No More Violence

It seems that everytime I log into my Google Reader I see articles about journalists that have been attacked, are missing, or have been killed. Is journalism really that dangerous of a profession?

What is the reason journalists are at the center of violence?

Do journalists cause trouble and that leads to attacks? I'd say no, yes there was the time of yellow journalism but that isn't what I'm getting at.

In an article on Reporters Without Borders states that in a little over a year 14 journalists have been killed in Pakistan. I then have to wonder if the murders are being commited by rebels or the general public.

To a certain extent going after journalists could be viewed as shooting the messenger. Why shoot the messenger when the messenger is only wanting to get the truth out?

No more violence. It doesn't solve problems or make the world a better place.

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R.I.P Katie Couric

After five years, Katie Couric is going to be leaving her post as CBS' evening news anchor. The reason for her departure is unknown.

CBS is currently in third place when it comes to rating the nightly news stations. Couric helped CBS achieve this position.

Averaging 6.4 million viewers a night, Couric is going to be hard to replace.

CBS believes that their ratings will jump as soon as Couric leaves. They believe a new anchor will entice more consumers to watch, but only from the beginning.

New CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager is going to be the individual responsible for replacing Couric. Many people believe that 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley is going to be the one for the job.

They believe that viewers will fall back into third place shortly after he takes the thrown. First place is currently held by NBC's Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and second place is ABC's World News anchor Diane Sawyer.

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How To Write A Great Blog

Writing a blog can be tricky. Writing a great blog can be even trickier.

The point of writing a blog is to get people to read your posts. If you are writing about boring topics then there is no way anyone will subscribe to your blog.

One important thing to remember is to write about what you know. It doesn't matter if it's a hobby you enjoy or a news story that you have kept up-to-date on. The important thing to remember is to research and report the subject well.

Using a first person voice is always a good plan. It keeps your audience engaged. They will also tend to feel like they are reading something more personal as if the blog is meant for them.

The worst thing you can do as a blogger is lie. Don't act like you know everything about your subject. You don't want to get caught up in a lie and have your readers distrust you.

If you are unsure about something look it up. If you are unable to find the answer admit that you don't know it. Your audience will respect you much more if you admit that you don't know everything then if you lie about it.

Another thing you should try to develop is a voice. Creating your own personal spin on things can make your blogs more unique and distinguishable.

By using these tips in your next blog you are bound to write your way to a large following base.

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More Sites Move to Mobile

Our generation is constantly changing the way we get our information. From newspapers, computers, smartphones, iPods and iPads now we are constantly getting news and information on the go. The demand for information and news on the go is making many sites have to move to more mobile-optimized sites to keep up with the competition.

"The businesses know they need it and see the opportunity," says Jason Spero, director of mobile for Google.

The explosive growth of mobile (1.6 billion mobile phones sold in 2010) shows how important mobile optimization is for Web businesses. But most companies have yet to take the plunge. Google says 79 percent of its largest ad customers don't have a mobile-optimized site.

The New York Times has jumped aboard recently when they announced that they are making digital subscriptions to their website and also a mobile app.

The crush of mobile consumers requires either creating a whole new site entirely or adjusting the content so it can be viewed by smartphones and tablets. This may also require them to ditch Adobe Flash software because Apple products unlike Androids can not view them.

I think it will be interesting to see how many more websites or online newspapers add mobile-optimized sites in the upcoming future. I also think it would be a good idea for media journalists and other jobs including visual creativity to learn how to make mobile-friendly sites especially if they work with graphics and photos because photos tend to get distorted and look funny when viewed on a full-site rather than a smaller version.

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Hopes For Summer

With the school year ending quickly, many students at Simpson College are lining plans up for a summer job.

Whether you are interviewing for jobs currently or getting ready to do so in the future, knowing traits employers look for beforehand helps enable your chances of getting a job.

A useful tip for a person before they even walk into an interview is having the proper attire on. Making sure you appear neat, tidy, and appropriate for the job shows you care about the way you present yourself in the work force.

Another great tip is to be assertive. Even though our days at Simpson are filled with activities that consume time, whether it's homework, class, or practice, finding 5-10 minutes out of the day to do a follow up on an application shows interest and responsibility.

Even the little things a person does in an interview can help his/her chances of getting a job.

Making sure you have good eye contact, a projecting voice, keeping your chin up, and sitting up straight during an interview does matter. Employers like seeing confidence in their workers because it shows great traits in a person such as communication and ability to develop interpersonal relationships with others.

Having a summer job also has positive impact because it helps build your resume for future jobs and internships.

When employers are looking over your past jobs, seeing that you may have experience in a field can help increase chances for a job.

Although it would be nice to lounge around this summer under the hot sun rays, having money under your name is a great way to build towards the future.

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Professionalism is for Everyone

It used to be that everyone could just assume that professionalism was something that could just be assumed, but with journalism professionalism is something that needs to be taught.

Although we have been taught as journalism students what professionalism consists of we still may feel unprepared for the world after school. Something new journalists can do in order to prepare for professionalism in the world is read the book Professionalism is for Everyone. This book provides five important ways to becoming a professional. It reinforces things such as ethics, values, and personal standards of performances.

The five different ways of becoming a professional includes: character, attitude, excellence, competency, and conduct. Each one of these ways has a lists of do's and don't's beginning at each chapter.

There are many clients that have purchased this book already, and they found many positive results already. These clients are from many different types of professional backgrounds. If they say that is has been a reliable source for them, then why wouldn't it work for you? Therefore, don't waste anymore time purchase your own copy of Professionalism is for Everyone.

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Give us the Goodies!

J-schools have a unique way of shoving it down students' throats that digital media is the way to go when it comes to the future of journalism. For most of us poor college students, buying new iPads, Kindles, and smartphones aren't always within our budget.

Here's where J-Schools can come into play.

I believe firmly that journalism programs need to put their money where their mouth is. If they want us to "believe" in digital media, then provide us with the goods. We, as students, want to know how to digitize our news. We just need a little jumpstart.

The statistics how digital use don't lie. In the State of the Media report, 84 percent of the surveyed population said they use a mobile device of some sort. In the same report, the number of tablet use is doubling by the month.

Other schools are using mobile digital media. Southern Cal's program is learning how to report news with an iPad. Abilene Christian down south was one of the first college newspapers to release their app back last April. The Iowa State Daily hopes to launch an Android and an iPad version of their paper towards mid-April.

Let us play with some new toys so we can gain an advantage. Isn't that what college professors are giving students anyway?

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A New Face to Journalism

The queen of outrageous fashion choices and bizarre performances has taken on a new identity: magazine journalist. Singer Lady Gaga announced that she will begin writing as a fashion journalist for V Magazine next month.

"Each issue, Mother Monster will put pen to the page, bringing us an editorial window into her fashion multiverse," the magazine stated.

Those who read her column will get an inside look not only at the unique character of Lady Gaga, but at her unique fashion taste and choices as well.

V Magazine promoted the column through creation of the contest entitled Drawn This Way, a play off of Lady Gaga's most recent album entitled Born This Way.

In this contest, readers and fans are encouraged to create an illustration of Lady Gaga and submit them to the magazine. The winning illustration will be featured as Lady Gaga's headshot when her column is featured in the magazine.

I think this is a good move for the magazine. As a fashion magazine, who better to have as a columnist than one of the most interesting people in the fashion industry? Lady Gaga's large, faithful fan club also known as her "monsters" will surely help her column draw plenty of attention.

Even people who may not be a fan of Lady Gaga's music will be interested in the article because of her fashion statements. Whether they like the statements or not, most people will agree that they are statements that are different and interesting.

For more information on Lady Gaga's newest career, visit this link.

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Israeli Prime Minister Fights Local Media

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a long, rocky relationship with the Israeli media.

On Tuesday, March 29th, Netanyahu filed $300,000 libel suits against an Israeli TV station and a newspaper over reports of his excessive lifestyle.

Although these reports are on incidents that allegedly occured during Netanyahu's time in Parliament and unrelated to his term as prime minister, Netanyahu claims that they were false and reported to ridicule and humiliate him.

"[The reports] were disparaging," says an aide from Netanyahu's camp. "[They were] very hurtful and created a negative portrayal of him, depicting him as a felon."

The libel suit claims that Israel's Channel 10 falsely reported that Netanyahu failed to report financial contributions from foreign donors.

The suit against newspaper Maariv claims the newspaper reported that Netanyahu and his wife paid $17,000 for a meal abroad, as part of a pattern of extravagant behavior. Israel's State Comptroller has stated that these allegations will be investigated.

Other Channel 10 reports accused Netanyahu of allowing wealthy foreign benefactors to pay for private flights, expensive meals and luxury hotel rooms for him and his family. Other news outlets have published similar allegations. The libel suit does not address these allegations.

These reports and similar ones by other local newspapers, have seriously damaged Netanyahu's reputation. Netanyahu has responded with hostility, claiming that Channel 10 and other media outlets have begun a campaign to besmirch his name.

Aluf Benn, editor-at-large for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz Daily, believes this is largely unnecessary. "Netanyahu is portraying himself as a victim of political persecution on the part of the left-wing media," says Benn.

"[But] it's doubtful that Netanyahu will now be perceived as having ... seriously violated the rules of ethics, or that this episode will hang over the rest of his term of office."

Many Israeli journalists have long been frustrated with Netanyahu's suspicion of traditional news outlets. Rarely holding news conferences or granting interviews, Netanyahu has recently embraced YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to bypass local journalists and speak directly to the people.

As Netanyahu joins President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron in YouTube's World View project, answering questions directly through the popular video-sharing website, some journalists believe this is a way of evading questions that Netanyahu views as annoying or biased.

"He doesn't want to deal with uncomfortable questions and he doesn't like to be interrupted," said Nahum Barnea, a political columnist at the Yedoit Ahronot Daily. "There is no dialogue anymore. It's become a monologue, with no back and forth."

Netanyahu has also restricted access to foreign journalists as well. He took only four questions at his annual meeting with foreign correspondents in January and subjected many of the journalists there to invasive strip searches by security guards.

"He's constantly trying to find ways to bypass us," said Danny Zaken, chairman of Israel's press association. "We believe that every public servant should make himself available to journalists and their questions."

Despite these claims, Netanyahu's office maintains that this is not the case.

"We understand the importance of new media in the modern world - it allows the prime minister to speak to the people without filters," said spokesman Mark Regev. "But I don't think it has to come at the expense of the traditional media."

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Top 10 Twitter Users

Who is your favorite celebrity? Or how about musican? Are you following them on Twitter? The answer is most likely yes.

1. The most popular Twitter user at the moment is Lady Gaga, @ladygaga, with 9,127,120 followers.

2. The runner up for first place is teen singing sensation Justin Bieber, @justinbieber, with 8,492,294 followers.

3. Third place is pop star Britney Spears, @britneyspears, with 7,283,609 followers.

4. Fourth place twitter is President Barack Obama, @BarackObama, with 7,215,354 followers.

5. Fifth place is held by reality television star Kim Kardashian, @KimKardashian, with 6,962,871 followers.

6. What about former twitter champ Ashton Kutcher, @aplusk? He now has fallen to sixth place with 6,507,333 followers.

7. Top 40 singer Katy Perry, @katyperry, is in seventh place with 6,469,984 followers.

8. Television host Ellen DeGeneres, @TheEllenShow, with 6,301,221.

9. Country music superstar Taylor Swift, @taylorswift13, is in ninth place with 5,795,999 followers.

10. Tenth place is held none other than Oprah Winfrey, @Oprah, with 5,467,114 followers.

All of these famous people have the blue official Twitter symbol by their names verifying that is is the actual star. A notable mention is Charlie Sheen, @charliesheen, in 34th place with 3,331,387 followers. Remember that he started his Twitter account just a few weeks back. The number of followers that he has now is incredible.

If you want to search your favorite star follow the link to see the Top 100. Remember: that the numbers might be slightly off due to new followers every minute.

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Ethics of Journalism

The ethics of journalism is one of the most well-defined branches of media ethics, primarily because it is frequently taught in schools of journalism.

Historically and currently, this subset of media ethics is widely known to journalists as their professional "code of ethics" or the "canons of journalism."

This famous Code of Ethics includes four obligations for journalists:

- Seek thruth and report it: journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.

- Minimize harm: Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.

- Act independently: journalists should be free of any obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know.

- Be accountable: journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other.

Many journalism scandals can be find through out U.S history. Journalism scandals are high-profile incidents or acts, whether intentional or accidental, that run contrary to the generally accepted ethics and standards of journalism, or otherwise violate the "ideal" mission of journalism: to report news events and issues accurately and fairly.

The case of Jason Blair, former journalist at the New York Times, is an exemple of journalism scandal due to plagiarism. Jason Blair was just 27 when he resigned in shame in 2003.

"I lied and I lied-and then I lied some more," he explained. "I lied about where I had been, I lied about where I had found information. I lied about how I wrote the story."

For more information about law and ethics, you can read those several landmark libel cases that described either the obligations, either the rights of the press: New York Times v. Sullivan; AP v. Walker and Curtis Publishing v. Butts ; Gertz v. Welch.

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Mistakes in Journalism

Everyone makes mistakes. Even journalists.

These mistakes can come in a variety of places: spelling errors, grammar mistakes, false quotes, or even false information.

One huge example of this that comes to mind is when NPR mistakenly reported that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was dead after receiving a shot to the head.

As is talked about in this article, there are many ways in which mistakes such as these can actually be avoided.

1.Be sure of your source. This is essential. If you just choose a random person off the street, your information may be less reliable than say picking multiple people off the street or using a source you know is trustworthy. Also with this, make sure that your source would have access to the information they are claiming is true.

2. Make sure they have evidence. Otherwise, it could all just be speculation or rumor. Having concrete evidence increases the reliability of a source and the information you are receiving.

3. Don't assume. As we were always taught, it makes "an ass out of u and me". Just because something appears a certain way doesn't mean that is always the case, as like what happened with Giffords.

4. Don't hop the bandwagon. Don't simply report something that someone else has reported, even if it is big news, unless you have actual confirmation from trusted and informed sources. Doing this could have prevented the rapid spread of the false news that Giffords had died.

For more tips be sure to check out the article mentioned above or feel free to comment if you have any questions.

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Broadcast Journalism You Say?

I love being in front of a camera. Aside from the fact that it adds the illusion of ten pounds to your already lovely figure...I still love it. I came to a realization that someday I do want to do something in broadcasting journalism.

So, I have some tips for me and for others on how to start a career in the best field ever: broadcast journalism.

Broadcast journalists may work for television news stations or radio stations. Most broadcast journalists will need to have a four year college degree in journalism or a related field.

First things first. Make a demo tape. In addition to your college degree and an awesome resume, a demo tape will help you secure that first job.

Secondly, all the contacts/networking you made throughout your college experience or internships. Broadcast journalism is a competitive field, so the more networking you have, the better.

Next we have research! When you start reporting, it's a great idea to research your topic beforehand so you understand what you're reporting. Researching also helps you develop the right questions to ask in an interview and you end up with a better story.

Story ideas is next on the list. You should become familiar with the community you are involved in and the concerning issues lying within the community. Pitching story ideas will make you a great asset to the news team.

And we all know how much we love pitching stories to Brian..

Develop good interview skills. As a broadcast journalist, you will interview many different types of people, in many different types of situations. You will need good listening skills as well.

Be open to relocation. Broadcast journalists should be willing to move to different cities to further their career aspirations.

There are many more other tips and tid bits, but these are the main focus points. So far, all you future broadcast journalist aspiring to be an Anderson Cooper, here is your goal plan. See you out there in the real world!

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Five Tips for Great News Feature Stories

Back in the 1960's there was a reporter named Tom Wolfe got fed up with "the pale beige tone" of regular news writing. Thus he began writing feature stories to brighten up news writing and add a great new way to tell news stories.

Feature stories became and are still successful among news writers today, but not everyone can write a great feature story. So, here's five tips for producing great news feature stories.

1. Find Real People

News features talk about important topics, but they are still people stories. You'll need to have real people that will help bring your feature story to life.

If you're going to write about teachers then interview plenty and focus on one in particular. Then, let them tell you their stories to help tell yours.

2. Don't Overdo The Story

Feature stories are suppose to be a more colorful story and have a more interesting voice. That doesn't mean put the whole rainbow in your story though if you know what I mean.

It's like trying to play the piano, sing a song, and juggle 3 saws at the same time, that's just too much color. Keep it nice and interesting to read, but make sure it doesn't overwhelm your audience.

3. Use Your Senses

Incorporating nice details into your feature story will help make it interesting to read. A great way to do that is by using the five senses to put in those details.

Describe how things look, feel, touch, sound, and taste to make the reader feel like they are not only reading the story, he or she will believe they are actually part of the story being told.

4. Keeping It Real

Although feature stories require more creative writing in the structure, it is still important to keep the facts right. Sometimes a feature story can turn into a bit of a fiction story, but we need to remember as journalist that our writing is suppose to be nonfiction.

So, keeping it real in your story is critical or else it isn't really a feature story and you might as well start writing a fictional book.

5. Find your voice

Creative journalist can have a harder time with this writing their news stories. Whether it be editors for the newspaper or a college professor grading your news story, they can have rules an opinions to how writing should be done.

Being a successful writer will depend on your ability to satisfy what the boss wants in the paper, pleasing your audience reading the story, and staying true to your personal voice. That can be a hard thing to do, but it's one of your main goals as a journalist.

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The Components of Storytelling

We all have our own opinions and ideas as to how to develop a good story. Some of these ideas may be beneficial, whereas some may be useless and get you nowhere. Therefore, I am going to share with you through the words of Ken Speake, a journalist and storyteller, what the components of storytelling are.

1. Have a great opening. Create an attractive beginning that will appeal to the viewers. You can start with something emotional, unexpected or unusual. It is important that this part grabs their attention immediately, making them want more. Do not be afraid to try something out of the ordinary, be curious and creative.
2. Dive below the surface and stay there. Asking questions allows you to become a better reporter. Therefore, do not be afraid to be too curious and go over and beyond with questions. When you ask questions, make sure you listen to what is actually being said. Listening well allows you to become more intrigued and have good follow-up questions.
3. Be a good team player. Always be thankful for advice or corrections made by others. Although you may think it is incorrect or do not want to take anyone’s advice, at least take their thoughts into consideration. Doing so allows you to become more open and improve the quality of your work.
4. Construct a story arc, and don’t ruin it with a week ending. Make sure that your ending is not repetitive and sharing the same information that was in your opening. Instead, make it new and settling, allowing the reader to absorb all of the information they just read while still in awe. Photo Credit: CreativeCommons.org

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Types of Online Journalism Websites

As internet journalism becomes more popular print journalism becomes less popular every year. Does that mean that print journalism is an endangered species that will one day become extinct? If so what does that mean for today's journalists?

Journalist's are just going to have to adapt to the new medium, and in order to do so journalists need to become familiar with the different types of journalism websites. It is true that web journalism is able to cover a vast variety of things, but what are the different kinds of sites that are available online? These are the five major types of online journalism that journalists need to be familiar with:

1. Newspaper Websites
These are just extensions of papers themselves such as New York Times, and are able to cover a vast majority of subjects.

2. Independent News Websites
These sites, cover hard-news coverage of municipal government, city agencies, law enforcement and schools. They also tend to be found in larger cities, and are a non profit organizations that get their money from donations. They are known for their hardcore investigation, which is done by full time reporters.

3. Hyper-Local News Sites
These focus on small communities. They tend to be independent sites or ran by their local newspapers.

4. Citizen Journalism Sites
These are usually very diverse and is a place where people usually post things such as pictures and videos, and some can be targeted to a specific geographic area. Some of these are edited, why others are not.

5. Blogs
These are places where people deliver opinion and commentary on certain subjects. Bloggers may or may not have the necessary journalism degrees.

In order to be versatile for a journalism job in the future you need to be able to write online journalism. Therefore to be a future journalist you need to know what these different online journalism sites are.

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Media Evolution

This week I saw a video discussing the future of journalism. One comment made in this video by a professor at Columbia University was that no new media has ever truly replaced its predacessor.

I absolutely agree.

A common discussion topic these days is if print news will cease to exist due to the advances of Internet news. Some say yes and some are skeptical.

First there was the newspaper, followed by the radio, followed by television and finally the Internet came to be. Everytime a new media was introduced the fear was the older media would vanish.

We know this isn't necessarily the case. Television didn't make radio obsolete, not widely as used but definately not obsolete.

Instead I think media evolves from others instead of knocking them out. Check a car there is a radio in there and it gets used.

As for newspapers daily editions may not occur forever but I'd say no matter what the Sunday newspaper will always be there for enjoyment.

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Photo Editing Ethics in News

With the increase if photo editing readers are constantly faced with the decision to decide between what is real and what is altered.

The National Press Photographers Association has a code of ethics that states that the principle job of a photo journalist is to provide accurate information that can be used for history later on.

When people turn on the news, read a newspaper or news magazine, they expect the truth and accurate images.

In my opinion photos in journalism and news sources can be edited, but only simply. For a general rule of thumb, photos should only be edited in ways that do not change the content.

In some cases, editing photos may actually make the image more realistic. If an image's exposure is lightened if the picture was darker than real life, or if red-eye removal is used, there is actually a more realistic photo being presented in the end.

Photos should not be changed in an effort of censorship. If a photo is too graphic in some way, then it should not be published in the first place.

Photos should not be edited in journalism because the general audience has a hard time distinguishing between what is real and what is edited. So, it is up to the journalist to keep things accurate.

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How Journalists are Essential to Politics

Last night, President Obama addressed the nation in a speech about the state of affairs in Libya, including the nature and duration of American involvement. Important publications and individuals everywhere reported-- and many interpreted--the event.

Because of the increasing expanse of media available, it is likely that many more people than just those who listened and watched President Obama's address will encounter accounts of the speech somewhere.

Blogs are an increasingly reputable source of information about all sorts of topics. They can offer opinions, facts, and helpful summaries of occurrences in politics that citizens must be aware of in order for the U.S. to maintain a functional democracy.

Additionally, journalists help to disseminate messages of political and national importance throughout all levels of society. Journalism often makes information accessible to readers with very low reading levels. It can also make information accessible to people who may not have the capacity to follow all political discourse.

Journalists like Aaron Blake and Chris Cillizza, writing for the Washington Post blog "The Fix," draw out themes for their readers who missed the speech, and also those who may want to go back to get a better understanding of what was said. The two also give context to the President's speech, giving the reader background on the conflict in Libya and the U.S.'s involvement.

Informative journalism like this often includes data from other sources that has been put into sentences that are easy to read and comprehend; in this instance, it's data about public perception of the conflict in Libya from the PEW research center.

Other news sources preemptively provide information for viewers before the event occurs. These are generally just-the-facts bulletins.

For these reasons and more, journalism is an essential part of cultural understanding of political events and discourse. Read up on events that you've missed, or events where you're left wondering about some important element or theme in the dialogue.

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Keep On Tweeting

As the year winds down, many BNR students at Simpson College are close to successfully completing their first semester of using Twitter.

Having become a huge fan of this website, I have found myself constantly tweeting and making connections outside of the requirements we are assigned to do for class.

As this school year ends, many of us may think about discontinuing our use of Twitter because we feel there is no longer a need for it. We won't be earning a grade for our participation on the website, so why bother?

Twitter can be very beneficial for writers that are receiving news and making connections with people of common interests. It has the ability to drive substantial amounts of business and help promote publicity, deals, and information about companies.

As many of us want to be involved in writing, marketing, advertisement, or public relations someday, being updated on the power Twitter has on our economy is something we should all be aware of.

Being an engaged and active member of Twitter will help you monitor breaking news and current events occurring across the nation. Being culturally literate is a helpful trait to have in the journalism world today.

Twitter can also be helpful when conducting a story because you can find sources, receive excellent feedback from dozens of people, and view opinions of a subject from others around the world.

Many journalists have taken advantage of the pros we can gain out of using Twitter. Whether it's getting advice, gaining fans for your writing, or using Twitter websites made for journalists such as MuckRack, continuing to use Twitter will help enhance a writing career in the future.

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