March 3, 2009 in Conferences
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The Nevada Sagebrush is covering “J Week” at the University of Nevada-Reno this week with streaming video. Here’s a link to the stream. Archived videos are going up too, I noticed. And here’s a link to the j-school’s “J Week” web site. There, you can read a liveblog of today’s session with Newsosaur Alan Mutter.
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March 3, 2009 in industry news
March 3, 2009 in breaking news
When news breaks, does your newsroom have an efficient coverage strategy in place? I’m in the process of developing one for the Mustang Daily as part of our structural changes that come with switching to WordPress (more on that later).
In our newsroom, it works like this: One person gets wind of breaking news, whoever is available frantically tries to run out on to the scene, scrounging for batteries for an audio recorder. There is no structure, just chaos. The idea is that an efficient plan will result in better content. Of course, the following guidelines will change based on your resources:
Breaking news emergency kit
Keep a supply drawer in your newsroom that contains an extra audio recorder, notepad, pen and a camera/video camera (even if it’s just a point and shoot with video capabilities). If you don’t have enough equipment to keep an extra set lying around, at least keep an emergency stash of batteries. The breaking news kit should contain a list of contact information login info for your Twitter/blog/CMS and other places you will break the news.
Establish pre-designated teams
At the start of every term, look at the editors/reporters’ schedules and layout sets of teams that will be available during certain days/times of the week to cover breaking news. Save it as a Google Spreadsheet so everyone has access and can make changes. Post the list on the wall and with your emergency kit so everyone knows how to find it. Try to ensure each team has a good videographer and a good writer on board.
Chain of command
Designate a breaking news leader to will assemble the teams as things unfold. It could be the news editor or a responsible reporter. This person can also decide who will copy edit, post and update throughout the day, although it would be best to decide those roles beforehand too.
Twitter updates
Make sure to have a pre-established social media person. Or, better yet, make sure your entire staff knows how to properly use Twitter when the time comes to send out mobile/Twitter blasts using hashtags (example: #UCprotest). If needed, change the reporter’s cell phone number to sync with the newspapers Twitter (just for the day) so updates can be posted from the field.
Keep the workflow steady
Make sure reporters and videographers update frequently and edit video as they go. Have a plan in place so editing video doesn’t take all night. For example, have a videographer and video editor in the field so that one can edit while the other shoots.
Do you have a better strategy? I’d love to hear it. Post it in the comments or e-mail cicmintern -at- gmail -dot- com or twitter.com/cicmintern.
March 2, 2009 in Twitter
Image via CrunchBase
Taking a short break from working on the dissertation, here’s one thing I gleaned from the conversation at the Associated Collegiate Press convention in San Diego: social media needs some guidance.
I’m not talking about guidance for the wider social media community. I don’t care who you’re following, or what you tweet or don’t tweet.
I’m talking about social media guidelines for college media organizations. We spent way too much time in S.D. talking about how to use Twitter – as a journalistic tool, marketing tool, and educational space – and it’s clear that the guidance is still being worked out.
The concern for most people was this: “how do we ensure quality on our Twitter account?” Since Twitter is an instant communication medium, it runs counter to traditional journalistic (print, especially) dogma that everything must be run through an editor, a second set of eyes.
It’s part of your brand (@thepittnews on Twitter is representing the Pitt News on that network, for instance), and you don’t want someone destroying your brand with some ill-advised tweets.
Also, I had the idea that individual Twitter accounts should be placed next to the bylines of individual journalists (like @schuster1600 for David Schuster at MSNBC), but the question came up: What if they use the account for personal communications that should not be affiliated with the news org.? That’s a good question.
My initial response is to only allow social media networks affiliated with the news brand to be used by “trusted” users. The immediacy is the key to services like Twitter or CoverItLive or Mogulus. Remove the immediacy, you remove the value, IMHO.
But for college media, that can be a particularly sticky situation. We need some guidelines. Some (ugh, I always dread saying it) policies. I’m looking out for good “professional” journalism policies for social media use, and I’ll keep you updated on those. In the meantime, if you have suggestions for what should be part of a “social media use policy” for college media outlets, drop it in the comments, or e-mail me at scmurley -at- gmail.com.
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March 2, 2009 in industry news, Multimedia views
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In the midst of a good article for student journalists about the perils of “e-reporting,” Mike Heistand of the Student Press Law Center notes the following:
Despite its growing popularity, some veteran journalists scoff at interviews and research conducted entirely by “e-reporting,†arguing — I think somewhat persuasively — that email and other forms of written, electronic communication miss the nuances, depth and spontaneity of an in-person interview. Even telephone interviews allow a reporter to hear changes in the speaker’s tone or voice inflection that e-mail and its close cousins don’t pick up very well. A written, “Of course he did it†is much different from the same statement when said sarcastically or with a chuckle.
The fact that written communication lacks the nuance of an in-person encounter is hardly surprising, news, or unique to computer-mediated communication.
The problems of vocal inflection and nonverbal cues have been known for quite some time (If you’d like an example, just study the arguments people have over the potential use of sarcasm in texts from the Christian Bible).
I cringe when “veteran journalists scoff” about new means of reporting. Sure, there are perils with using e-mail or instant messaging for an interview, and an in-person interview is the sine qua non of interviewing, but in-person interviews aren’t always possible, whether because of time constaints or distance.
I’ve interviewed people by instant messaging, e-mail, phone, face-to-face, and video chat. Nothing beats the ability to see the subject’s expression. But again, that isn’t always possible.
My general rule of thumb: synchronous communication whenever possible (either via telephonic means – skype or phone – or IM), and asynchronous communication when not possible (e-mail). Whatever means I use, I record the conversation, either by chat transcript or by recording the audio or video for future reference. The key thing to me is getting a record, so there’s no question of context or “misquoting.”
Fortunately, modern computer technology allows a bridge to fill the telephonic/written gap – videoconferencing via iChat or Skype. Of course, it takes some time to train some sources to understand these new, promising tools. But it is usually worth the effort.
Perhaps more journalists will begin using these means to conduct face-to-face interviews via Internet means.
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