Online Journalism Guide: Blog Setup Help & Dashboard Tutorial

1. Blog Setup Help and Dashboard Tutorial If no Questions, then review the class blog posts titled “Creating & Updating Your Resume”

2. Follow Me On Twitter! http://twitter.com/#!/klandreville I will Tweet Relevant Links and internships

3. The Attributes of Objective Journalism Dr. Kristen Landreville August 24, 2011

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

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

6. News Values Accuracy, fairness, objectivity, & clarity

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

8. Fairness • A story cannot be accurate without being fair • All sides of the story must be presented in a story • Seek out diverse opinions from like-groups as well. • Example: Some Muslims might not want a mosque built by Ground Zero. • Example of Unfair Story: • http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/29/president-says-hes-worried-muslim-rumors/ • Note headline and url name • See the actual survey report at http://people-press.org/

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

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

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

12. Basics of Online Journalism August 24, 2011

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

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

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

16. Online Journalism Terminology

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

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

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