Going back to my last entry on post publication considerations, Iggers also mentioned that it is much more difficult to correct errors after print than it is to edit an online edition.
We are also starting to see the increasing importance of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace which build connections, alliances, grassroots movements, foundations and support social causes through groups and applications.
I'm not sure what this means for my career, but given this information I'm hoping that my 2008 Young People For fellowship will give me an upperhand if I choose to take an oath of poverty and work for some progressive, grassroots citizen journalism publication. I think I could be happy doing that and covering stories that are important to me, but in order to pay the rent I might need a dull but steady office job on the side.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Post Publication Pondering
In San Francisco, I attended a session led Hamline University's paper, The Oracle's Editor in Chief, Trevor Maine, and their and their faculty adviser, David Hudson.
Earlier in the fall, The Oracle experienced a dilemma of what to put into print and what to put online when several members of the football team wore black face paint for Halloween. The photos surfaced the following day on Facebook with the caption "spooks and ooks."
The Oracle decided to run the photo in print, but not online due to the never ending abyss of the internet and to not harm the six players in their future adult lives. If this was the right decision to make, I'm not sure, but the session did raise a lot of interesting questions and things to consider.
Some of these post publication considerations include:
-Accuracy of the original post
-Consequences for stakeholders, including your organization
-Integrity of historical record
-Would you be adding or subtracting from the story, or merely editing?
In addition to post publication considerations, there are also many pre-publication questions:
-Should we print?
-Should we post it online?
-Should we print but not post it? Or post it but not print it?
-What is the journalistic purpose of the article?
-And what is the journalistic purpose of this as an archive?
-Who are the stakeholders and what consequences might they face if we publish?
-What alternatives are there?
In an article by Bob Steele and Bill Mitchell on Poynter Online, they ask many of the same questions to make decisions to alter post publication, and also bring up another issue: transparency.
Hudson suggested that publications include a note at the top of the publication to let the reader know that an article has been changed and how, and I think that is a fair approach.
This led me to wonder about the Rissa Amen-Reif situation, should area publications who may have insinuated that alcohol played a factor in her death print a retraction? I believe the Reporter did print an editorial apologizing if we may have done so, but should publications also go back and edit previous stories?
In this case, I think not, since I believe it still serves an archival purpose, but I think this is something interesting to consider for future mistakes.
Earlier in the fall, The Oracle experienced a dilemma of what to put into print and what to put online when several members of the football team wore black face paint for Halloween. The photos surfaced the following day on Facebook with the caption "spooks and ooks."
The Oracle decided to run the photo in print, but not online due to the never ending abyss of the internet and to not harm the six players in their future adult lives. If this was the right decision to make, I'm not sure, but the session did raise a lot of interesting questions and things to consider.
Some of these post publication considerations include:
-Accuracy of the original post
-Consequences for stakeholders, including your organization
-Integrity of historical record
-Would you be adding or subtracting from the story, or merely editing?
In addition to post publication considerations, there are also many pre-publication questions:
-Should we print?
-Should we post it online?
-Should we print but not post it? Or post it but not print it?
-What is the journalistic purpose of the article?
-And what is the journalistic purpose of this as an archive?
-Who are the stakeholders and what consequences might they face if we publish?
-What alternatives are there?
In an article by Bob Steele and Bill Mitchell on Poynter Online, they ask many of the same questions to make decisions to alter post publication, and also bring up another issue: transparency.
Hudson suggested that publications include a note at the top of the publication to let the reader know that an article has been changed and how, and I think that is a fair approach.
This led me to wonder about the Rissa Amen-Reif situation, should area publications who may have insinuated that alcohol played a factor in her death print a retraction? I believe the Reporter did print an editorial apologizing if we may have done so, but should publications also go back and edit previous stories?
In this case, I think not, since I believe it still serves an archival purpose, but I think this is something interesting to consider for future mistakes.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Trojan Sexual Health Roundtable and sexual health services available at Minnesota State
Originally published in the MSU Reporter Oct. 25, 2007 under the title "Evolved Awareness," I cut the word count in half and put the statistics into bulleted lists.
I recently attended the Trojan Evolve Sexual Health Roundtable in Denver, Co. Never in the last 21 years of my life have I been this glad to be from the North. Denver was beautiful, but after spending three days with three students from Texas, two students from Oklahoma, two students from Louisiana, one from Missouri and one student from Nebraska, I have never been more proud to call the blue state of Minnesota my current place of residence.
Part of the campaign includes the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card. Students at 139 universities were surveyed and schools were ranked on sexual health awareness programs, sexual violence programs, student peer groups, condom and contraception availability, HIV testing, other sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, student health center hours of operation, lecture outreach programs and availability of Web-based sexual health information.
Since Minnesota State is not a Division I school, it was not ranked among the other 139 universities graded in 2007, but this is the second year that MSU has been invited to be a part of the roundtable discussion. The University of Minnesota, however, was ranked number one after a ranking of 54 in 2006, and I would like to think that MSU would rank higher than our bible-belt counterparts would.
The MSU Student Health Services homepage makes information readily available about gynecological/contraception examinations including Colposcopy and STI diagnosis and treatment. The annual National College Health Assessment Executive summary is also available under the News You Can Use portion of the Web site. This survey provides information about students' general health, preventative health, academic impacts, violence, substance use, sexual behavior, nutritional & exercise behavior, and depression.
In the 2007 survey results, MSU students surveyed reported:
• having an average of 2.16 sexual partners in the last school year
• 49.9 percent of sexually active students reported using a condom mostly or always in the last 30 days when having vaginal sex
• 50.6 percent reported using a condom the last time they had vaginal sex
• 23.4 percent of students who drank reported having unprotected sex while under the influence in the last school year.
Students can buy Trojan, Lifestyles, Durex and other latex condoms in a variety of styles for as low as six for $1. Condoms are also free to students in residence halls and are available on every floor; seek your floor's condom representative for details. Very few other colleges or universities who had representatives attending the Denver roundtable claimed to have free condoms available in their dorms.
MSU Student Health Services also offers Gardasil, the vaccine for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26 that helps protect against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which causes genital warts and is the most common cause of cervical cancer.
Not one of the other schools at the Denver roundtable reported having this available on their campus.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention asserts that about 20 million people are currently infected with HPV, at least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives by age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection and about 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.
In 2007,
• 49.7 percent of female MSU students surveyed reported using birth control pills in the last year
• 1.9 percent reported using Depo Provera (the shot)
• 43.3 percent of all sexually active students surveyed using condoms within the last year to prevent pregnancy.
Student Health Services offers the birth control pill, Depo Provera and the Nuva Ring, which is somewhat newer method of hormonal birth control that offers more flexibility than the "pill."
Free 4U at MSU is a service that provides free birth control, annual exams, emergency contraception and family planning education for MSU students between the ages of 15 and 50 not enrolled in Medical Assistance or Minnesota Care and are U.S. citizens. To be eligible for Free 4U at MSU, however, you must meet certain income requirements.
Part of the Trojan Evolve campaign is taking your sexual health and responsibility into your own hands. That means having an annual STI screening if you are male or female, a Pap smear if you are a woman, and using a condom - every time. Have you had your annual STI test or Pap smear?
I recently attended the Trojan Evolve Sexual Health Roundtable in Denver, Co. Never in the last 21 years of my life have I been this glad to be from the North. Denver was beautiful, but after spending three days with three students from Texas, two students from Oklahoma, two students from Louisiana, one from Missouri and one student from Nebraska, I have never been more proud to call the blue state of Minnesota my current place of residence.
Part of the campaign includes the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card. Students at 139 universities were surveyed and schools were ranked on sexual health awareness programs, sexual violence programs, student peer groups, condom and contraception availability, HIV testing, other sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, student health center hours of operation, lecture outreach programs and availability of Web-based sexual health information.
Since Minnesota State is not a Division I school, it was not ranked among the other 139 universities graded in 2007, but this is the second year that MSU has been invited to be a part of the roundtable discussion. The University of Minnesota, however, was ranked number one after a ranking of 54 in 2006, and I would like to think that MSU would rank higher than our bible-belt counterparts would.
The MSU Student Health Services homepage makes information readily available about gynecological/contraception examinations including Colposcopy and STI diagnosis and treatment. The annual National College Health Assessment Executive summary is also available under the News You Can Use portion of the Web site. This survey provides information about students' general health, preventative health, academic impacts, violence, substance use, sexual behavior, nutritional & exercise behavior, and depression.
In the 2007 survey results, MSU students surveyed reported:
• having an average of 2.16 sexual partners in the last school year
• 49.9 percent of sexually active students reported using a condom mostly or always in the last 30 days when having vaginal sex
• 50.6 percent reported using a condom the last time they had vaginal sex
• 23.4 percent of students who drank reported having unprotected sex while under the influence in the last school year.
Students can buy Trojan, Lifestyles, Durex and other latex condoms in a variety of styles for as low as six for $1. Condoms are also free to students in residence halls and are available on every floor; seek your floor's condom representative for details. Very few other colleges or universities who had representatives attending the Denver roundtable claimed to have free condoms available in their dorms.
MSU Student Health Services also offers Gardasil, the vaccine for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26 that helps protect against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which causes genital warts and is the most common cause of cervical cancer.
Not one of the other schools at the Denver roundtable reported having this available on their campus.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention asserts that about 20 million people are currently infected with HPV, at least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives by age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection and about 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.
In 2007,
• 49.7 percent of female MSU students surveyed reported using birth control pills in the last year
• 1.9 percent reported using Depo Provera (the shot)
• 43.3 percent of all sexually active students surveyed using condoms within the last year to prevent pregnancy.
Student Health Services offers the birth control pill, Depo Provera and the Nuva Ring, which is somewhat newer method of hormonal birth control that offers more flexibility than the "pill."
Free 4U at MSU is a service that provides free birth control, annual exams, emergency contraception and family planning education for MSU students between the ages of 15 and 50 not enrolled in Medical Assistance or Minnesota Care and are U.S. citizens. To be eligible for Free 4U at MSU, however, you must meet certain income requirements.
Part of the Trojan Evolve campaign is taking your sexual health and responsibility into your own hands. That means having an annual STI screening if you are male or female, a Pap smear if you are a woman, and using a condom - every time. Have you had your annual STI test or Pap smear?
Monday, February 11, 2008
Here is a list of web sites that was compiled by Jessmyn Sabbag at Future5000 at the evolution of media workshop that I thought might be helpful for anyone.
Social Networking:
Facebook.com
MySpace.com
MyBLOC.net – specifically for young progressive activists and organizers
Future5000.com – for progressive youth organizations
GoodReads.com – get book recommendations from people you know
LibraryThing.com – create your own online library and share it
AskBigQuestions.com – providing an open space for students to ponder life’s big questions
WeCanNetwork.org – specifically pertaining to developing a clean energy future created by students at the University of Minnesota
Change.org – network and connect with activists and organizations
UpScoop.com – linking social networking profiles
Chipin.com – linking social networking profiles
Multi-media:
YouTube.com
TubeMogul.com: TubeMogul is a free service that provides a single point for deploying uploads to the top video sharing sites, and powerful analytics on who, what, and how videos are being viewed.
Witness.org
Zamzar.com – free online file converting (steal video off websites)
Research:
Future5000.com – a national directory and networking site of progressive youth organizations
WiretapMag.org – an online magazine about the youth movement (current feature article is about this YP4 Summit)
Archive.org – a comprehensive digital library
Google (duh)
GoodSearch.org – donates a portion of every search to an organization of your choice; uses the Google search engine
Indymedia.org – grassroots, non-corporate coverage
FairData2000.com - Community-based Mapping and Data Solutions for Education, Environment, Housing, and Poverty-related Issues
Wikipedia
GapMinder.org – demographic information
GovTrack.us – government statistics
Pollster.org – poll results, great for election results
Elections:
League of Young Voters & MoveOn’s online primary election tool – track results by network
VotePoke.org – Look up if and where you’re registered to vote
RockTheVote.org – register to vote, Rock the Caucus, etc
Phones:
pinger.com – instant voice messaging for cell phones
saynow.com – Mostly Hip-Hop celebrities making robo-calls
Skype – a free program to make calls over the internet, all for free
Blogging:
WordPress.com
TypePad.com
Other:
YouthMediaCouncil.org – toolkit of communications resources for the progressive youth movement
ItsGettingHotInHere.org – dispatches from the youth climate movement
Del.icio.us.com – a collection of favorites (bookmarks) – your’s and everyone else’s
DemocracyInAction – Wiring the progressive movement – constituent relationship management systems
Social Networking:
Facebook.com
MySpace.com
MyBLOC.net – specifically for young progressive activists and organizers
Future5000.com – for progressive youth organizations
GoodReads.com – get book recommendations from people you know
LibraryThing.com – create your own online library and share it
AskBigQuestions.com – providing an open space for students to ponder life’s big questions
WeCanNetwork.org – specifically pertaining to developing a clean energy future created by students at the University of Minnesota
Change.org – network and connect with activists and organizations
UpScoop.com – linking social networking profiles
Chipin.com – linking social networking profiles
Multi-media:
YouTube.com
TubeMogul.com: TubeMogul is a free service that provides a single point for deploying uploads to the top video sharing sites, and powerful analytics on who, what, and how videos are being viewed.
Witness.org
Zamzar.com – free online file converting (steal video off websites)
Research:
Future5000.com – a national directory and networking site of progressive youth organizations
WiretapMag.org – an online magazine about the youth movement (current feature article is about this YP4 Summit)
Archive.org – a comprehensive digital library
Google (duh)
GoodSearch.org – donates a portion of every search to an organization of your choice; uses the Google search engine
Indymedia.org – grassroots, non-corporate coverage
FairData2000.com - Community-based Mapping and Data Solutions for Education, Environment, Housing, and Poverty-related Issues
Wikipedia
GapMinder.org – demographic information
GovTrack.us – government statistics
Pollster.org – poll results, great for election results
Elections:
League of Young Voters & MoveOn’s online primary election tool – track results by network
VotePoke.org – Look up if and where you’re registered to vote
RockTheVote.org – register to vote, Rock the Caucus, etc
Phones:
pinger.com – instant voice messaging for cell phones
saynow.com – Mostly Hip-Hop celebrities making robo-calls
Skype – a free program to make calls over the internet, all for free
Blogging:
WordPress.com
TypePad.com
Other:
YouthMediaCouncil.org – toolkit of communications resources for the progressive youth movement
ItsGettingHotInHere.org – dispatches from the youth climate movement
Del.icio.us.com – a collection of favorites (bookmarks) – your’s and everyone else’s
DemocracyInAction – Wiring the progressive movement – constituent relationship management systems
A few weeks ago I went to a conference in Washington D.C. for YoungPeopleFor. In one of our breakout workshops, I elected to go to one on the evolution of media hosted by Future5000 and a representative from Facebook. This is a YouTube video about Web 2.0 called "The Machine is Us/ing Us" that we watched and I think would be applicable to this class.
Linking exercise:
After half a centruy of scholarly work, new documents about the lives of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg have been made public.
"Certainly, after 50 years, the unique historical value of these records outweighs any secrecy rationale," said Thomas S. Blanton, the director of the National Security Archive, which filed the petition, with support from more than a dozen scholars. The archive, based at George Washington University, is a nonprofit group that uses the Freedom of Information Act to challenge government secrecy.
Among the historians were John Lewis Gaddis, the Robert A. Lovett professor of military and naval history at Yale, and Ronald Radosh, adjunct senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington and past president of the Historians of American Communism.
After half a centruy of scholarly work, new documents about the lives of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg have been made public.
"Certainly, after 50 years, the unique historical value of these records outweighs any secrecy rationale," said Thomas S. Blanton, the director of the National Security Archive, which filed the petition, with support from more than a dozen scholars. The archive, based at George Washington University, is a nonprofit group that uses the Freedom of Information Act to challenge government secrecy.
Among the historians were John Lewis Gaddis, the Robert A. Lovett professor of military and naval history at Yale, and Ronald Radosh, adjunct senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington and past president of the Historians of American Communism.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Step 2: The Citizen Add-On Reporter
I really like the idea of Step 2, the Citizen Add-On Reporter. I think that posing a question or story idea to the public, and then asking for specific experiences or responses to enhance and personalize a story could be extremely beneficial to many local news stories.
So let's give it a whirl, shall we?
I am currently working on a story on KMSU and its student involvement, and I would like to know if any of you readers out there listen to KMSU and what you think of it?
And if not, what radio stations or other methods of music do you listen to?
Even better yet, have any of you worked at KMSU, and if so, in what capacity?
Has anyone ever applied to have their own radio show at KMSU?
Another article that I'm working on is about a group of people and a series of meetings that have been held in hopes of getting a food co-op in Mankato. St. Peter has a co-op, but Mankato does not, why do you think that is?
Do you eat organically, or would you if the option were more available to you?
Who knows, if this works out, maybe some of your responses will appear in an upcoming article!
(Disclaimer: this obviously does not include the other Reporter staff members of this class).
So let's give it a whirl, shall we?
I am currently working on a story on KMSU and its student involvement, and I would like to know if any of you readers out there listen to KMSU and what you think of it?
And if not, what radio stations or other methods of music do you listen to?
Even better yet, have any of you worked at KMSU, and if so, in what capacity?
Has anyone ever applied to have their own radio show at KMSU?
Another article that I'm working on is about a group of people and a series of meetings that have been held in hopes of getting a food co-op in Mankato. St. Peter has a co-op, but Mankato does not, why do you think that is?
Do you eat organically, or would you if the option were more available to you?
Who knows, if this works out, maybe some of your responses will appear in an upcoming article!
(Disclaimer: this obviously does not include the other Reporter staff members of this class).
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Minnesota State University Reporter
Minnesota State University Reporter: "Pregnancy Friendly Campus Project created to provide resources, improve campus conditions for parents"
Majority of senate disagrees with alcohol notification proposal - Senate News and Notes
Majority of senate disagrees with alcohol notification proposal - Senate News and Notes: "Many senate members said proposal of parent notification of student alcohol violations infringes students' right to privacy"
The 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism by Steve Outing
3
comments
Labels: 3x7r3m3j4ck455, blogging, blogs, citizen journalism, open-source reporting, professional journalism, transparency blogs, wiki journalism
Labels: 3x7r3m3j4ck455, blogging, blogs, citizen journalism, open-source reporting, professional journalism, transparency blogs, wiki journalism
Essentially, anyone with a notebook and access to the internet can be a citizen journalist. Add a digital voice recorder and a digital camera and you are even closer to the real deal. Now, with a video camera, a laptop and a tri-pod, the only thing separating you, the citizen and a "professional journalist" is a degree.
This is a scary thought for someone going into journalism, I think. Why spend $40,000 and four (or five) years in college getting a degree in journalism if the average Joe down the street can do the same thing?
Well, a professional journalist is just that--professional. As a "professional" journalist, you are trained and expected to be unbiased and objective, whereas citizen journalists can insert more personal opinion into their blogs with no obligation to exercise restraint. Many readers, however, may not be able to tell the difference between professional reporting and citizen journalism. Even when reading articles from "professional" journalists, however, it is important to always remain skeptical, to do your own research and to always utilize multiple news sources.
Opening up articles to public comment in the Web edition is becoming common practice at many newspapers. The Mankato Free Press offers a public forum where readers can start topics and comment on the articles or on other events in the community. The online edition of the MSU Reporter also has this feature and it is increasing in popularity.
I have noticed though, that the only people who ever bother to comment on these articles are the naysayers and the 3x7r3m3j4ck455's of the world. These people often don't know all the facts or the research involved in the article and are prone to run their mouth on anything they feel the need to throw their two cents in.
I think this is where a newsroom transparency blog could easily come into play, explaining the journalistic process used when researching the article and talking to sources, as well as the difficulties that may arise in any story; a source not returning your calls, missing or misleading information, anything.
I think that stand-alone citizen journalism websites and wiki journalism sound a little bit risky, but that a hybrid, pro + citizen journalist website and integrating the two methods under one roof could be a very feasible and useful option.
This is a scary thought for someone going into journalism, I think. Why spend $40,000 and four (or five) years in college getting a degree in journalism if the average Joe down the street can do the same thing?
Well, a professional journalist is just that--professional. As a "professional" journalist, you are trained and expected to be unbiased and objective, whereas citizen journalists can insert more personal opinion into their blogs with no obligation to exercise restraint. Many readers, however, may not be able to tell the difference between professional reporting and citizen journalism. Even when reading articles from "professional" journalists, however, it is important to always remain skeptical, to do your own research and to always utilize multiple news sources.
Opening up articles to public comment in the Web edition is becoming common practice at many newspapers. The Mankato Free Press offers a public forum where readers can start topics and comment on the articles or on other events in the community. The online edition of the MSU Reporter also has this feature and it is increasing in popularity.
I have noticed though, that the only people who ever bother to comment on these articles are the naysayers and the 3x7r3m3j4ck455's of the world. These people often don't know all the facts or the research involved in the article and are prone to run their mouth on anything they feel the need to throw their two cents in.
I think this is where a newsroom transparency blog could easily come into play, explaining the journalistic process used when researching the article and talking to sources, as well as the difficulties that may arise in any story; a source not returning your calls, missing or misleading information, anything.
I think that stand-alone citizen journalism websites and wiki journalism sound a little bit risky, but that a hybrid, pro + citizen journalist website and integrating the two methods under one roof could be a very feasible and useful option.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
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