Blog 5

Where is the logic in cutting local news resources first from the newspaper's budget? Not only has it become clear that smaller, more specific niche markets are all the rage in online and print media, but local news is by far the most practical way to maintain a local readership.

Curiously enough, as newspapers cut local coverage, they also eliminated foreign and even out-of-town bureaus in favor of wire news--a valuable resource for papers that also shares some of the blame for turning national and international coverage into a commodity. Most mid-sized city papers have pulled their state capitol correspondents. Elizabeth Becker of the New York Times is part of the rare species of foreign correspondents. She spoke to Norm Lewis' Problems and Ethics in Journalism class on Thursday, and even within her expansive international focus, she said the most effective way to illustrate a broad concept is to focus on one locality that is greatly affected by an international issue.

This theory easily applies to the coverage of local news, and it seems to have just dawned on newspapers that hyperlocal coverage does not have to be relegated to high school sports stories and lost cat ads. It's a way of satisfying the news needs of a specific region or group of people while contributing to the overarching goal of complete coverage.

Bloggers were two steps ahead. They now set the standard for local coverage, and papers like the Seattle Times, the Miami Herald and the Chicago Tribune are figuring out ways to incorporate blogs, social media and citizen journalism into their news reach.

The debate over whether journalism is trade or art, learned or innate, product or service has become moot in the face of financial struggles and an overabundance of outlets. But that doesn't keep those who have given their lives to the industry from casting a leery eye at the carpet store owner who just feels like becoming a journalist one day. Are drive and curiosity more important than knowing about inverted pyramid and nut graphs? Can citizen journalists be trained in five steps? Does spelling matter? Should we simply turn the other cheek when we see a question lead or unnecessary use of exclamation points?

These issues may arise mainly when the news organization is structured in a wiki or semi-wiki--meaning user generated but approved by an editor, such as triblocal.com--format. However, as the Seattle hyperlocal blog community proves, many "citizen" journalists are actually professionals in disguise. Whether they wrote for their college newspaper or they have 30 years experience in the field, many local bloggers have attained the same level of professionalism as any AP Stylebook-beating print copy editor. They see blogs as a viable option not only for creating a cheap and reliable source for neighborhood residents, but also for creating civic engagement on a micro scale, which could lead to important changes and increase government accountability. Some sites spark this engagement with an unconventionally wry tone and an emphasis on opinion, while others aim to be the anti-media by vowing to circumvent the traditional relationship newspapers have with the government in the name of protecting "constitutional freedoms."

On a side not, one of my complaints in a previous blog was that there is an absence of consolidators, or directory sites that aggregate and organize the plethora of useful Web sites out there. KCNN.org has filled that void, at least in regards to hyperlocal news sites. Hopefully more will follow and the great abyss will become more accessible and user friendly.

Case Study Trend Stories

It seems to me that trend stories in mainstream, well-respected newspapers may be on the rise. Based on anecdotal evidence and a few outdated statistics, the bomb-dropping boom in baseless, exaggerated stories could be a result of the economic downturn. Reporters strapped for cash and story ideas are turning to alarmist trends like sexting or quirky quips about guys with cats, in the hopes that subtle phrasing and some seemingly authoritative sources can salvage that "brilliant" story idea they pitched to their editor. Who cares if there's not really a trend here. I've done too much work to give up on it now, right?

A recent survey conducted by the National Alliance of Trendiness reports that 95 percent of journalists have to turn in stories on deadline, meaning this increase in trends could be indirectly correlated to stress and high-intensity work situations. Smoking and high fiber diets could also contribute to the problem.

Blog 4

The apparent theme of this blog and of life in general these days, according to Captain Obvious, is that the Internet in all its vastness is no longer a hobby or a mindless distraction. It has become as much a part of American life as cheap beer and taxes. For some, the virtual appendage attaches easy. But for those who weren't born with WiFi built into their brains and USB plugs on each finger tip, the flood of information can be overwhelming to the point of capitulation.

So for an industry like journalism to not only accept but embrace the second-to-second changes of Internet communication is rather remarkable, given its reputation of being staunchly built on staunchness and a deep respect for not just the history of its craft, but for the tradition it represents. (Try to imagine Ben Bradlee saying "Send it live now, get it right later.") It may be this tradition that's not only keeping newspapers alive, but it's helping them thrive. Something about unfolding those off-white broadsheets, stained with morning coffee, drives 104 million people to read print news every day. But the Newspaper Association of America also points out that news is in transition mode, and many good things are coming out of it. One of the many challenges of online news is to create something that hasn't been done a million times before. Through niche markets, multimedia innovations, need-filling information tools and experiments with different business models (non-profits) and platforms (iPhone Apps), new news--onlinenews--is chipping away at a thick layer of Web redundancy and marrying tradition with innovation.

The result is a better connected, more credible and useful Internet and more up-to-date news than ever before. Gathering, distributing and reading the news is like wading in a collective, global stream of consciousness and sifting through to find what's relevant to the reader and what's useful to the reporter. But the problem still remains: Who has the time to find all these things, much less use them on a regular basis? Perhaps the next step toward perfect usability is an online directory of Web sites, organized by use, region or topic. Something like that might already exist.

Among the societal and technological changes wrought by the Internet explosion, one new use has not become standard, but taking advantage of it can push you above the crowd in the job search: online and multimedia resumes. The job market is unfortunately far from standardized. Every employer wants to feel special with a tailor-made cover letter and a specialized resume these days, and good luck figuring out exactly what employers want.

The debate over best methods to wooing a potential employer has gone on for millennia: One page or two? Graphics or streamlined? Narrative or to-the-point? Professional or laid-back? Some people are scrapping it all and taking their "personal portrait" to a whole new level. Interactive Web resumes are colorful, informative and loaded with character and charisma, as opposed to the Times New Roman fact sheet of olde. People are taking to heart the idea of not just showcasing accomplishments, but making a memorable mark that will burn a personalized brand onto the minds of recruiters.

Also, online resumes allow for one-click tours of your entire online presence, which could give an employer an even better picture of your networking abilities, work style and hobbies or interests. Applicants can link to their blogs (a great way to demonstrate writing abilities), Facebook (as long as you're careful about questionable content) and LinkedIn, a site that is quickly becoming the first stop for employers.

As the barriers between real life and virtual life slowly melt away, the Internet

is proving to be an essential tool in the working world, especially for journalists.

Blog 3

There are only so many ways to say the same thing. Eat through a box of candy hearts and you'll find that love, the most expressed emotion, has a terminal list of articulations. That's the nature of language, especially common, everyday English, which is a only laymen's sample of the hundreds of thousands of words to choose from. Language exists to communicate. "Communication" comes from the Latin word communis, or "common," according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. Journalism also exists to communicate news and ideas to "common" people.

But what happens when journalists choose some of the more obscure words, uncommon to most readers? Some say communication gets interrupted by the hubris of a linguistically erudite writer when he or she either fails to or refuses to "dumb down" a term. Others say it is yet another part of the public service aspect of journalism, one that educates as well as informs. But, since most people don't keep a pocket dictionary handy except when traveling in a foreign country, most likely a confounded reader will simply skip over the word and risk losing the full meaning of the message. That is unless he or she is reading the New York Times online. The ability to highlight any word in an article to get its definition presents the new risk of catching nervous click syndrome, but offers readers the chance to expand their vocabulary to include words such as "interlocutor" and "apotheosis."

Perhaps the difference is in the publication. Readers expect a certain level of vocabulary from an internationally respected newspaper such as the New York Times. But, as one commentator pointed out, USA Today is generally thought of as a more mainstream paper, and its language follows as such. Like most issues in journalism, it all depends on the audience, so the occasional (aka not a paragraph full) SAT vocabulary word has a place somewhere. Plus, if a less-known can further specify a thought or an image, why not use it? Clarity doesn't just refer to making things easy to understand.

Just as many words can say the same thing, many people have been saying the same thing about the future of journalism and its current "predicament."

Leonard Downie Jr.'s Report on "The Reconstruction of American Journalism" reiterates many of the same points that have defined the swirl of worry surrounding the journalism industry. As someone who has been in newspapers since the '60s, Downie was part of the industry in its prime and he helped define the press as a trusted establishment in its golden years in the '70s. His tone denotes a mix of pride, authority, confusion and idealism.

It's the latter that might cause some to question his analysis of the current media and his suggestions for reform. His concept of online media is too closely related to the conventional functionalities of a newspaper, writes Martin C. Langeveld, observing that simply the networked nature of the Web distinguishes the two forms. He also gives a more concrete example of how young people and students can begin to make changes in the industry in a journalist's version of Teach for America in which college graduates could get a one year fellowship at a news organization.

Journalism students and professors, writes Alan Rusbridger of the U.K.'s The Guardian, should be the main sources of innovation and should focus less on preparing for "jobs that won't exist," which presumably refers to newspapers or traditional broadcasting.

Along the same lines, Jan Schaffer says the fundamentals of the news process that defined shoe-leather journalism for the greater part of the 20th century could be so outdated that they're partially to blame for the current crisis. He emphasizes the importance of audience. Commentors on on Schaffer's article suggested the wagging finger should be turned around and that maybe "who or what was to blame for the crisis in journalism" is..."journalists." Reader involvement is crucial, yet overlooked, Schaffer writes. But if the only authority of a reader lay only in the fact that he is a reader, is that enough to base an industry on? I use a computer, and although I have no clue of the inner workings of this mysterious machine, would I have the right to tell Dell how its engineers should wire and construct its products?

The main concern of Downie's report is about "independent reporting," which many say is vital for local (and hyper-local) coverage. Among the increasing partisanship of the press, reverting back to the old days when papers were controlled by political parties, writes Paul Starr, the local bureau fades and hopes for a free, unbiased non-profit financial model are dashed.

Financing is really at the heart of the issue because so much information allows for exploitation of articles to such a degree that the idea of controlling the flow sounds almost dictatorial. But as more and more channels open up with new Web sites almost every day, not to mention the exponentially expanding network of social media outlets, something has to change about how information is shared and sold. (By the way, I have never even heard of 90 percent of the sites webbed into Fred Cavazza's image.) It's hard to imagine that "common sense" journalists should be expected to keep up with this roiling mountain of technological development. If there's a place for social media aides in the news room, great. If not, let's just stick to what we know and report the news like journalists have been doing since Ben Franklin's time. I wonder what he'd say if he was asked to tweet for twenty minutes.

Ride-Along

I'm interested in doing my ride-along with Patch.com, a news Web site focused on communities in coastal New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. From it's base in New York City, Patch.com has satellites in 32 communities, and it is quickly growing. Five more areas will soon be added.

It's run by professional journalists, but citizen involvement is encouraged and people can nominate their community to be added to the Patch list.

The Patch home page is rather bland and boring, but each community page looks like a well put together newspaper's Web version, complete with pictures, videos and interactive features. It has the standard sections, from business to restaurant reviews, and even a "lost and found" page. Community members can post events and suggest stories. Each community page is linked to Twitter and RSS feed.

See Patch.com for yourself.

Case Study 3

Skepticism is an essential quality for journalists and editors. Despite the general mistrust of the media by the public, when it comes time to get some lime light, people will make up anything to get in the paper. But with this skepticism must come the recognition that more times than not, truth is stranger than fiction, so just because it sounds a little loco doesn't mean it's out of the realm of possibility. It's an editor's responsibility to make sure a story meets the criterion for validity, and there are some things that can't be overlooked just because a story garners a giggle. Every single story must have two or more credible sources, just as every main player in a story should be identified if possible. No level of entertainment value can overrule that.

Case Study 2

One morning at the end of my eighth grade year, not but six months after Sept. 11, 2001, my homeroom class began the day by murmuring some words about "to the republic...yada, yada, yada..." with nary a hand on the heart. That is, except for that of a substitute teacher who was in charge of our class that day. When we were done, she made us stand up and do it again, this time the right way, saying all the words out loud. "Your generation has not seen a war like generations before you have," she said. We didn't understand how important our freedom was, even after it was attacked within our very borders.

And this war is no different. Most people know of someone who is in Iraq or they've had a neighbor who knows someone who died over there, but for the most part we live our lives in ignorant bliss. However, I don't think that's license to display graphic photos of dead bodies to the whole world. Not just for the fact that it is unprofessional and sensational, but because it's disrespectful to the people who are pictured, whether they're American soldiers or bodies of the enemy. There are better ways to express to readers the tragic loss of life and the intense suffering that is happening in the Middle East. It's easier and more shocking to show a picture, but we're not in the business of easy.