The "Best Headlines of the Year" Web page was a humorous and effective way of emphasizing the importance of coherent and concise headings. Headlines need to be introduce pertinent information and create a suitable transition into the rest of the story. Lines like "War Dims Hope for Peace" and "Couple Slain; Police suspect Homicide" fail miserably. These captions unnecessarily state the obvious and make lousy introductions to their respective articles.
The Headline "Police Begin to Campaign to Run Down Jay Walkers" is a much worse offender. To one reader this phrase will induce laughter. This is clearly a major problem. Headlines are supposed to pull readers into a story and make them want to find out more. If you write an excellent caption you have successfully drawn more eyes into your piece. Conversely, if you screw up the headline you lose your readers immediately. So, to one person this headline will read like a joke, and belittle the officer's attempts to thwart a crime. To another reader, this headline may convince them that their local police force is made up of crazed vigilantes out for blood.
"Teacher Strikes Idle Kids" poses another major problem. This instantly transforms a piece about a teacher's strike into a case about classroom abuse. Here, readers will go into the story expecting to read about a disgruntled math teacher, whipping kids with rulers, and wind up learning about educators picketing in the rain. This caption will pull in the wrong audience, and makes the educators look like perpetrators instead of the victims. The headline is the first chance you have to connect with a reader. You could win them over with a snappy pun, or make them lose faith in you as a writer with a jumbled mess of headline like this one.
I was pleased to hear Christian Hernandez commend the local tabloid writers for their clever headlines. As a student journalist, I'm constantly told that my silly headlines or witty puns detract from my story. The news media is notorious for blowing things out of proportion and taking things far too seriously. It seems like the media would rather instill fear into reader's hearts than put a smile on reader's faces. Nobody stopped Katie Couric when she decided to use scare tactics and transformed the piece into a psychological analysis of the NASA program. The main point behind her story seemed to be: "Watch out! It could happen again to you!" This approach is fine and dandy if the related material poses and actual threat to readers. But honestly, what astronauts are going to wear diapers and try to kidnap you. Perhaps if a story is truly this ridiculous and over-the-top an over-the-top headline fits perfectly. I'm tired of the news media spinning stories like this one into cautionary tales. The crazy astronaut woman doesn't even deserve a straight-laced, full-length piece. In this scenario the goofy headlines reign triumphant over the Couric's mega-serious, dismal coverage.
The bailout headlines are overloaded with action words like "kill," sink," "derail" and "convulse." I mean, I get it. These authors are using personification. They are giving life to an inanimate idea. But, for me it doesn't work. Surprisingly, the worst headline here is from the New York Times. The caption is incredibly lengthy at 11 words, and it has not one, but two awkward semicolons. To me, the best headline here was written by The Salt Lake Tribune. The other papers jumped on the "economy is going to hell" bandwagon, made their headlines too long, and stuffed them with those ridiculous action words. The Tribune kept it simple, avoided awful personification, and kept it a little lighthearted in a bleak time of economic uncertainty.
The Blagojevich article made it clear just how well headlines and photographs can work together. Some of these front pages are truly powerful. Perhaps the best example of this is the one word headline: "Shame."Below this caption is a picture of Blagojevich hiding in the backseat of his expensive car. These headlines also played out as a way for homestate journalists to vent out some of their anger and disillusion. Illinois is a state that has become synonymous with political corruption. Chicago overcomes allegations of shady politics for a brief moment by offering our country its new charismatic president. And then, BLAM! Chicago politics are once again tainted. Blagojevich cut Illinois moment of glory short with his greedy tactics. You can definitely see the anger and frustration in these simple, effective headlines.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Ethical Journalism
There is virtually no difference in the rules featured within pages 12-18. Every single one of the 26 guidelines spells out one main idea. It should not accept bribes, invitations, gifts, promote material outside of reviews, or accept payments for favorable coverage. Basically, The Times should not do anything that jeopardizes its neutral standpoint. To somebody working at the actual paper, I imagine these rules would be quite beneficial and save them from a wide array of ethical dilemmas. To a casual reader, not every item in the list is worth reading. Grasping the big picture is sufficient for a student like myself. And the big picture is: The New York Times and its reporters must strive to be fair and unbiased in its coverage.
Many of these restrictions only apply to larger newspapers, like the Times, with prestigious reputations and readerships in the hundred thousands. For starters, my tiny online publication does not have free access to any of the museums in our town, we will never get any colossal trade discounts from General Motors, and our reporters have yet to receive any honorary degrees.
On the other hand, several of these rules should be adopted by every newspaper, in spite of its staff size or readership. Staff members clearly shouldn't accept gifts or discounts from individuals or companies. This may interfere with a news outlet's ability to perform their rigorous watchdog routine for the public. Reporters or editors may be tempted to overlook scandals or other unfavorable stories if a certain company has showered a newspaper in gifts. For me, the main point here comes at the end of rule 26. If a publication does turn down an expensive gift, a polite letter to the company should always explain the reasoning behind the gesture.
My friend's uncle works at my local paper. One year, an Italian restaurant surprised a handful of the paper's reporters with tickets to a 76ers playoff game. The reporters turned down the generous offer with little to no explanation for their actions. To this day, the restaurant ignores the reporters and often refuses to seat them for lunch. When the paper orders out from the tiny Italian bistro for lunch, the noodles are often undercooked and the portions of garlic bread are anything but generous. This may sound ridiculous, but it does serve to illustrate an important lesson. Businesses may be looking for favorable coverage or discounted advertising when they hand out gifts, but in certain situations the gift may be a healthy sign of generosity or friendship. So, always make sure to politely explain the reasons for declining a gift or invitation.
My online publication is a small operation. My staff writers probably won't be asked to offer blurbs for book sleeves or testimonials on national TV networks any time soon. This is a serious problem for larger papers who don't want their reporters widely expressing their personal views and opinions in a public setting. If a person's opinions are followed by "Staff writer at the New York Times" it might be perceived that the Times shares the individual's views on the issue. If a person in that situation publicly expresses their viewpoints, they need to somehow separate themselves from the Times, and note that their views are not shared by their respective newspaper.
This idea will be upheld at my onlie publicaton. As I said, networks like NBC and national Bestseller sleeves will not pose many problems for our small operation. But, I will make it abundantly clear that my staff must proceed all opinions on social networking sites or personal blogs, with a statement that their viewpoints are not shared by our online publication.
I also had some issue with rule number 56. Clearly, reporters writing reviews on automobiles must return $70,000 BMWs after testdriving them. But do music reviewers have to return albums after listening to the music? My guess is no, considering most albums fall under $25.
Many of these restrictions only apply to larger newspapers, like the Times, with prestigious reputations and readerships in the hundred thousands. For starters, my tiny online publication does not have free access to any of the museums in our town, we will never get any colossal trade discounts from General Motors, and our reporters have yet to receive any honorary degrees.
On the other hand, several of these rules should be adopted by every newspaper, in spite of its staff size or readership. Staff members clearly shouldn't accept gifts or discounts from individuals or companies. This may interfere with a news outlet's ability to perform their rigorous watchdog routine for the public. Reporters or editors may be tempted to overlook scandals or other unfavorable stories if a certain company has showered a newspaper in gifts. For me, the main point here comes at the end of rule 26. If a publication does turn down an expensive gift, a polite letter to the company should always explain the reasoning behind the gesture.
My friend's uncle works at my local paper. One year, an Italian restaurant surprised a handful of the paper's reporters with tickets to a 76ers playoff game. The reporters turned down the generous offer with little to no explanation for their actions. To this day, the restaurant ignores the reporters and often refuses to seat them for lunch. When the paper orders out from the tiny Italian bistro for lunch, the noodles are often undercooked and the portions of garlic bread are anything but generous. This may sound ridiculous, but it does serve to illustrate an important lesson. Businesses may be looking for favorable coverage or discounted advertising when they hand out gifts, but in certain situations the gift may be a healthy sign of generosity or friendship. So, always make sure to politely explain the reasons for declining a gift or invitation.
My online publication is a small operation. My staff writers probably won't be asked to offer blurbs for book sleeves or testimonials on national TV networks any time soon. This is a serious problem for larger papers who don't want their reporters widely expressing their personal views and opinions in a public setting. If a person's opinions are followed by "Staff writer at the New York Times" it might be perceived that the Times shares the individual's views on the issue. If a person in that situation publicly expresses their viewpoints, they need to somehow separate themselves from the Times, and note that their views are not shared by their respective newspaper.
This idea will be upheld at my onlie publicaton. As I said, networks like NBC and national Bestseller sleeves will not pose many problems for our small operation. But, I will make it abundantly clear that my staff must proceed all opinions on social networking sites or personal blogs, with a statement that their viewpoints are not shared by our online publication.
I also had some issue with rule number 56. Clearly, reporters writing reviews on automobiles must return $70,000 BMWs after testdriving them. But do music reviewers have to return albums after listening to the music? My guess is no, considering most albums fall under $25.
Monday, March 23, 2009
March 25 Readings
The Code of Electronic Journalists is virtually identical to the code of ethics provided by the SPJ. Electronic journalists appear to be wordier. and feel the need to offer more subcategories in their noble code, but overall their message is entirely redundant. Journalists everywhere are supposed to seek the truth, strive to report information in an unbiased form, turn their backs to bribes, and earn the trust of their audience. Personally, I feel their is no need to distinguish between electronic journalists and print journalists. This additional code of ethics is unneccessary.
If only the guidelines for ethical visual and audio editing were actually followed by evening news shows. To be fair, these programs usually tend to rigorously follow the first three sets of guidelines. Very few positive things can be said about the way guideline number four is handled by newscasters. News teases are loaded with bias, falsehoods and the purposeful omission of certain facts. These teases often contain somber, haunting music. This music definitely manipulates an audience members perception of the story. These dark sounds undoubtedly introduce some bias into a news snippet and will certainly influence a viewer's opinion of the given information. Omission of information is cleverly used to draw readers into a story. There is little doubt that this technique is effective and engaging. The problem is this technique also skews the message of particular stories. This tool is sometimes used as a despicable scare tactic to freak out viewers, so in turn, they stay up and watch the 11 pm news. "What you don't know may kill you." "It could happen in your neighborhood next, more news at 11" These would make fantastic horror movie tag lines, but I don't think they should hold any respectable place in a news room.
Unlike the electronic journalists code of ethics, I felt the photojournalism ethics were worthwhile and a sensible addition to the long list of journalistic guidelines. I wholeheartedly agree that new technology can be a reader's best friend. With new programs limitations in photographs can be practically snuffed out. Glares and poor lighting can be fixed in order to save a majestic picture from the chop block and enhance an audience's reading experience. On the other hand, this new technology can also deceive readers and distort the truth. Wrinkles disappear from faces, entire objects are removed from images, dull colors unnaturally brighten, and women lose their identities as overzealous airbrushers make their human flesh look like shiny plastic. These tactics are used daily, and this is horrendous journalism. News organizations betray their readers with these seemingly minor touches or brush-ups. It's nice to see that Fred Showker took the time to expose some of these problems, and mark the differences between suitable edits and shameful manipulations in photojournalism.
I'm glad to see that other newspapers follow Showker's line of thinking, especially the Herald Tribune in Florida, which vigorously emphasized its position on the despicable nature of unjust photo treatments. I'm quite pleased to read that the Times-Union newspaper in Rochester has strongly deterred its reporters from recreating scenes to photograph. I have an awful little newspaper back home that stages shots, and asks for story subjects to recreate moments and poses. Most of all I'm happy to know that many of these newspapers have banned pictures of dead bodies from appearing in their publication. This is always a weighty, messy issue, and was covered extensively in my journalism ethics class last year. Casual readers gain virtually nothing from the image of a lifeless corpse, and family members only gain a lot of grief. In most cases there are far better ways to represent a story than with the image of a dead person.
If only the guidelines for ethical visual and audio editing were actually followed by evening news shows. To be fair, these programs usually tend to rigorously follow the first three sets of guidelines. Very few positive things can be said about the way guideline number four is handled by newscasters. News teases are loaded with bias, falsehoods and the purposeful omission of certain facts. These teases often contain somber, haunting music. This music definitely manipulates an audience members perception of the story. These dark sounds undoubtedly introduce some bias into a news snippet and will certainly influence a viewer's opinion of the given information. Omission of information is cleverly used to draw readers into a story. There is little doubt that this technique is effective and engaging. The problem is this technique also skews the message of particular stories. This tool is sometimes used as a despicable scare tactic to freak out viewers, so in turn, they stay up and watch the 11 pm news. "What you don't know may kill you." "It could happen in your neighborhood next, more news at 11" These would make fantastic horror movie tag lines, but I don't think they should hold any respectable place in a news room.
Unlike the electronic journalists code of ethics, I felt the photojournalism ethics were worthwhile and a sensible addition to the long list of journalistic guidelines. I wholeheartedly agree that new technology can be a reader's best friend. With new programs limitations in photographs can be practically snuffed out. Glares and poor lighting can be fixed in order to save a majestic picture from the chop block and enhance an audience's reading experience. On the other hand, this new technology can also deceive readers and distort the truth. Wrinkles disappear from faces, entire objects are removed from images, dull colors unnaturally brighten, and women lose their identities as overzealous airbrushers make their human flesh look like shiny plastic. These tactics are used daily, and this is horrendous journalism. News organizations betray their readers with these seemingly minor touches or brush-ups. It's nice to see that Fred Showker took the time to expose some of these problems, and mark the differences between suitable edits and shameful manipulations in photojournalism.
I'm glad to see that other newspapers follow Showker's line of thinking, especially the Herald Tribune in Florida, which vigorously emphasized its position on the despicable nature of unjust photo treatments. I'm quite pleased to read that the Times-Union newspaper in Rochester has strongly deterred its reporters from recreating scenes to photograph. I have an awful little newspaper back home that stages shots, and asks for story subjects to recreate moments and poses. Most of all I'm happy to know that many of these newspapers have banned pictures of dead bodies from appearing in their publication. This is always a weighty, messy issue, and was covered extensively in my journalism ethics class last year. Casual readers gain virtually nothing from the image of a lifeless corpse, and family members only gain a lot of grief. In most cases there are far better ways to represent a story than with the image of a dead person.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Online News Site
I pulled a lot of great ideas for my online newspaper from the "Redesigned Newspapers" article. I really like how the Chicago Tribune tried to engage readers with their new design. Editor Jonathon Berlin detailed how reporters are going to directly address and reply to reader comments in feature stories. Reporters are going to up the conversation level between themselves and their audience. This is going to help the Tribune create warmer feelings of personal investment within readers. As Berlin said, readers respected and trusted The Tribune, but there was an emotional disconnect amongst readers. The audience did not feel overly attached to the newspaper. By having reporters address the questions and concerns of the audience in news articles, the level of engagement and personal involvement will certainly escalate. My news site will use similar tactics and often address or comment on readers' concerns in our articles. We will also ask our audience to critique our design in the same vein as The Tribune. This is a brilliant way to get excellent feedback, see if a design works, find out if a layout is practical, and let the audience know that their input is treasured and respected.
My site will also take a few cues from The Hartford Courant. Like The Courant, we will never get stuck in our ways or find ourselves to comfortable to usher in change. Many newspapers fail because they are too stubborn to adapt to modern times. The Courant showed off its flexibility and adaptability by completely revamping their newspaper's layout. They did the unthinkable and flipped the newspaper trademark nameplate on its side. This move seems inconsequential, but to me it shows that the Courant is heading into the future, and refusing to be bogged down by tradition or complacency. The Courant also cleverly added a "dot-com" to the end of their nameplate. I think this was an excellent way to introduce fixed newspaper readers to a larger world of information. I have older relatives in Connecticut who start every morning off with coffee and a peruse through The Hartford Courant. They refused to surf the Web for news stories. My great-uncle used to say he trusted the printed word more than the electronic one, and besides he'd just spill his coffee on the keyboard anyway. But then, he noticed his trusted Courant included a "dot-com" at the tail of their nameplate. The man is still reluctant to surf the web with a hot drink in hand, but he does look at the Courant site from time to time to get more in depth coverage of stories. My site will have to use tactics like the Courant in oder to find successful ways to adopt new inexperienced web readers.
We will also take some pointers from the Oklahoman newspaper. I loved how their paper used a wide array of colors to attract a reader's attention. We will use something like this on my site in order to focus readers on particular stories and even lead them from one article to another.
I was glad to hear that more journalism students are receiving visual training in the article about Karl Gude. Web users decide if they want to stay on a page mere seconds after navigating to a site. If a site is heavy on verbal explanations and light on gripping graphics, chances are the majority of readers are going to click away from the site. My site will use exhilarating graphics, like the one presented in the article, to pull readers into a story. The visuals will not only attract more readers but also completely transform a story. Gude's article about the coffee shop robbery would have been an average run of the mill piece without those stunning pictures. The design added another element to the piece and placed reader inside Sparty's shop. This technique will most definitely appeal to readers who are more visually oriented. The visuals make the piece come alive and let a reader know what happened in a way a textual explanation never could.
My site will also follow Wagener's advice and condense the size of our headlines. She uses two Hurricane Katrina related headlines to show the sheer power of a single word. Too often headlines appear clunky or try to include too much information. It is not the headline's duty to reveal numerous facts, figures or a wealth of data. Most importantly, a headline must draw a reader into a piece. These headlines are most effective when they coincide with a presented photograph. When done effectively, the words and picture alone can tell a story that touches a reader more than the actual article itself. Short phrases or single words can have far more impact than entire paragraphs. Wagener offers examples like "Heartbreaking," "No mercy" and "Help Us, Please." These are all words and phrases that try to connect with readers at a human level. They pack a weighty emotional punch. My news site will try to cut down on lengthy headlines where possible, in favor of this type of short, powerful speech.
I think Wagener is absolutely right in saying that most readers desire a compact, easy-to-read format, whether they're reading a newspaper or using a laptop. I particularly like her comment on how the Internet could seemingly provide an infinite amount of information per page. I have often thought of this myself. A news web page could be as long or as wide as an editor wanted. A news team could cram an endless amount of information in a seemingly endless amount of space. However, when this comes to mind, I think of the New York Times web page. That site has an abundance of links and information buried at the bottom of the page. It takes eons to reach that information. It comes after a list of Top Stories, World News, National News, Business News and Entertainment coverage. My friends, family and I rarely make it anywhere near that information. We get distracted by stories at the top of the page, or at the middle of the page, or in between the top and the middle of the page. Simply put, the Times has too much information in too little space. They need to spread it out and adopt a thinner, shorter page that models itself after a traditional newspaper. As Wagener addressed the tabloid issue, she did so on a compact page that had thin columns and easy-to-follow information. My news site will present a thin, practical news page, that is not overloaded with text or bogged down by too much space.
I think Wagener did a nice job debunking most of the editing myths in the last assigned article. I particularly agree with the section on picture captions. Over spring-break I read my local newspaper daily. My eye was consistently drawn to intriguing photos. The problem was there were very few captions. In one case the people in the picture were not labeled. It was a photograph of a drunk-driver and a crash victim. The picture featured two-head on shots of the individuals involved. I honestly could not tell who had been killed and who had done the killing. I'm sure the family of the victim was incredibly distressed by the omission of a caption. Now, this case may be more sever than others, but to prevent any possible confusion, my news site will always offer an informative caption below or to the side of our photographs.
To be honest, I did not agree with the debunking of Wagener's first myth. I firmly believe a page looks better and is more approachable if the subject in a picture is pointing at or looking towards the text. I think the page with George Bush would look much better if the column on the left was moved to the right hand side. This would leave Bush pointing at the text, and not clumsily looking away from the information.
I was in class on Friday the 6th and did not have to post on the last article.
My site will also take a few cues from The Hartford Courant. Like The Courant, we will never get stuck in our ways or find ourselves to comfortable to usher in change. Many newspapers fail because they are too stubborn to adapt to modern times. The Courant showed off its flexibility and adaptability by completely revamping their newspaper's layout. They did the unthinkable and flipped the newspaper trademark nameplate on its side. This move seems inconsequential, but to me it shows that the Courant is heading into the future, and refusing to be bogged down by tradition or complacency. The Courant also cleverly added a "dot-com" to the end of their nameplate. I think this was an excellent way to introduce fixed newspaper readers to a larger world of information. I have older relatives in Connecticut who start every morning off with coffee and a peruse through The Hartford Courant. They refused to surf the Web for news stories. My great-uncle used to say he trusted the printed word more than the electronic one, and besides he'd just spill his coffee on the keyboard anyway. But then, he noticed his trusted Courant included a "dot-com" at the tail of their nameplate. The man is still reluctant to surf the web with a hot drink in hand, but he does look at the Courant site from time to time to get more in depth coverage of stories. My site will have to use tactics like the Courant in oder to find successful ways to adopt new inexperienced web readers.
We will also take some pointers from the Oklahoman newspaper. I loved how their paper used a wide array of colors to attract a reader's attention. We will use something like this on my site in order to focus readers on particular stories and even lead them from one article to another.
I was glad to hear that more journalism students are receiving visual training in the article about Karl Gude. Web users decide if they want to stay on a page mere seconds after navigating to a site. If a site is heavy on verbal explanations and light on gripping graphics, chances are the majority of readers are going to click away from the site. My site will use exhilarating graphics, like the one presented in the article, to pull readers into a story. The visuals will not only attract more readers but also completely transform a story. Gude's article about the coffee shop robbery would have been an average run of the mill piece without those stunning pictures. The design added another element to the piece and placed reader inside Sparty's shop. This technique will most definitely appeal to readers who are more visually oriented. The visuals make the piece come alive and let a reader know what happened in a way a textual explanation never could.
My site will also follow Wagener's advice and condense the size of our headlines. She uses two Hurricane Katrina related headlines to show the sheer power of a single word. Too often headlines appear clunky or try to include too much information. It is not the headline's duty to reveal numerous facts, figures or a wealth of data. Most importantly, a headline must draw a reader into a piece. These headlines are most effective when they coincide with a presented photograph. When done effectively, the words and picture alone can tell a story that touches a reader more than the actual article itself. Short phrases or single words can have far more impact than entire paragraphs. Wagener offers examples like "Heartbreaking," "No mercy" and "Help Us, Please." These are all words and phrases that try to connect with readers at a human level. They pack a weighty emotional punch. My news site will try to cut down on lengthy headlines where possible, in favor of this type of short, powerful speech.
I think Wagener is absolutely right in saying that most readers desire a compact, easy-to-read format, whether they're reading a newspaper or using a laptop. I particularly like her comment on how the Internet could seemingly provide an infinite amount of information per page. I have often thought of this myself. A news web page could be as long or as wide as an editor wanted. A news team could cram an endless amount of information in a seemingly endless amount of space. However, when this comes to mind, I think of the New York Times web page. That site has an abundance of links and information buried at the bottom of the page. It takes eons to reach that information. It comes after a list of Top Stories, World News, National News, Business News and Entertainment coverage. My friends, family and I rarely make it anywhere near that information. We get distracted by stories at the top of the page, or at the middle of the page, or in between the top and the middle of the page. Simply put, the Times has too much information in too little space. They need to spread it out and adopt a thinner, shorter page that models itself after a traditional newspaper. As Wagener addressed the tabloid issue, she did so on a compact page that had thin columns and easy-to-follow information. My news site will present a thin, practical news page, that is not overloaded with text or bogged down by too much space.
I think Wagener did a nice job debunking most of the editing myths in the last assigned article. I particularly agree with the section on picture captions. Over spring-break I read my local newspaper daily. My eye was consistently drawn to intriguing photos. The problem was there were very few captions. In one case the people in the picture were not labeled. It was a photograph of a drunk-driver and a crash victim. The picture featured two-head on shots of the individuals involved. I honestly could not tell who had been killed and who had done the killing. I'm sure the family of the victim was incredibly distressed by the omission of a caption. Now, this case may be more sever than others, but to prevent any possible confusion, my news site will always offer an informative caption below or to the side of our photographs.
To be honest, I did not agree with the debunking of Wagener's first myth. I firmly believe a page looks better and is more approachable if the subject in a picture is pointing at or looking towards the text. I think the page with George Bush would look much better if the column on the left was moved to the right hand side. This would leave Bush pointing at the text, and not clumsily looking away from the information.
I was in class on Friday the 6th and did not have to post on the last article.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
My Online Publication
My publication is going to focus on the very content Joe Mathews laments is missing from the new LA Times. My staff is going to hone in on hyperlocal stories, so Mathews won't be able to spend an entire article whining about our paper. My reporters will tackle the issues he says are missing in his beloved Times, (small neighborhood stories, transportation issues, local law enforcement dilemmas, etc.) The Internet will also give me a chance to gag readers' complaints before they appear. Mathews went on and on about all the missing news opportunities with a condensed staff. Yes, my staff is going to be quite small, too. In fact, we will employ far fewer employees than the Times. However, as I discussed in my last blog entry, my publication will be able to link to many of the stories we did not get a chance to personally cover. This should appease Mathews.
I did manage to pull one good idea from Mathews' painfully nostalgic trip down memory lane. My staff will have to include several bilingual reporters like Connie Kang. This will allow my publication to tackle a wider array of issues, and include interviews with individuals who often get overlooked in the media.
The ideas I presented last week about a subscription service should soothe Peter Osnos worries about the bleak future of news. I did enjoy the comparison Osnos made between America's failing banks and crumbling newspapers. The government springs into action to save dying banks and the troubled auto-industry, as our nation's newspaper wither away without any assistance. The future of the newspaper now falls in the hands of advertisers and generous readers who wish to subscribe or make contributions. If users have a strong desire to read well-produced news content and directly interact with reporters, my publication should succeed. As I mentioned before, for a set annual rate, my online publication will offer access to thousands of archives, and an opportunity for readers to suggest future stories.
For me, the main idea that stuck out of David Folkenflik's article was the overall sense of community that can be established by a trusted local paper. My publication will do everything it can to earn our readers' trust and respect. We need to connect with our audience and cover the smaller stories that other publications will skip over. We need to report on local basketball stories and address educational concerns at local elementary schools. These issues would never be covered in the New York Times or on the CNN network. Our whole town might not even make the national news unless it caught on fire or made contact with alien invaders. Still, we need to let this town know that their stories and problems are as important to our paper as they are to the community. We will cover local meetings and sporting events with the same vigor and intensity we would use to cover a deadly wildfire on the West Coast.We need to reach out to our local readers and let them know they have a voice. We must let our users know that they are both seen and heard and that no story is too small. Our reporters will attend school-board meetings and occupy the bleachers at all local sporting events. We will connect with the community, because we will become part of the community. In doing so, our readers will want to wake up and drink coffee while perusing our news site.
I did manage to pull one good idea from Mathews' painfully nostalgic trip down memory lane. My staff will have to include several bilingual reporters like Connie Kang. This will allow my publication to tackle a wider array of issues, and include interviews with individuals who often get overlooked in the media.
The ideas I presented last week about a subscription service should soothe Peter Osnos worries about the bleak future of news. I did enjoy the comparison Osnos made between America's failing banks and crumbling newspapers. The government springs into action to save dying banks and the troubled auto-industry, as our nation's newspaper wither away without any assistance. The future of the newspaper now falls in the hands of advertisers and generous readers who wish to subscribe or make contributions. If users have a strong desire to read well-produced news content and directly interact with reporters, my publication should succeed. As I mentioned before, for a set annual rate, my online publication will offer access to thousands of archives, and an opportunity for readers to suggest future stories.
For me, the main idea that stuck out of David Folkenflik's article was the overall sense of community that can be established by a trusted local paper. My publication will do everything it can to earn our readers' trust and respect. We need to connect with our audience and cover the smaller stories that other publications will skip over. We need to report on local basketball stories and address educational concerns at local elementary schools. These issues would never be covered in the New York Times or on the CNN network. Our whole town might not even make the national news unless it caught on fire or made contact with alien invaders. Still, we need to let this town know that their stories and problems are as important to our paper as they are to the community. We will cover local meetings and sporting events with the same vigor and intensity we would use to cover a deadly wildfire on the West Coast.We need to reach out to our local readers and let them know they have a voice. We must let our users know that they are both seen and heard and that no story is too small. Our reporters will attend school-board meetings and occupy the bleachers at all local sporting events. We will connect with the community, because we will become part of the community. In doing so, our readers will want to wake up and drink coffee while perusing our news site.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
New Online Publication
My start-up online news publication will certainly have a smaller budget than the New York Times or CNN.com. In order to overcome our lack of cash, and compete with these news giants, my publication will adopt a plan similar to the one laid out by Spot.US. We will call upon our readership to donate money to support our news site. No user would be willing to send a single dime for a story that was already covered by the Times or any other larger publication. So, like Spot.US, we will use this money to focus our efforts on stories that have been ignored by other sites. It is our idea that people will jump at the opportunity to donate money to fund a story that is important to them. Unlike Spot.US, users will not be donating money for every story they want to see in print. Spot.US has a policy where they ask for approximately $25 to aid a journalist to report on a single story. My publication finds this procedure far too risky and potentially upsetting to certain users. What happens when a reader donates money and is unsatisfied with the final piece? What happens when a contributor feels a piece is too brief or did not go into adequate detail? In an attempt to snuff out complaints and problems before they arise, my publication has come up with a different approach to gathering funds. Our site will be free for all web users to access. However, in order to have any input into what stories get reported on, a user must pay a $60 annual membership. After donating this annual fee the user will be free to post on our bulletin board where subscribers will be asked to leave messages for our staff. Subscribed users will be able to leave story leads and other ideas on this bulletin board.
As Josh Korr says, online publications cannot take the endless resources around them for granted. These sites can't just be a basic rehash of what appears in a newspaper or magazine. These web pages need to have videos, interactive options, and most importantly helpful links. Korr addresses the fact that online users rarely want incredibly long, dry pieces overflowing with facts and figures. Deploying reporters overseas or across the country is quite pricey. And, as I said before, my publication does not have a deep wallet. With this in mind, we must note that a subscription to the AP is also expensive, and may be a budgetary concern. One of my ideas is to concentrate mainly on hyperlocal reporting. We will deploy the majority of our reporters to cover local stories. But, we shall not forget the larger picture, and we absolutely will not neglect to report on important national or international news. Our idea is to provide a basic, inexpensive synopsis of major breaking stories that we cannot extensively report on. We will then feature dozens of links at the end of our brief synopsis. The links will send users to other publications or even blogs that cover the information we cannot obtain ourselves. This will save us money, still inform our users, and provide a greater readership to gifted bloggers. It will also definitely appease the young adults mentioned in Jim Kennedy's article. These users want reliable, thorough coverage of stories. They do not want snappy sound-bytes or snippets of useless information. We will provide our users with the extensive coverage they crave. We may not be able to do justice to every story by ourselves, but we will link to other sites that offer the vital information we lack.
Our local reporting will closely mirror the journalism done by Jame Gannon at the Rappahannock Voice online paper. We are aware that our task will be time-consuming, exceedingly demanding and offer very little financial reward. At the same time it is refreshing to be a small online publication for these reasons. We will have no ties to any companies and no loyalties to anyone else but our readers. For these reasons, we will be able to expose touchy stories, in the same way the Voice broke the story about the Inn in Little Washington. On a side note, our dot com name will let readers know we are an online news publication. It will be far more obvious than www.rappvoice.com, which sounds like some kind of hip-hop chatroom.
As Josh Korr says, online publications cannot take the endless resources around them for granted. These sites can't just be a basic rehash of what appears in a newspaper or magazine. These web pages need to have videos, interactive options, and most importantly helpful links. Korr addresses the fact that online users rarely want incredibly long, dry pieces overflowing with facts and figures. Deploying reporters overseas or across the country is quite pricey. And, as I said before, my publication does not have a deep wallet. With this in mind, we must note that a subscription to the AP is also expensive, and may be a budgetary concern. One of my ideas is to concentrate mainly on hyperlocal reporting. We will deploy the majority of our reporters to cover local stories. But, we shall not forget the larger picture, and we absolutely will not neglect to report on important national or international news. Our idea is to provide a basic, inexpensive synopsis of major breaking stories that we cannot extensively report on. We will then feature dozens of links at the end of our brief synopsis. The links will send users to other publications or even blogs that cover the information we cannot obtain ourselves. This will save us money, still inform our users, and provide a greater readership to gifted bloggers. It will also definitely appease the young adults mentioned in Jim Kennedy's article. These users want reliable, thorough coverage of stories. They do not want snappy sound-bytes or snippets of useless information. We will provide our users with the extensive coverage they crave. We may not be able to do justice to every story by ourselves, but we will link to other sites that offer the vital information we lack.
Our local reporting will closely mirror the journalism done by Jame Gannon at the Rappahannock Voice online paper. We are aware that our task will be time-consuming, exceedingly demanding and offer very little financial reward. At the same time it is refreshing to be a small online publication for these reasons. We will have no ties to any companies and no loyalties to anyone else but our readers. For these reasons, we will be able to expose touchy stories, in the same way the Voice broke the story about the Inn in Little Washington. On a side note, our dot com name will let readers know we are an online news publication. It will be far more obvious than www.rappvoice.com, which sounds like some kind of hip-hop chatroom.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Online Publication
My online publication will never take the sheer power of citizen journalism for granted. The assigned readings detailed several problems with this style of journalism, (factual errors, biased reporting, offensive language, etc), but my publication will overcome these annoyances. We will follow the loose guidelines detailed by Jeff Howe, and march into a new era of reporting. The main problem seems to be that citizens do not want to engage in traditional journalism. This, however, is no real problem at all. I will hire traditional journalists to do traditional reporting. I will employ the use of citizen journalists to cover a wide range of more obscure topics. As Howe noted, you simply can't tell a citizen journalist what to report on. They don't want to go out on a plethora of bland assignments. They don't want to translate their work into inverted pyramid style. Basically, these citizen journalists don't want an editor dictating what they can or cannot write about. In order to effectively utilize the manpower of "the crowd," my team will rarely interfere with grass roots reporting.
We will allow these men and women to go out into the field and report on whatever interests them the most. In turn, this practice will spawn an unprecedented amount of news stories oozing with passion. Some of the stories may not qualify as actual news. Some stories might just be plain unprintable. However, every single one of these stories submitted by citizen journalists will have one common element in common: Their authors were wholeheartedly interested in the subject matter. There is no need to force members of the crowd to report on issues they don't care about. Disinterested reporters will produce dry articles bereft of any feeling. Journalists devote more time and effort to a story that means something to them.
This method will also allow citizen journalists to go out and do some hyperlocal reporting. These writers will be members of their communities first and members of our news team second. They will be able to walk back roads and hidden alleys, unearthing gold that no traditional reporter would be able to discover. They will find stories that would have been completely overlooked by professional journalists. This will engage readers and highlight fascinating issues that typically get ignored in the press. It will shine the lime light on small neighborhoods and small problems. This reporting will surely attract members of these communities, and my website will infiltrate quaint communities across the nation.
As mentioned before, my site will feature blogging capabilities. Blogs offer the interactive opportunities readers crave, and allow reporters to directly address their readership. My reporters will be able to tweak their coverage or style of writing based on their particular audience. (Our reporters will get to know the interests and desires of their audience while conversing with them through blogs and online comments). These blogs will spark a mutually beneficial relationship between author and reader. In certain cases bloggers act like proofreaders. They highlighting errors, correct factual mistakes and occasionally point out offensive jargon. In turn, bloggers offer exciting story leads and inform authors what types of issues they want to be addressed.
These blogs will be exceedingly helpful on my site. They will allow my reporters to cover issues a more casual, informal way. This style of writing will be more appealing to readers who tend to shy away from the rigid reporting of the inverted pyramid style. The informal writing will also allow reporters to work more quickly and pen more stories. Authors will not have to worry about shaving down their work to meet strict space constraints or have to spend as much time dwelling over their choice of words. The blogs will also allow my reporters to post stories that did not fit on our actual website.
We really must make our presence widely know throughout the blogosphere if we are going to stay afloat. Popularity amongst bloggers can singlehandedly boost a story into the forefront of online culture. This is exactly what happened to the article about Paris, Texas, which was detailed in the assigned readings. The article got a few thousand hits upon its initial publication, and then completely fell off of the radar during its second week of existence. But, the moment bloggers got a hold of the wonderful piece, it instantly became a must-read story, and generated over 100,000 hits. My reporters will provide links to our best stories via blogs, and try to establish a well known presence amongst avid bloggers. Doing so may save certain well-written pieces from obscurity.
As I noted, our site will pull certain story ideas and leads from blogs. At times, we may even post entire articles from some of our talented bloggers. However, we will at all costs avoid another Steve Jobs heart-attack incident. In order to do this we will employ several rigorous editors and fact checkers to sift through information on our blogs. As the assigned readings warned, bloggers are not classically trained journalists. They, unlike traditional journalists, do not have such an immense obligation to uphold the truth. This is why we plan to hire an extra line of editors to fact-check blogs and the sincerity of story leads. We will strive to make our editing and fact-checking as powerful and productive as it is in most print publications.
My site will also infiltrate social networking sites to generate buzz and public affection. My staff will brainstorm and create an alter ego for our news publication similar to the "Colonel Tribune" mentioned in "Digging into Social Media..." The face of our character will have to be instantly likable and trustworthy in the same vein as the Colonel. However, our approach will have to be slightly different, so our plan doesn't come across as a blatant rip-off of that fake soldier. We will probably document the experiences of a charming intern across several social networking sites. The intern will have to be young, somewhat awkward, enthusiastic and driven. Younger users will instantly relate to an intern becoming the face of our publication. It will be an obvious risk. However, taking this risk will immediately make our site far more appealing to the young, college-aged audience we are trying to attract. We will post his or her information across sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. These sites will feature photographs of the intern in daily situations throughout the office. The shots will show him or her carrying coffee, rushing around like a madman on a caffeine high, dropping papers on the floor, etc. He or she will be a caricature of every intern who ever worked in an office environment. The photographs and information may appear funny or trivial, but will definitely spark interest amongst young people who are trying to start their careers in the same way. While searching the intern's sites and reading his or her hilarious commentary, readers will come to know more about our online publication. Our office will be an open one. Our daily problems and concerns will be posted on the intern's social networking sites. It is our hope that this will make us appear more trustworthy to our readers, and stimulate interest young readers we are trying to attract. If nothing else, it will certainly make our site far more interactive than most traditional online publications.
We will of course allow our staff members to operate their own social networking pages. The assigned readings discussed several problems where members of news teams jeopardized the reputations of their respective news rooms while posting opinionated comments on Facebook, Twitter, etc. These social networking sites were created so online users would have an easy outlet to express his or her personal views. We will not limit our staff's freedom of speech, for fear that their online postings will negatively influence our publication. Instead, we will simply ask all employees to include a disclaimer on their social networking sites. The disclaimer will basically say that all views and opinions addressed on the site in no way reflect the views of our online publication.
My site must also come to terms with the fact that we don't have a colossal budget. We will not always have the money to send a reporter out to a remote site to cover a story unfolding hundreds of miles away. This is another reason why we are relying on citizen journalism. Individuals in these far-off communities can easily sit at home and write about the events unfolding outside their windows. We will save an incredible amount of time and an incredible amount of money on transportation. At times, however, citizen journalism will not come through for us. In these times we must remain open-minded and offer links to other sites that do offer information on a particular story we did not cover. We must not be stubborn, like so many online magazines, that refuse to link to other sites. Our readers will greatly benefit from this practice, and know that if we do not have certain information, we will direct them to a site that does.
We will allow these men and women to go out into the field and report on whatever interests them the most. In turn, this practice will spawn an unprecedented amount of news stories oozing with passion. Some of the stories may not qualify as actual news. Some stories might just be plain unprintable. However, every single one of these stories submitted by citizen journalists will have one common element in common: Their authors were wholeheartedly interested in the subject matter. There is no need to force members of the crowd to report on issues they don't care about. Disinterested reporters will produce dry articles bereft of any feeling. Journalists devote more time and effort to a story that means something to them.
This method will also allow citizen journalists to go out and do some hyperlocal reporting. These writers will be members of their communities first and members of our news team second. They will be able to walk back roads and hidden alleys, unearthing gold that no traditional reporter would be able to discover. They will find stories that would have been completely overlooked by professional journalists. This will engage readers and highlight fascinating issues that typically get ignored in the press. It will shine the lime light on small neighborhoods and small problems. This reporting will surely attract members of these communities, and my website will infiltrate quaint communities across the nation.
As mentioned before, my site will feature blogging capabilities. Blogs offer the interactive opportunities readers crave, and allow reporters to directly address their readership. My reporters will be able to tweak their coverage or style of writing based on their particular audience. (Our reporters will get to know the interests and desires of their audience while conversing with them through blogs and online comments). These blogs will spark a mutually beneficial relationship between author and reader. In certain cases bloggers act like proofreaders. They highlighting errors, correct factual mistakes and occasionally point out offensive jargon. In turn, bloggers offer exciting story leads and inform authors what types of issues they want to be addressed.
These blogs will be exceedingly helpful on my site. They will allow my reporters to cover issues a more casual, informal way. This style of writing will be more appealing to readers who tend to shy away from the rigid reporting of the inverted pyramid style. The informal writing will also allow reporters to work more quickly and pen more stories. Authors will not have to worry about shaving down their work to meet strict space constraints or have to spend as much time dwelling over their choice of words. The blogs will also allow my reporters to post stories that did not fit on our actual website.
We really must make our presence widely know throughout the blogosphere if we are going to stay afloat. Popularity amongst bloggers can singlehandedly boost a story into the forefront of online culture. This is exactly what happened to the article about Paris, Texas, which was detailed in the assigned readings. The article got a few thousand hits upon its initial publication, and then completely fell off of the radar during its second week of existence. But, the moment bloggers got a hold of the wonderful piece, it instantly became a must-read story, and generated over 100,000 hits. My reporters will provide links to our best stories via blogs, and try to establish a well known presence amongst avid bloggers. Doing so may save certain well-written pieces from obscurity.
As I noted, our site will pull certain story ideas and leads from blogs. At times, we may even post entire articles from some of our talented bloggers. However, we will at all costs avoid another Steve Jobs heart-attack incident. In order to do this we will employ several rigorous editors and fact checkers to sift through information on our blogs. As the assigned readings warned, bloggers are not classically trained journalists. They, unlike traditional journalists, do not have such an immense obligation to uphold the truth. This is why we plan to hire an extra line of editors to fact-check blogs and the sincerity of story leads. We will strive to make our editing and fact-checking as powerful and productive as it is in most print publications.
My site will also infiltrate social networking sites to generate buzz and public affection. My staff will brainstorm and create an alter ego for our news publication similar to the "Colonel Tribune" mentioned in "Digging into Social Media..." The face of our character will have to be instantly likable and trustworthy in the same vein as the Colonel. However, our approach will have to be slightly different, so our plan doesn't come across as a blatant rip-off of that fake soldier. We will probably document the experiences of a charming intern across several social networking sites. The intern will have to be young, somewhat awkward, enthusiastic and driven. Younger users will instantly relate to an intern becoming the face of our publication. It will be an obvious risk. However, taking this risk will immediately make our site far more appealing to the young, college-aged audience we are trying to attract. We will post his or her information across sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. These sites will feature photographs of the intern in daily situations throughout the office. The shots will show him or her carrying coffee, rushing around like a madman on a caffeine high, dropping papers on the floor, etc. He or she will be a caricature of every intern who ever worked in an office environment. The photographs and information may appear funny or trivial, but will definitely spark interest amongst young people who are trying to start their careers in the same way. While searching the intern's sites and reading his or her hilarious commentary, readers will come to know more about our online publication. Our office will be an open one. Our daily problems and concerns will be posted on the intern's social networking sites. It is our hope that this will make us appear more trustworthy to our readers, and stimulate interest young readers we are trying to attract. If nothing else, it will certainly make our site far more interactive than most traditional online publications.
We will of course allow our staff members to operate their own social networking pages. The assigned readings discussed several problems where members of news teams jeopardized the reputations of their respective news rooms while posting opinionated comments on Facebook, Twitter, etc. These social networking sites were created so online users would have an easy outlet to express his or her personal views. We will not limit our staff's freedom of speech, for fear that their online postings will negatively influence our publication. Instead, we will simply ask all employees to include a disclaimer on their social networking sites. The disclaimer will basically say that all views and opinions addressed on the site in no way reflect the views of our online publication.
My site must also come to terms with the fact that we don't have a colossal budget. We will not always have the money to send a reporter out to a remote site to cover a story unfolding hundreds of miles away. This is another reason why we are relying on citizen journalism. Individuals in these far-off communities can easily sit at home and write about the events unfolding outside their windows. We will save an incredible amount of time and an incredible amount of money on transportation. At times, however, citizen journalism will not come through for us. In these times we must remain open-minded and offer links to other sites that do offer information on a particular story we did not cover. We must not be stubborn, like so many online magazines, that refuse to link to other sites. Our readers will greatly benefit from this practice, and know that if we do not have certain information, we will direct them to a site that does.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Blogs and News Publications
The assigned readings stress the idea that technology is dulling the sharp minds of the men and women of the 21st century. Obtaining information has never been easier or less time-consuming. We go to websites craving instant satisfaction. We search for our desired slice of news, and leave the rest of the information pie untouched. Tonight's authors mainly blame Google. On this immensely popular site, all a user has to do is type his or her search content and click on the first link that appears. In the golden days before the Internet, before the art of skimming a book was replaced with high speed scrolling, before the Dewey Decimal system caved under the weight of the almighty search engine, the process of finding information was much different. The sheer simplicity of discovering what you want online is one of the main complaints addressed by tonight's articles. Now people can filter out all the information they don't want when doing an assignment or reading an online news article. When paging through a book students are forced to come into contact with additional information. Books and print newspapers greatly assist in educating readers by bombarding them with extra facts, figures and content while skimming for the page they want. As tonight's authors note, this happens far less on the Internet. In a way, Google allows people to obtain information with tunnel vision. People are far less likely to stumble across additional, fascinating information when completing a narrow search on Google.
A way to combat this trend on my news site, may be to try and stage instances of serendipity. In a risky maneuver my site will briefly eliminate the traditional search function user have grown so attached to. Of course, my site will still have a search function. No doubt, users would become exceedingly frustrated while navigating a site without a handy search tool. The difference is, our search tool will not just spew out articles related to the words typed into the search window. Only the first three hits will be related to the user's search. The other hits will be randomly selected from our daily news stories and our archives. This will give some of our readers a chance to make exhilarating discoveries, in the same vein of traditional newspaper readers. At the same time, this function will not anger people who are in a hurry, because the first three hits will actually relate to their desired search. Hopefully this function will stimulate the deep learning tonight's authors feel users are missing out on in the Internet era.
My online publication will also have to be visually appealing. The articles said that most users only spend a few minutes or mere seconds on news sites. One author called this "snacking" and compared the process to his young daughter channel surfing from the couch. As the authors revealed, if users do not like your site, they will have no problem clicking away from it, just as a TV viewer would change a channel. For this reason we need to draw users in immediately. Our site cannot appear clunky or too jammed up with text. Too many users complain of information overload, as so many news sites try to cram in as much news as possible in a tiny window. This is why, as I have mentioned in prior blogs, my news team will adapt a classic newspaper, front page style for the homepage. The look will remind readers of the traditional newspapers they no longer read over breakfast. The design will hardly overwhelm users with an absurd amount of detail.
The articles also mentioned that the majority of documented visits to a website are purely accidental. Users mean to end up at some other site and somehow stumble upon the wrong web page. Our site will be far more popular if we can somehow convince these accidental wanderers to visit for a while. This will also be accomplished by our unique homepage. As I mentioned, our homepage will adopt the look of the front page of a newspaper. The only difference is that this page will feature far more pictures than text. Like the articles said, users only digest small portions of information at a time. They clearly prefer shorter articles to longer ones. So our front page will feature wonderful photographs with the tiny snippets of information that users adore. However, if the user decides to click on the photo or short textual description, they will be taken to the entire article on a different page.
We will also send members of our staff onto the Internet to delve deep into the blogosphere. Blogs generate a major amount of attention to sites. These other sites are not always blogs, but often picture databases, or in our case, a news publication. We will have staff members entering blogging communities and discussing our site, attempting to generate a positive buzz, which will catch on and send bloggers to check out our news site. From there these bloggers will come to our site and have the opportunity to tackle new issues on the blog available on our webpage.
Allowing time for staff members to penetrate the blogging community will be beneficial, whether it generates more users or not. This is because, as the articles said, poignant news stories are often lurking within blogs. Some of these blogs will undoubtedly be filled with rich information that will give my staff of journalists a wealth of ideas. These visits to blogs will surely produce many story leads.
As Persephone Miel addressed, despite the broad circulation of the Internet, some populations are still widely ignored. My site will do its best to engage these users and report on the issues that are important to them. Citizens of Kyrgyzstan showed the world how powerful blogs can be. They were able to rally support against their crooked government by using blogs to expose their dictator's wrongdoings. The blogs arranged meetings, informed readers that their leader was a tyrant, and allowed citizens to unite in a way that was forbidden outside of the blogosphere. Every year my news site will do a massive fundraiser in an attempt to raise money for countries with limited Internet access. We will donate the money to campaigns, like the one Miel is associated with, while striving to spread information to the remote parts of the world. We will also report on foreign countries that are too often neglected by traditional news sites, in favor of national stories.
A way to combat this trend on my news site, may be to try and stage instances of serendipity. In a risky maneuver my site will briefly eliminate the traditional search function user have grown so attached to. Of course, my site will still have a search function. No doubt, users would become exceedingly frustrated while navigating a site without a handy search tool. The difference is, our search tool will not just spew out articles related to the words typed into the search window. Only the first three hits will be related to the user's search. The other hits will be randomly selected from our daily news stories and our archives. This will give some of our readers a chance to make exhilarating discoveries, in the same vein of traditional newspaper readers. At the same time, this function will not anger people who are in a hurry, because the first three hits will actually relate to their desired search. Hopefully this function will stimulate the deep learning tonight's authors feel users are missing out on in the Internet era.
My online publication will also have to be visually appealing. The articles said that most users only spend a few minutes or mere seconds on news sites. One author called this "snacking" and compared the process to his young daughter channel surfing from the couch. As the authors revealed, if users do not like your site, they will have no problem clicking away from it, just as a TV viewer would change a channel. For this reason we need to draw users in immediately. Our site cannot appear clunky or too jammed up with text. Too many users complain of information overload, as so many news sites try to cram in as much news as possible in a tiny window. This is why, as I have mentioned in prior blogs, my news team will adapt a classic newspaper, front page style for the homepage. The look will remind readers of the traditional newspapers they no longer read over breakfast. The design will hardly overwhelm users with an absurd amount of detail.
The articles also mentioned that the majority of documented visits to a website are purely accidental. Users mean to end up at some other site and somehow stumble upon the wrong web page. Our site will be far more popular if we can somehow convince these accidental wanderers to visit for a while. This will also be accomplished by our unique homepage. As I mentioned, our homepage will adopt the look of the front page of a newspaper. The only difference is that this page will feature far more pictures than text. Like the articles said, users only digest small portions of information at a time. They clearly prefer shorter articles to longer ones. So our front page will feature wonderful photographs with the tiny snippets of information that users adore. However, if the user decides to click on the photo or short textual description, they will be taken to the entire article on a different page.
We will also send members of our staff onto the Internet to delve deep into the blogosphere. Blogs generate a major amount of attention to sites. These other sites are not always blogs, but often picture databases, or in our case, a news publication. We will have staff members entering blogging communities and discussing our site, attempting to generate a positive buzz, which will catch on and send bloggers to check out our news site. From there these bloggers will come to our site and have the opportunity to tackle new issues on the blog available on our webpage.
Allowing time for staff members to penetrate the blogging community will be beneficial, whether it generates more users or not. This is because, as the articles said, poignant news stories are often lurking within blogs. Some of these blogs will undoubtedly be filled with rich information that will give my staff of journalists a wealth of ideas. These visits to blogs will surely produce many story leads.
As Persephone Miel addressed, despite the broad circulation of the Internet, some populations are still widely ignored. My site will do its best to engage these users and report on the issues that are important to them. Citizens of Kyrgyzstan showed the world how powerful blogs can be. They were able to rally support against their crooked government by using blogs to expose their dictator's wrongdoings. The blogs arranged meetings, informed readers that their leader was a tyrant, and allowed citizens to unite in a way that was forbidden outside of the blogosphere. Every year my news site will do a massive fundraiser in an attempt to raise money for countries with limited Internet access. We will donate the money to campaigns, like the one Miel is associated with, while striving to spread information to the remote parts of the world. We will also report on foreign countries that are too often neglected by traditional news sites, in favor of national stories.
Monday, February 2, 2009
New Online News Publication
If I were to create an online publication, my first step would be to hire a full batch of young people straight out of college. Some might find this to be a foolish move, considering these young adults would be bereft of solid news room experience, and lack a stockpile of journalistic lessons in the field. In turn, I would argue this lack of experience is actually wonderful thing. My staff would be filled with the type of students present in the assigned articles: Energetic journalists, eager for positive change, who are tired of overcooked news stories reeking of sensationalism, and ready to successfully splice 21st century technology with hard-hitting news.
The articles point fingers at social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace for distracting people from important news content. As David Mindich noted, these sites do little to inform users about anything other than severed relationships or what parties to attend on a Saturday night. Our site will reverse this negative trend. My website will be part news publication part social networking site. This will offer our readership the opportunity to befriend their favorite journalists, write posts regarding their latest articles, offer praise or criticism, present future story ideas, and overall, feel like they are part of a true community. It will also allow users to add their favorite photographs and news stories to their articles. Online journalism has never felt as permanent as print journalism. Stories are too quickly replaced by new articles, and photographs are lost in cyberspace. This will allow readers to save their favorite stories in a way that jells with the 21st century. Instead of clipping an article, or hanging a picture on one's fridge, readers can easily tag their favorite content and add it to their profile. Of course, this site will be easily accessible and compatible on all modern cellphones. We will not be satisfied to only offer this service on one style of phone, but strive to make it available on most cell phone models: (In the readings, one publication was criticized for being content with having limited access on a lone cell phone device). We will also follow in the wise footsteps of certain publications mentioned in the readings, by offering daily news oriented podcasts, which can be played on any Mp3 device.
The site will also possess a home-spun feel. As the articles noted, many people feel turned off by flashy gimmicks and expensive productions. These tactics remind the audience of big news corporations that they distrust. We will purposefully ignore production trends made popular by Fox News and other shows/big papers. It will have the feel of a local paper, where readers feel like they know the staff.
One way readers will get to know the staff is through video blogs. We will tear a page out of Gary Vaynerchuk's book and offer videos, informally aimed at our audience. These video recordings will not be limited to hard-hitting news. Vaynerchuk addressed his favorite wines. Our staff may discuss their favorite sports moments, culinary dishes, movies, political goofs, etc. The important thing here is that these staff members try to develop a relationship with our viewers. Once again, our aim is to emphasize the importance of community. The articles really stressed a reader's desire to feel connected and heard. To establish these relationships our video bloggers will return every email sent by readers, make themselves available in print and video chat rooms throughout the week, and allow comments to be posted below their video footage.
In the articles, readers said they adored the Daily Show for its willingness to expose shady politics. Our site will do the same. We will function first and foremost for the people. We will not solely aim for a high readership or try to appease our advertisers. Primarily, we will serve as media watchdogs, and look out for the well being of our users.
The authors also listed another reason for the popularity behind the Daily Show: honesty. (This goes back to the idea of serving as a media watch dog, and not just running stories that are sexy or become widely popular.) But, isn't it funny that one of the most trustworthy news sources available is primarily a comedy show, which doesn't preach objectivity? That show constantly takes sides and produces exceedingly biased material. Viewers eat it up, because the show never pretends to be what it isn't. Shows on CNN and Fox News are merely presented under the guise of objectivity. Some of the hosts on those networks are more biased and opinionated than Jon Stewart, a man who works for Comedy Central. Our site will always be honest with viewers. We will not limit ourselves to strictly fact-based, bland stories which are completely bereft of passion. We will offer our share of one-sided stories. We will present articles that point fingers or poke fun at world leaders. But we will allow readers to make up their own minds. We will always make it abundantly clear that a particular story contains opinionated statements.
My site will also offer a front page style format. Readers seem to miss the front page. It is truly maddening to have to sort through the hundreds of articles presented on the New York Times web page. This will allow a movement lost in the online world: serendipity. Our readers will be able to stumble upon interesting, bizarre, and heart-breaking they never knew they wanted to read. As the articles said, people are frustratingly focusing on news that fits nicely into their agenda. By adopting a front page format, we will be able to inspire just as many serendipitous moments as are offered in print formats. The front page will be a hodge podge of different. Readers may come to the site only hoping to read news that reaffirms their political affiliations. Instead, they may be confronted with human interest stories and cultural studies above or below their intended readings. This force people to step outside the narrow agendas discussed in the assigned articles. We will also appease the authors of these articles by not limiting ourselves to national US coverage. All too often international news gets buried or omitted. Our front page screen will be an even blend of foreign and domestic culture, national and world events, American football, and soccer.
If possible the site will also feature family oriented news activities. These activities will encourage youngsters to get involved in the news at an early age. Children are no longer witnessing their fathers reading the paper during breakfast, or watching news during dinner This feature will allow today's children to experience news with their family first hand, with a series of news related games, fun quizzes, and youth oriented podcasts and videos. All too often children are ignored in the news. So, my site will have a section that extensively covers news which affects young people in America today. We will be filling a niche that has remained empty for far too long.
The articles point fingers at social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace for distracting people from important news content. As David Mindich noted, these sites do little to inform users about anything other than severed relationships or what parties to attend on a Saturday night. Our site will reverse this negative trend. My website will be part news publication part social networking site. This will offer our readership the opportunity to befriend their favorite journalists, write posts regarding their latest articles, offer praise or criticism, present future story ideas, and overall, feel like they are part of a true community. It will also allow users to add their favorite photographs and news stories to their articles. Online journalism has never felt as permanent as print journalism. Stories are too quickly replaced by new articles, and photographs are lost in cyberspace. This will allow readers to save their favorite stories in a way that jells with the 21st century. Instead of clipping an article, or hanging a picture on one's fridge, readers can easily tag their favorite content and add it to their profile. Of course, this site will be easily accessible and compatible on all modern cellphones. We will not be satisfied to only offer this service on one style of phone, but strive to make it available on most cell phone models: (In the readings, one publication was criticized for being content with having limited access on a lone cell phone device). We will also follow in the wise footsteps of certain publications mentioned in the readings, by offering daily news oriented podcasts, which can be played on any Mp3 device.
The site will also possess a home-spun feel. As the articles noted, many people feel turned off by flashy gimmicks and expensive productions. These tactics remind the audience of big news corporations that they distrust. We will purposefully ignore production trends made popular by Fox News and other shows/big papers. It will have the feel of a local paper, where readers feel like they know the staff.
One way readers will get to know the staff is through video blogs. We will tear a page out of Gary Vaynerchuk's book and offer videos, informally aimed at our audience. These video recordings will not be limited to hard-hitting news. Vaynerchuk addressed his favorite wines. Our staff may discuss their favorite sports moments, culinary dishes, movies, political goofs, etc. The important thing here is that these staff members try to develop a relationship with our viewers. Once again, our aim is to emphasize the importance of community. The articles really stressed a reader's desire to feel connected and heard. To establish these relationships our video bloggers will return every email sent by readers, make themselves available in print and video chat rooms throughout the week, and allow comments to be posted below their video footage.
In the articles, readers said they adored the Daily Show for its willingness to expose shady politics. Our site will do the same. We will function first and foremost for the people. We will not solely aim for a high readership or try to appease our advertisers. Primarily, we will serve as media watchdogs, and look out for the well being of our users.
The authors also listed another reason for the popularity behind the Daily Show: honesty. (This goes back to the idea of serving as a media watch dog, and not just running stories that are sexy or become widely popular.) But, isn't it funny that one of the most trustworthy news sources available is primarily a comedy show, which doesn't preach objectivity? That show constantly takes sides and produces exceedingly biased material. Viewers eat it up, because the show never pretends to be what it isn't. Shows on CNN and Fox News are merely presented under the guise of objectivity. Some of the hosts on those networks are more biased and opinionated than Jon Stewart, a man who works for Comedy Central. Our site will always be honest with viewers. We will not limit ourselves to strictly fact-based, bland stories which are completely bereft of passion. We will offer our share of one-sided stories. We will present articles that point fingers or poke fun at world leaders. But we will allow readers to make up their own minds. We will always make it abundantly clear that a particular story contains opinionated statements.
My site will also offer a front page style format. Readers seem to miss the front page. It is truly maddening to have to sort through the hundreds of articles presented on the New York Times web page. This will allow a movement lost in the online world: serendipity. Our readers will be able to stumble upon interesting, bizarre, and heart-breaking they never knew they wanted to read. As the articles said, people are frustratingly focusing on news that fits nicely into their agenda. By adopting a front page format, we will be able to inspire just as many serendipitous moments as are offered in print formats. The front page will be a hodge podge of different. Readers may come to the site only hoping to read news that reaffirms their political affiliations. Instead, they may be confronted with human interest stories and cultural studies above or below their intended readings. This force people to step outside the narrow agendas discussed in the assigned articles. We will also appease the authors of these articles by not limiting ourselves to national US coverage. All too often international news gets buried or omitted. Our front page screen will be an even blend of foreign and domestic culture, national and world events, American football, and soccer.
If possible the site will also feature family oriented news activities. These activities will encourage youngsters to get involved in the news at an early age. Children are no longer witnessing their fathers reading the paper during breakfast, or watching news during dinner This feature will allow today's children to experience news with their family first hand, with a series of news related games, fun quizzes, and youth oriented podcasts and videos. All too often children are ignored in the news. So, my site will have a section that extensively covers news which affects young people in America today. We will be filling a niche that has remained empty for far too long.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Online News Publication
Internet users are tired of being bombarded with flashy, confusing news sites. The assigned articles indicate that most users loathe excessive scrolling, complicated features, and clustered text. Here are my ideas for an online news publications based on tonight's readings and my own personal experience:
First I'll tackle the scrolling issue. My website would feature easy to see tabs at the top of the page, which would lead readers to different sections of the publication, (sports, entertainment, business, etc). People seem to feel overwhelmed when confronted with a page that requires extensive scrolling. This simple notion of page length is a surprisingly weighty issue. My site will have a well organized home page with a few important, daily headlines and the tabs at the top of the page. No page will be too long, the end of a page will never appear unreachable!
Surprisingly some of the people interviewed within the readings complained about news sites constantly changing and updating their information. Certain stories get dropped and change positions from one moment to the next due to the influx of breaking news. One would think the up to the minute surge of information would be one of the best features of online journalism. Still, some find it confusing and annoying. For these readers, my homepage will remain the same throughout the day. My staff will simply make updates to the stories already presented on the home page. Aside of this, any new stories will be made available to readers on a TODAY'S UPDATES link easily seen at the top of the homepage.
Web savvy readers crave technologically advanced websites. Some users complain about complicated videos that overrun sites and make them an eyesore. But, any site bereft of excellent video footage cannot stand up against other major competitors. My site will feature easy to use and access video footage. (Anyone who cannot run a video will receive the proper assistance on our HELP tab, once again at the top of the home age. The HELP tab will plainly list any plug ins or programs that need to be installed to run the footage.) Aside of this technical information, our videos will be rich with facts, but not too long. Many users complain about the time wasted downloading and watching such clips. To avoid this, every clip will come with a short summary for readers questioning whether or not they want to invest time in viewing the clip. Users also demand some level of entertainment available on a website. For these men and women we will offer a NEWS COMEDY tab and the ENTERTAINMENT tab. The NEWS COMEDY section will feature hilarious, poignant splices of politically charged skits from SNL, The Colbert Report, and the Daily Show. The ENTERTAINMENT tab will give a reader access to local movie times and previews.
The need for an interactive news environment was also stressed in the readings. This will be achieved on my site by offering users several opportunities for blogging. As the articles say, Journalism is becoming more of a conversation. These blogs will allow reporters to directly communicate or "converse" with avid readers.There will also be a forum available to readers, for the purpose of fixing mistakes and checking facts presented in an article. Through my own experience and research I have found that bloggers sometime make the best editors. Certain readers will undoubtedly live in the areas that get covered in our stories. All too often street names, city officials, and building get misspelled by out of town reporters. No one knows the ins and outs of an area better than the local residents. This function will give local users an easy way to correct any mistakes that may have been made in an article about their home town. Obviously, factual errors will be avoided at all costs, but if our site does make one, this option not only saves the site's back, but also lets readers get involved and feel connected to our site.
This blogging will also give opportunities to citizen journalists. During the 7/7 London bombings the Guardian online newspaper received thousands of blogs. The blogs served as detailed, first hand accounts of a situation that reporters did not have access to. My site will encourage this kind of citizen journalism, and provide open blogging opportunities to all readers. Our staff will include an individual in charge of sifting through these grass roots stories. From here this staff member can either produce a story from the disconnected parts, or publish a well-written story from a citizen journalist. To emphasize the site's stance on the importance of interactivity, we will publish one citizen generated news story on our home page each week. As the articles state, "interactivity breeds more involvement." These features will excite readers and encourage them to visit our site far more often than other sites with fewer interactive features.
The ability to customize a website is also seen as important to some users. With a user's consent we will document their history and offer customized home pages based on the articles the reader clicked on in the past. To a certain degree, users will also be able to select their own home page set up and background. Young people hate being buried with one headline after the other. It has been reported that these readers want the website to decide which are the most important stories. Our site will select the stories we consider to be the most important and place them on the default home page. On top of this, readers who opt to have a customized home page, will receive headlines which we deem to be most important or relevant to these users.
First I'll tackle the scrolling issue. My website would feature easy to see tabs at the top of the page, which would lead readers to different sections of the publication, (sports, entertainment, business, etc). People seem to feel overwhelmed when confronted with a page that requires extensive scrolling. This simple notion of page length is a surprisingly weighty issue. My site will have a well organized home page with a few important, daily headlines and the tabs at the top of the page. No page will be too long, the end of a page will never appear unreachable!
Surprisingly some of the people interviewed within the readings complained about news sites constantly changing and updating their information. Certain stories get dropped and change positions from one moment to the next due to the influx of breaking news. One would think the up to the minute surge of information would be one of the best features of online journalism. Still, some find it confusing and annoying. For these readers, my homepage will remain the same throughout the day. My staff will simply make updates to the stories already presented on the home page. Aside of this, any new stories will be made available to readers on a TODAY'S UPDATES link easily seen at the top of the homepage.
Web savvy readers crave technologically advanced websites. Some users complain about complicated videos that overrun sites and make them an eyesore. But, any site bereft of excellent video footage cannot stand up against other major competitors. My site will feature easy to use and access video footage. (Anyone who cannot run a video will receive the proper assistance on our HELP tab, once again at the top of the home age. The HELP tab will plainly list any plug ins or programs that need to be installed to run the footage.) Aside of this technical information, our videos will be rich with facts, but not too long. Many users complain about the time wasted downloading and watching such clips. To avoid this, every clip will come with a short summary for readers questioning whether or not they want to invest time in viewing the clip. Users also demand some level of entertainment available on a website. For these men and women we will offer a NEWS COMEDY tab and the ENTERTAINMENT tab. The NEWS COMEDY section will feature hilarious, poignant splices of politically charged skits from SNL, The Colbert Report, and the Daily Show. The ENTERTAINMENT tab will give a reader access to local movie times and previews.
The need for an interactive news environment was also stressed in the readings. This will be achieved on my site by offering users several opportunities for blogging. As the articles say, Journalism is becoming more of a conversation. These blogs will allow reporters to directly communicate or "converse" with avid readers.There will also be a forum available to readers, for the purpose of fixing mistakes and checking facts presented in an article. Through my own experience and research I have found that bloggers sometime make the best editors. Certain readers will undoubtedly live in the areas that get covered in our stories. All too often street names, city officials, and building get misspelled by out of town reporters. No one knows the ins and outs of an area better than the local residents. This function will give local users an easy way to correct any mistakes that may have been made in an article about their home town. Obviously, factual errors will be avoided at all costs, but if our site does make one, this option not only saves the site's back, but also lets readers get involved and feel connected to our site.
This blogging will also give opportunities to citizen journalists. During the 7/7 London bombings the Guardian online newspaper received thousands of blogs. The blogs served as detailed, first hand accounts of a situation that reporters did not have access to. My site will encourage this kind of citizen journalism, and provide open blogging opportunities to all readers. Our staff will include an individual in charge of sifting through these grass roots stories. From here this staff member can either produce a story from the disconnected parts, or publish a well-written story from a citizen journalist. To emphasize the site's stance on the importance of interactivity, we will publish one citizen generated news story on our home page each week. As the articles state, "interactivity breeds more involvement." These features will excite readers and encourage them to visit our site far more often than other sites with fewer interactive features.
The ability to customize a website is also seen as important to some users. With a user's consent we will document their history and offer customized home pages based on the articles the reader clicked on in the past. To a certain degree, users will also be able to select their own home page set up and background. Young people hate being buried with one headline after the other. It has been reported that these readers want the website to decide which are the most important stories. Our site will select the stories we consider to be the most important and place them on the default home page. On top of this, readers who opt to have a customized home page, will receive headlines which we deem to be most important or relevant to these users.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Copy Editors
The life of a copy editor appears to be a challenging one. They work long shifts often extending past midnight, have little time for their families, get little to no vacation time on holidays, receive lackluster paychecks, and rarely obtain adequate recognition or respect from a newspaper's readership. In spite of these apparent hardships, many copy editors love their line of work. Jeff Baron, copy editor of the Metro section in the Washington Post, offers several reasons why his difficult profession is entirely worthwhile. Editors like Baron work tirelessly for the sake of their readers. They make sure new stories are coherent by condensing obtuse language, fixing spelling mistakes, and inserting missing background information. Their work is hardly straightforward or bereft of creative opportunities, as copy editors are in charge of writing the punchy, gripping headlines that accompany news stories. These editors combat the pain of grueling work hours and skimpy paychecks with the joys of finding hidden errors, drawing readers into a story with a snappy headline, and the feeling that they are respected and valued by reporters.
Copy editors save newspapers from embarrassing factual errors and libel suits. They are often the last person to read an article before it goes into print. Because of this, it becomes absolutely vital that these men and women are skilled at finding factual errors, cutting down on lengthy sentences or confusing jargon, and applying smooth transitions. At some newspapers copy editors have permission to rewrite articles and decide which stories actually make it into printed form.
Interestingly, possessing a college degree in journalism does not appear to be a major factor in obtaining a position as copy editor. Experience in a news room setting seems to outweigh the importance of a bachelor's degree from a well known university. Working on a school newspaper is highly recommended in pursuing this career, as it provides tremendous experience. More so than writing for school papers, internships provide ideal gateways for students to enter into the copy editing environment. Internships often offer excellent positions to students upon graduation. The first-hand knowledge gained at an internship is exceedingly valuable, even if a job opportunity is not presented.
--The article on the "Slot Man" served to show vital copy editors are to their respective newspapers. When news desks were shaped like horseshoes the copy editors sat at the head of the curve in the center of the shoe. This was done so the editors could easily reach reporters and reflect upon their stories. This brief segment reinforces the idea that all stories must go through the hands of a well-trained copy editor before appearing in print.
Copy editors save newspapers from embarrassing factual errors and libel suits. They are often the last person to read an article before it goes into print. Because of this, it becomes absolutely vital that these men and women are skilled at finding factual errors, cutting down on lengthy sentences or confusing jargon, and applying smooth transitions. At some newspapers copy editors have permission to rewrite articles and decide which stories actually make it into printed form.
Interestingly, possessing a college degree in journalism does not appear to be a major factor in obtaining a position as copy editor. Experience in a news room setting seems to outweigh the importance of a bachelor's degree from a well known university. Working on a school newspaper is highly recommended in pursuing this career, as it provides tremendous experience. More so than writing for school papers, internships provide ideal gateways for students to enter into the copy editing environment. Internships often offer excellent positions to students upon graduation. The first-hand knowledge gained at an internship is exceedingly valuable, even if a job opportunity is not presented.
--The article on the "Slot Man" served to show vital copy editors are to their respective newspapers. When news desks were shaped like horseshoes the copy editors sat at the head of the curve in the center of the shoe. This was done so the editors could easily reach reporters and reflect upon their stories. This brief segment reinforces the idea that all stories must go through the hands of a well-trained copy editor before appearing in print.
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