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New Media

New Media. Facebook , MySpace and Twitter… Oh My!. Facebook.

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New Media

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  1. New Media Facebook, MySpace and Twitter… Oh My!

  2. Facebook • According to an article produced by journalists at the Poynter Institute, “The Internet market research company ComScore announced at the beginning of July that the site had grown to 26.6 million unique visitors in May 2007, an 89 percent jump from the 14 million unique visitors the site was drawing a year earlier.” • Today, Facebook estimates that over 250 million active users or the social-networking tool with 120 million logging in daily. According to Facebook, “more than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college” with the fastest growing demographic being those 35 years old and older.

  3. Facebook • In the past week, Facebook has been mentioned or been the subject of almost 50,000 online news articles (search conducted in Google news) • Facebook and other social networking sites provide a wealth of information. As college students, you may already be part of the Facebook phenomenon. As journalists, you should know how to use Facebook to its full potential.

  4. Journalists in the Facebook world: • Although Facebook still operates with private profiles that only “friends” can see, there are plenty of public groups, forums and fan pages that can provide journalists with story ideas, background information and potential sources. There are literally thousands of “Fan pages” for celebrities, products and businesses. • CU has 16 fan pages for various facilities, Greek houses and clubs. By clicking “Become a Fan,” the “status updates” or news feeds from these pages appear on the users home page, acting as a sort of RSS or news aggregator for the Facebook user.

  5. Journalists in the Facebook world: • Facebook groups number in the millions. Again, the user must actively become a member of each group either by seeking the group out and joining or being invited by an existing member. These groups feature background information on their organization, information on upcoming events, a comment area and forums to hold discussions on specific topics. • Journalists have not discovered all of the possibilities Facebook has to offer. No one has. And because the medium is so new, no one has set standards for what is and what is not appropriate for use by journalists. Those ethical decisions have to be considered by each individual.

  6. MySpace and Journalists • This social networking tool is unique in that all profiles are public unless the user specifies their profile be public. MySpace estimates it has nearly 185 million active users. • Journalists can use Google Advanced Search, typing “myspace.com” in the “search within a site or domain” field and the person or subject they are researching in the “all these words” field

  7. Journalists and Twitter • The newest form of social media allows users to “follow” tweets (150-character status updates). • Journalists can follow the tweets of individuals in the news and search their past tweets • By searching #_____, a journalist can research words and phrases appearing in various people’s tweets. For example, #iran brings up all tweets mentioning Iran

  8. Some questions to consider: • How should journalists interact with sources on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter? • Should journalists friend their sources on MySpace and Facebook? • Should journalists support politicians on social media? • Should journalists join groups with political or social issues as topics? • Should there be limits to status updates and tweets journalists post?

  9. In-class Exercise. Yessssss!

  10. Do we care about Justin King? • No … at least not yet

  11. When journalists become the news • In March 2004, Iraqi insurgents ambushed four American military contractors, dragging their burnt corpses through the streets of Fallujah. • After a failed attempt to avenge the deaths of these Americans, the US military pulled out of Fallujah entirely • In November 2004 (cough, 18 months after Mission Accomplished, cough) the US military and allied forces returned to Fallujah in one of the biggest military campaigns since Vietnam

  12. When journalists become the news • After re-signing their embed contracts, journalists traveled with marine and army units to witness and report first-hand accounts from Fallujah • Kevin Sites, a freelance backpack journalist for NBC, embedded with a marine unit • On November 13, 2004, six days into the fighting, Sites filmed a marine shooting an unarmed, injured Iraqi insurgent • Here it comes...

  13. Sound familiar? • The Tet Offensive was a major military campaign enacted by the North Vietnamese Army (the enemy) • Their goal: to defeat the South Vietnamese Army and allied forces (US) in a defining push to Saigon (Commy bastards) • The eight-month campaign killed over 6,000 allied troops (including over 3,900 Americans); the North Vietnamese lost over 32,000 • After a particularly heinous day of fighting in which many family members of the South Vietnamese military were killed, the national police commander, General Nguyen Ngoc Loan shot and killed an unarmed Viet Cong POW on the streets of Saigon • NBC and AP reporters were present and captured the footage

  14. It should

  15. How does this apply to new media? • The footage from Vietnam broadcast twice on the evening news but was never shown again • While accessible on the Internet, the footage from Iraq never broadcast in its entirety on American television but was shown on a continuous cycle on international broadcast stations • In both cases, the story immediately shifted from the General and marine to the journalist and editors and why they chose to release their footage and images

  16. How does this apply to new media? • Neither reporter was able to provide the proper context for their videos • AP Photographer Eddie Adams expressed regret that General Loan would forever be remembered for his brutality. When Loan died, Adams’ stated, "The guy was a hero. America should be crying. I just hate to see him go this way, without people knowing anything about him." • Sites took a more active role in providing context to his story by posting an Open Letter to the Devil Dogs on his blog • He concluded, “When the Iraqi man in the mosque posed a threat, he was your enemy; when he was subdued, he was your responsibility; when he was killed in front of my eyes and my camera - the story of his death became my responsibility.”

  17. Another case…

  18. Why should we care? • Associated Press Photographer Julie Jacobson is now being picked apart on blogs, newspaper Web sites and discussion forums. Her blog and Twitter account is being scrutinized by thousands of people • Sites faced similar scrutiny when he chose to release his footage • If you have profiles on Facebook or MySpace, accounts on Twitter, Web sites or blogs, be prepared to have the spotlight shown on you if you ever become the news.

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