Media Reporting Finalists Announced

According to an article on Poynter Online, Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications has selected finalists in seven categories in the fourth annual Mirror Awards. The competition received nearly 200 entries.

"Those of us who served as judges were impressed by the depth and variety of entries," says Joel Kaplan, associate dean in the Newhouse School, a member of the Mirror Awards Advisory Committee and a first tier judge. “While traditional journalism outlets like Vanity Fair and The New York Times continue to hold a mirror to their media colleagues, they have been joined by such content providers as 5280 magazine in Denver, Politco.com, Philadelphia Magazine and Financial Times.”

Finalists in the following categories are chosen by a group of journalists and journalism educators:

• Best Single Article—Traditional Media
  
• Best Single Article—Digital Media
  
• Best Profile—Traditional Media
  
• Best Profile—Digital Media
  
• Best Commentary—Traditional Media
  
• Best Commentary—Digital Media
  
• Best In-depth Piece—Traditional Media

The winners will celebrate at a luncheon and ceremony on Thursday, June 10, from 11:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at The Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, New York City, with Katie Couric serving as emcee and Lorraine E. Branham, dean of the Newshouse School, serving as event host.

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Cashing In On Your News

What do you do once you have joined the masses, put down your pen and paper (literally) and have made the decision to go digital? You still have a job to do and bills to pay!

You can earn money online! Due to the rise of online journalism and news, many are actually starting to make money. By publishing independently online, journalists are making extra cash or even a full-time wage.

Here are some tips to getting the money rolling. (This is not intended for established power-seeking news organizations)

1. Advertising networks

Advertising is the largest way new websites are money. The sale and display ads for your site can be handled by ad networks. You just have to decide where you want it to go.

2. Selling your own ads

If you are a little more greedy, and do not want to share revenue, you should consider selling your space directly to advertisers.

3. Sponsorships/Grants

Of all of these options, this one requires the least technical skill. In addition to be a reporter and journalist, you will need to sell yourself. Essentially, you will need to convince organizations and other individuals to give your money.

4. Commissions and/or affiliate links

To make a few extra bucks on your website, affiliate programs would work the best. By providing links to sites and products, your return is usually in the form of more commission.

5. Paid content

If your content and site is unique and valuable enough that readers are willing to pay for it, you will need to come up with ways to collect it. This is the most time consuming and usually generates less revenue than selling advertising on free pages.

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'Ignore User' Option Available

The Colorado Spring Gazette now gives readers the option to block comments from specific users that annoy them. According to Jeff Thomas, Gazette editor, readers have mixed feelings about the new tool.

"People have said, 'I get where this could be a blessed relief,' but it also creates the ability for folks to hide their eyes from information they don't want to see," Thomas said. "And some people have lamented that."

Thomas explains how the option works: "If you have readers A, B and C looking at gazette.com story comments, and user A decides to ignore user B, then when user B posts a remark, user A will not see it--but user C will because user C has not chosen to ignore B."

Just as all new software has its downsides, this new option does too. Going back to the previous example, if user A has blocked B but not C, user A can still see comments that C may have left in response to a post by user B. However, user A will not know what B said. Thomas said that some people will have to be willing to miss out on that information if they want to use this function.

At first glance, this seems like a good option because you will no longer have to read comments from people who annoy you. However, I think it is important to know all sides of the story before forming any opinions of your own. Choosing to not be exposed to a person's comments that don't match your beliefs doesn't allow a reader to stay informed on an issue.

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From Web Site to Website

The Associated Press Stylebook has made a change to accommodate the changes in technology norms. No longer will Web site be the official style. Now, website will be the new recognized version. The AP Stylebook announced this changed on Twitter.

"We...invited readers and users of the AP Stylebook to offer us some suggestions for a new social media guide that we're including in the 2010 Stylebook, and we got a very good response and a large number of people who favored 'website' as one word," said Sally Jacobsen, one of three Stylebook editors and deputy managing editor for projects at the AP.

Many people are happy about the change to website. Though others prefer Web site. This change will be reflected in the 2010 Stylebook available this spring. The AP Stylebook will be adding a new section of the book focusing on new media and social media. They are asking for suggestions.

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AP Stylebook Changes

There's a fun article at Poynter Online which is very timely for us "BNR" students. It talks about recent changes made to the AP Stylebook at the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) conference last Friday afternoon.

When the AP Stylebook announced via Twitter that it was changing the style for "Web site" to "website," some users let out shouts of praise: "Finally!" "Yes!" "Yeeha!"

The reactions aren't surprising given how many people have asked AP to change the style from two words to one word, arguing "Web site" is an antiquated way of writing it.

The 2010 AP Stylebook comes out next month.

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'Web site' Will Officailly Become 'Website'

AP Stylebook announced that in its 2010 edition "Web site" will now be one word "website". This announcement has met approval and rejection. For many up-and-coming journalist, the change is welcomed due to the much more common use of "website" in the English language.

Many editors believe that the change will cause great confusion and disrupt work in the newsroom. This may be true considering that "Web site" is might not be the only thing being changed in the 2010 Stylebook.

According to Poynter Online, AP Stylebook asked its users via Twitter to recommend any words they felt needed to be changed. A lot of users voted for words with capital letters and hyphens to go lowercase and 86 the hyphens.

It's just a sign of the times.

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Discovering New Online Ad Types

Like it or not, journalism obtains a large amount of its funding through advertising dollars. Therefore, with the field constantly changing, it remains important for advertising to keep up with new journalistic mediums. Unfortunately, advertisers have, much like in the newspaper industry, simply utilized online advertising as a new way to offer the same old thing. However, in a recent article for the Online Journalism Review entitled "Moving Beyond Traditional Display Advertising: Its All About ME," Dave Chase describes three new methods being embraced by hyperlocal Web sites that follow the simple ME principle.

First, what is the ME principle? According to Chase, the inability measure their effectiveness renders the current banner type ads useless. Thus, the first letter of the ME principle stands for measurable. Secondly, these ads must be Easy for businesses to offer (the second part of the principle).

In his article, Chase describes three types of innovative online advertising currently working on independent hyperlocal Web sites. Internet coupons top the list, with several new features built in, such as the ability to share with friends or send to a mobile phone. Next, group buy offers, in which a business, such as a restaurant, would offer a discount if a certain amount of people buy in. Lastly, is the idea of a "deal of the day" in which visitors to a Web site can then visit a local business to receive the exclusively online deal. It should be pointed out that Simpson's own Holy Grounds Coffee shop utilizes this technique with daily Twitter specials. Since all three of these advertisements would exclusively exist online, businesses would have no trouble in judging their effectiveness.

I found this article to be very interesting and important for communications students, as many of us may someday find ourselves working for a small hyperlocal Web site or a local newspaper where these advertising tactics could be applied. Having an understanding of the techniques of the business not necessarily taught in class can only give us an edge on the competition. In addition, in this developing field there is limitless opportunity for creative ideas. These new advertising techniques provide excellent examples of how simple ideas can change a professional field.

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Your Tweets: Archived Forever

Today, the Library of Congress announced that it will acquire all public tweets made on the popular social networking site Twitter since March 2006.

The Library of Congress has collected and preserved information from the Internet since the presidential election of 2000, but because of the vastness of the Internet's content, the Library of Congress only collects a limited sampling.

Through this archival process, the Library of Congress will have records of several newsworthy and historically significant events. However, the majority of the tweets archived will simply involve the day-to-day activities of Twitter's 105 million users.

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News is the New Social Experience

Today, Americans can get their news from multiple news vehicles. The Internet and mobile technology have changed the way people consume the news, and have turned the absorption of news into a social experience.


People's relationship with news is constantly changing because of the Internet. Six in ten Americans get news from a combination of online and offline sources everyday.


Research shows that while online, most people used between two and five online news sources and 65% do not have a single favorite website for news. Only 21% say they use only one site for their news and information.


News is becoming personalized, participatory, and portable. According to this article:

• Personalized: 28% of Internet users have customized their home page to include news from sources and topics that particularly interest them
• Participatory: 37% of Internet users have contributed to the creation of news, commented about it, or disseminated it via postings on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.
• Portable: 33% of cell phone users now access news on their cell phones.

What does all of this mean? This multi-media platform environment is becoming a shared social experience. People are posting news stories to their Facebook feeds, swapping links in emails, and highlighting news stories in their Tweets.

The Internet has surpassed newspapers and radio in popularity as a news platform on a typical day. It ranks just behind TV.

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Ethics in social media?

As Facebook, blogging, and Twitter have changed the way that news is delivered, many journalist are pushing to ensure that the same ethical principles are applied across the board for all journalist.

The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) recently joined the efforts. "The guideline talk about truth and fairness, and how it's reflected in social media; how we Tweet or text, and how we use it in newsgathering. It looks at how we can better our transparency with our audience, so that they can see how we cover the news," Stacey Woelfel, chairman of the RTDNA said in regards to social medial guidelines.

These new guidelines will be good, as many orgainizations don't have ethical guidelines for dealing with the digital world.

Andy Schotz, chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Committee, also said that the SPJ would be looking into their Code of Ethics this year to see if changes are needed in light of increased social media usage.

There isn't a need to reinvent the wheel here, journalist have a Code of Ethics. If journalist want to use social media outlets, they should stand by that same code.

Whatever codes are decided on there needs to be consistancy between digital and traditional journalist.

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The Future of iPads and E-books

We've all heard about iPads possibly replacing textbooks, magazines and newspapers, but columnist Matthew Ingram of Gigaom sees a future for children's books.

A company called Atomic Antelope recently created an iPhone application based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. The application gives interactive features to the book's original text and illustrations.

Ingram wonders if this will become standard practice for e-books. Each book will have its own application and readers can choose whether to purchase it; just like books today, except virtual and more interactive.

The current price for the Alice in Wonderland app. is $8.99, similar to what the book's price would be in a normal bookstore. Many of the newly released books for the Kindle, an e-book competitor are $9.99; again, typical pricing for traditional books.

In light of the digitization of media, many newspapers, magazines and book publishers worry about making a profit. The development of apps. could help them maintain their income without losing content.

We should watch for book publishers hiring computer programmers and app. developers. The public likes interactive media, and if companies can make money from it, they will embrace it wholeheartedly.

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Online-Only Publications Win a Pulitzer

That's right. Editorial cartoonist Mark Fiore for SFGate.com and investigative journalist Sheri Fink at ProPublica were both awarded Pulitzer Prizes for their work.

Mashable has called it "history making" because it is the first time any online-only publication has won a Pulitzer, the highest award a writer can receive.

ProPublica, which prides itself in investigative journalism, is an independent organization that teams up with traditional media sources to get its news out there. The organization itself operates solely online.

Mashable describes ProPublica as a non-profit that thinks of itself as a resource to other news companies who may not have the time or resources to do serious investigative reporting.

Fink's winning piece told about “the urgent life-and-death decisions made by one hospital’s exhausted doctors when they were cut off by the flood waters of Hurricane Katrina,” according to a Pulitzer announcement. The entire series is located on ProPublica's site.

Fiore won his Pulitzer for his editorial comics. Here's an example:



You can find more his work on the SFGate archive or on his site.

This is a big step for online-only media. The only question I have is how many more companies will have to team up in order to get the news out there?

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No Tweet Zone

Employers have not been quick to change their policies when it comes to using Twitter or Facebook on the job. In a recent survey conducted by Robert Half Technology, 1400 CIO's of company's with 100 or more employees were asked about their policies for access to social media websites by employees.

According to CNET, of those surveyed, 55% reported no change, with 23% enacting stricter policies for personal use and 15% implementing stricter policies for business use. The challenge is for employers to find the delicate balance as social media can be a valuable business tool, but obviously it can also be a distraction that could affect productivity in the office. There are also concerns that employees might inadvertantly post sensitive proprietary information.

"There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to social-networking policies," said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology, in a statement. "To be effective, guidelines should include input from stakeholders throughout the organization, including IT, legal, human resources, marketing, public relations and front-line employees."

Steven Bennett of Jones Day offers some best practices for corporate policies on social networking in a January 5, 2010 article on the Metropolitan Corporate Counsel website.

Some employers recognize the value of social media as a research and communication tool. It is viewed as a way to reach audiences with marketing messages and capitalize on free advertisement. Some employers use Facebook and MySpace as screening tools in their hiring practices. There are varying opinions on if you should completely block the sites. Some want to limit the use, but that is difficult to police. Employees may find other, less-secure ways to access the sites and that can cause other breaches of confidentiality or could hurt the reputation of the company.

Whatever the policy is for a company, it needs to be defined and incorporated into the employee handbook. It should be clear and not ambiguous in it's scope. My employer has people who have been specifically chosen to blog about the company. There is also a company Twitter account, but access to Twitter is blocked. On the other hand, we do have access to Linked In, which is seen more as a professional networking site. Company's have embraced social networking, but at an arms length.

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Where Did You Read That?

The Pulitzer Prize was given out this week, and a rather unlikely source was in competition for the prestigious prize, albeit, for only a brief moment. The National Enquirer, long renowned for it's coverage of scandalous affairs and over-the-top breaking news articles, entered into the competition the article that covered John Edwards alleged affair with a political campaign worker in 2007. The article was second story the paper had run regarding the scandal, but the story was largely ignored by many outlets. Though many of the facts reported by the Enquirer were easily identifiable, if one were to search hard enough, the story was considered just another one of the magazines supermarket headlines published in an attempt to earn another $3.49 from consumers.

But in 2008, Edwards confessed to the affair, and subsequently confirmed the existence of a child with his mistress. When the story broke, news outlets from CNN to Fox News, and of course, the Enquirer, were covering the details. Why the headlines from the Enquirer didn't read "Hey! We Said It First!" I'm not sure; but the editor thought enough of the story's value to submit the article to Pulitzer for the competition. Several other news sources also gave the Enquirer some credit for getting it right, but others wrote the tabloid off, calling the submission a pipe dream for a checkout tabloid.

We've been discussing credible sources in BNR, and we've all heard the speech at Simpson College: Do Not Use Wikipedia As A Source. Though they didn't name the sources the information regarding Edwards was obtained from, The Enquirer did all their homework. They investigated and reported the facts, and the information in their article was easily confirmed if we would have given it a second glance. They deserved recognition for this important story, one which had important political repercussions, regardless of the source it came from. It seems that we have forgot the humble beginnings of Journalism, which started off with sensationalist stories that ran in the penny press. The public loves a scandal, and the early news papers gave it to them. This tradition, however small, has continued with stories published in the Enquirer and other such tabloids.

Barry Levine, the executive editor of the Enquirer, stated recently to Gawker.com that if the story had first been published in the NY Times or the Post that there would have been no question about a legitimate nomination for a Pulitzer. This may be true, but with that observation, I believe he points out a very important fact: the Enquirer has shot itself in the foot (or, excuse me, footnote) for some of the stories they've published, and much like the boy who cries wolf, it's hard to take another one of their headlines seriously. Here are a few examples of their current headlines on their Web site and running in the magazine's current issue

"Bam Nukes Palin!" <--"Bam" being a reference for President Obama. "Sex Crazed Taylor Swift"
Seagal Sex Slave Charges

Another thing that discredits the Enquirer from being a source people turn to for credible news is the fact that right on their website, they have the "Got News?" button, soliciting anyone with any wild tale to come forward for "big bucks".
It's for reasons like this that the majority of mainstream media has acknowledged that the Enquirer took a big step toward good journalism with it's coverage, but it's still got a long way to go.

Scientific philosopher, Robert Anton Wilson, was once quoted as saying "“Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.” Indeed, many of the stories that grace the pages of the National Enquirer sound crazy, but every once in a while, the reality of the story makes the craziness appear sane.

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New Advertising on Twitter

Twitter declared Tuesday that it will be introducing advertising by allowing companies to pay to have their messages show up first in searchers on Twitter.com.

"Promoted Tweets" debut comes as Twitter increasingly faces questions about how it can turn its wide usage into profits.

The new ads will apparently won't bring in much money during the experimental phase. Virgin America one of the advertisers is one of few who are invited to test the new concept. The best part is they won't be paying for the demo.

The airline's vice-president told Michael Liedtke of Business Week that they expect to change to a paid model in the future.

Twitter hasn't commented on the decision but other than Virgin America, Twitter identified Best Buy Co., Sony pictures and Starbucks Corp. among others using Promoted Tweets.

The site has 69 million people worldwide used Twitter last month. They site has been valued at $1 billion.

The tweets are to be "called out" as ads on top search results on Twitter. Twitter users will see the new ads when they search broadly for topics being tweeted about.

However, a large number of users don't use these search options on Twitter. Many programmers have written mobile and desktop software that can access the feeds of Twitter messages that users get from people they aer following on the site.

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Screw Fox, Conan Goes to TBS

Conan O'Brein surprises us again. After months of speculation that he would go to Fox after giving his last episode of the Tonight Show on NBC, O'Brein has shocked us all and will be launching his new late night show on TBS.

"The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November!" O'Brien said on his Twitter feed. "The bad news: I'll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show."

Thought the exact date has not been set for the premier, it will begin airing in November.

"In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable," O'Brein said.

One odd thing about he show is that it will be airing four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, instead of five.

His new show will be at 11 at night and push George Lopez's Lopez Tonight back an hour.

"I can't think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in," Lopez said. "It's the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy."

If O'Brein signed on with Fox, it was suspected that he would overtake his rival, Jay Leno, whose show is on NBC and cause O'Brein to bid farewell in the first place. Now that he is going to TBS, no one is quite sure what is to come of O'Brein or Leno.

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Master of Branding

As journalism students, we’ve heard a lot of the term “branding” in class, in our books, and in our research. There is one person who has recently used the media to become a one-woman national media empire.

After the 2008 elections, she chose not to return to Alaska to finish out her term as governor. While many would assume this would hurt her aspirations, it has actually helped. She has used the media to her advantage and is now her own business.

She recently debuted as the host of “Real American Stories” on Fox News four times a year, promising that it would “reaffirm our pioneering spirit and unmatched generosity, here and around the world.” She was paid a $1.25 million retainer for her book, “Going Rogue,” which has sold 2.2 million copies. Another book is tentatively scheduled for this fall. She also has an eight-part series on TLC called “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” coming soon.

Is she really that popular? Her Facebook page has 1.5 million fans. When she did her first paid appearance as a commentator on “The O’Reilly Factor,” it had an extra one million viewers. Oprah Winfrey’s show achieved the biggest ratings in two years when she appeared.

So what has she done? She has stayed true to her version of America. It is full of plain folks spending a lot of time overcoming a great deal, including a government that she argues often intends to do more harm than good. She’s about “everyday people and the values American’s hold so dear,” she stated on Facebook.

Whatever she is doing, whether the media is supportive or not, she is definitely branding herself into the career and persona she wants to be.

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No More Alcohol Advertising

Alcohol advertising will be banned in Virginia’s college newspapers. By not promoting alcohol in student newspapers the Virginia's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board hopes to reduce under- age drinking. Controversy has been sparked over the ban, and whether it is unconstitutional for commercial freedom of speech. University of Virginia and Virginia Tech’s student newspapers deemed the ban unconstitutional. The papers said students’ images of drinking and alcohol in the media are readily accessible; therefore the ban is ineffective. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that this ban does not violate First Amendment rights. No longer can a print or online advertisement say, "'happy hour' or similar terms." Liquor, beer, and wine, "unless in reference to a dining establishment," even then prices and brands can not be mentioned specifically.

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Making Better Journalists

In a world where social media sites are taking over traditional forms of communication, journalists have no use but to use them to their advantage.

According to Mashable's Brenna Ehrlic, there are seven major ways journalists are using Facebook and Twitter to enhance their stories or careers.

Journalists can use Twitter to find out potential stories from independent sources before other corporations would discover them. Besides finding these leads, journalists can also use Twitter to follow trends by noticing popular hashtags.

Another way social media sites are beneficial to journalists is the number of sources it provides. Facebook can connect someone to over 400 million people across the world. Twitter also makes sources more accessible.

A fourth way journalists are using social media to enhance their stories is through crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing allows the public to contribute to stories via quotes, different perspectives, and through photos and video.

Twitter and Facebook have also been helpful in producing journalists. Through Twitter, people who may never have had the chance to voice their opinions, now have a platform that is specifically for it.

A sixth way journalists use Facebook and Twitter to enhance their work is by sharing it. Journalists are able to get feedback by posting their content on social networks and allowing readers to leave comments and suggestions.

Perhaps one of the most effective ways journalists can use social media sites to enhance their careers is by promoting themselves. Through Twitter, aspiring journalists can create their personal brand, connect to their community and promote their work to any audience.

A last reason Ehrlic believes social networks are beneficial to journalists is because it allows journalists to truly embrace the possibilities and use them to move forward in their work. By adapting to the newest technology and fads, journalists are able to appeal to wider audiences, which in turn enhances the overall experience of journalism.

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Should Viewers Be Fact-Checkers?

In the Washington Monthly, an article by Steve Benen deals with TV fact-checking.

"One of the Sunday shows invites a high-profile guest to discuss current events. The guest responds to pointed questions, and makes a variety of claims and arguments. Some of those claims and arguments will be accurate, and some won't. For the news consumer watching at home, the information gleaned from the interview is only useful if he/she knows whether the guest's comments are factual."

"With that in mind, the Sunday shows have a couple of choices. First, hosts can become knowledgeable about the subject matter and fact-check the guests' claims during the program. Second, the shows can partner with independent fact-checkers like This Week has done with PolitiFact. Or third, some combination of the two."

When these concepts were introduced to David Gregory, host of NBC's Meet the Press, he responded that it was an "interesting idea," but not one the NBC show will be emulating. "People can fact-check Meet the Press every week on their own terms."

Benen poses this: "'Gregory's comments suggest a more traditional approach: let viewers figure things out on their own terms. Why separate fact from fiction for news consumers when they can do that on their own?'"

I have always trusted in the media to tell the truth, but on these talks shows how is that possible if the guest doesn't answer questions truthfully?

I certainly don't have the time or interest in becoming a fact-checker.

Should independent fact-checkers be hired to do the work?

Should programs check facts during their broadcasts, or is that even possible?

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