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DR. KRISTEN LANDREVILLE AUGUST 24, 2011 The Attributes of Objective Journalism

What is News? Class Discussion:  What is news to you?  What is NOT news to you? What about cable news vs. network news? What about bloggers vs. journalists? What about comedic news vs. traditional news?

What is News? Impact Prominence Proximity Timeliness Conflict Novelty Go to CNN.com  What is the main story and news values does it reflect?

ACCURACY, FAIRNESS, OBJECTIVITY, & CLARITY News Values

Accuracy Accuracy is tied with credibility. Every detail must be correct. 24-hour news cycle puts stress on accuracy.

Fairness A story cannot be accurate without being fair All sides of the story must be presented in a story Seek out diverse opinions from like-groups as well.  Example: Some Muslims might not want a mosque built by Ground Zero. Example of Unfair Story:  says-hes-worried-muslim-rumors/ says-hes-worried-muslim-rumors/  Note headline and url name  See the actual survey report at

Objectivity Journalists must arrive at the best obtainable version of the truth All journalists do have their own biases (beliefs, spirituality, political views, etc), but these biases should not be evident in his or her writing Draw boundaries if necessary If you’re a strict vegetarian and think people who eat meat are destroying the planet, then remove yourself from a story about the beef industry.

Clarity Research and knowledge of the topic are essential.  If you don’t get it, you won’t write it well, and you’re audience won’t get it either. Stories should:  Be simple and understandable  Explain complex issues or processes with ease  Be complete so that readers should not be left with any questions  Be specific and not assume readers have read all of the previous stories about the subject/event

As a Journalist … Your basic obligation is to the reader. The next obligation is to the company you’re representing. Don’t allow your story to be released until you understand everything Never assume anything Plan your stories, interviews, etc., but be prepared to make major changes. Make every word you write count – space is limited.

AUGUST 24, 2011 Basics of Online Journalism

Advantages Significance Audience Control Nonlinearity Storage, Retrieval, & Unlimited Space Immediacy Multimedia Capacity Interactivity & UGC Stories need to be even more engaging Stories need to be organized in chunks You need to triple-check facts You need to know print, web, audio, video, & photography! Advantages of Online Journalism

Approaches to Online Journalism Freestanding Journalism (e.g., Slate.com) Already-associated Journalism (e.g., CNN.com) Convergence Sites (e.g., TBO.com) News Aggregators (e.g., Digg.com, Google News) Hyperlocal Sites (e.g., NewWest.net) Backpack Journalists or Mojos (i.e., YOU!) Legacy Media (e.g., LaramieBoomerang.com)  Shovelware + multimedia, links, UGC, or Web extras

Evaluating the Quality of Online Journalism Who is the author? What is the content? Is the information accurate? When was it updated? What does it look like?

Online Journalism Terminology

Understanding the Web ARPANET and “packets” Internet vs. Web (see “The Web is Dead”)The Web is Dead Web browsers use the URL (address) to find the requested information. The URL looks like  What does http stand for? The website contains the html files that visually/graphically present the page to you.  What does html stand for? RSS stands for what?

Understanding Digital Media Why go digital? Analog vs. digital Types of digital media from smallest to largest file size. File size affects bandwidth usage.  Text = ASCII  Graphics = GIF, BMP, TIFF, EPS, JPEG, PNG  PDFs preserve original formatting that may include both text and graphics  Sound = WAV and AIFF are larger than MP3  Video = MPEG, QuickTime, Flash Video, and AVI  Rich Content = Java, Flash, AJAX, XML

Online Journalism 2.0 Web 2.0  Platforms allow users to easily post and share content  User-generated content  Community and connecting “ The news is a conversation, not a lecture.”  Bloggers, CNN’s iReport  YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter  Digg, Newsvine, Reddit, and Slashdot Mobile 2.0  smartphones, iPods, iPads, and variations of each now connect to the Internet Implications for journalism?  Be even more aware of the participant (i.e., the audience)  Use RSS feeds and Twitter to keep tabs on stories all over the Web  Need content available for these users in “podcasts” and “vodcasts”