At the Mormon media symposium last week, I attended the presentation given by Kris Boyle entitled, “Latter-Day Tweets: The Mormon Times’ Use of Twitter as a Reporting Tool”.
Kris analyzed tweets tweeted by the Mormon Times from March 1, 2010-August 31, 2010. His main question in his research was “How does the Mormon Times use Twitter to distribute news and info?” involving the following subquestions:
Q: When do they tweet?
A: 415 total tweets (2.25/day), posted mostly from 8am to 4pm
Q: What do they tweet?
A: 26% tweets on columns
22% tweets on local content
75% tweets promoted MT content
Q: Links
A; 85% had links
70% MT links
15% didn’t have links
Q: Interaction
A: 49 tweets
12% were replies
4% were retweets
8% sought feedback
Kris found that MT’s tweets compared to other papers in daytime postings, actively used hastags, and a lack of interaction. They contrasted in considerably fewer tweets, columns were primary focus, included links more often.
The conclusion that was brought from Boyle’s research is that the Mormon Times is looking for ways to reach a newer, unique audience, promoting more content that interests global readership, and striving to reach out more to its general audience.
I really looked forward to attending this presentation, especially since I'm a huge advocate of Twitter. I found the information interesting, but not really surprising. I think all forms of media and many businesses are involving themselves in social media, but aren't really sure how to best take advantage of it. I believe those involved with social media are still experiencing an experimental phase of how to best interact with their consumers, which was made evident in Kris Boyle's research. I would love to see this same study done with a larger news corporation like the New York Times.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Watchdog Journalism
Watchdog journalism.
The term makes me think of a bulldog behind a chain link fence. With squinty eyes and a wrinkly face, the little beast never lets down his guard--anything coming into his territory sets him off in a symphony of barks.
Journalists are much the same. Anything that comes into our "territory" or the territory of society should cause us to raise our voice and inform the public. Journalists are monitors of society and are expected to look out for the best interest of the public.
The watchdog group gave us a handout with a quote I particularly like:
Watchdog journalism is a type of investigative journalism that keeps an eye on politicians and their actions and promises. If journalists especially don't find out what's true and false, who will? By asking the right questions and choosing the right stories, we have the potential to solve many potential and occurring problems (as was seen in the Pentagon Papers).
It is a journalists role to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and in order to do that we need to be free to investigate important issues in our society.
Here is a video from the Associated Press on "how to do watchdog journalism":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxf90TXThY8
The term makes me think of a bulldog behind a chain link fence. With squinty eyes and a wrinkly face, the little beast never lets down his guard--anything coming into his territory sets him off in a symphony of barks.
Journalists are much the same. Anything that comes into our "territory" or the territory of society should cause us to raise our voice and inform the public. Journalists are monitors of society and are expected to look out for the best interest of the public.
The watchdog group gave us a handout with a quote I particularly like:
"The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." -pg. 142 Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black
Watchdog journalism is a type of investigative journalism that keeps an eye on politicians and their actions and promises. If journalists especially don't find out what's true and false, who will? By asking the right questions and choosing the right stories, we have the potential to solve many potential and occurring problems (as was seen in the Pentagon Papers).
It is a journalists role to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and in order to do that we need to be free to investigate important issues in our society.
Here is a video from the Associated Press on "how to do watchdog journalism":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxf90TXThY8
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Independence & Journalism
I’m the kind of person who stands in the awkward silence of the elevator with the old man bustling to work and I wonder what his story is. I’m the kind of person who, when sitting at a stoplight, sees the cute couple in the car to my right and I wonder what their story is. I’m the kind of person that loves digging into life’s stories. I’m a story-listener and a story-teller. Even more than that, I’m a journalist. The hardest distinction between the two roles is separating a story from myself--Learning the importance of independence in conjunction with journalism.
I almost always develop a love for stories I discover, and I tend to want to get involved with them. As a journalist, I need to be more conscious of that. You can still be a journalist and have opinions – you’re readers/viewers need to be aware of what opinion you have. I believe it is a journalistic duty to disclose your beliefs to your audience, especially if the story could be a potential conflict of interest.
As a member of the LDS church, if I was asked to report a story on Mormonism, I think it would be only fair to disclose my affiliation with the church to be fair to my viewers. The same goes for political views. I think it's ok for a journalist to be affiliated with a political party or politician as long as they're honest about it. It's an American right. As discussed in previous blogs, taking an independence in journalism, I believe, coincides with transparency and honesty. Regardless of what is being reported, it is important to remain as objective as possible while maintaining an independence.
Group 7 talked about William Safire, a speechwriter for Nixon who was recruited to the New York Times, who was a conservative. The NYT staff had a hard time accepting him at first because he wasn't a "homegrown" journalist, but after saving a co-workers child at a company event, he came to be accepted. A point that was brought up in class was that as long as he was willing to abide by journalistic standards and he has the talent of being a good writer...why couldn't he be a journalist? I think he was a great example of independence and transparency because he didn't hide who he was and what he stood for. Safire had opinions but he disclosed them and made himself transparent. (click here to read columns by William Safire)
Another question in group 7's presentation was "Can we rightly call opinion journalists, journalists?" Of course they are! They're still writing things that are news and include facts. Fact gathering and verification are required despite opinion output. Facts don't change whether you have an opinion or not.
No matter what a journalist's medium may be, it's important to be a people person, no matter what your background or bias may be. Maintain an independence and still be a "jack of all trades".
I almost always develop a love for stories I discover, and I tend to want to get involved with them. As a journalist, I need to be more conscious of that. You can still be a journalist and have opinions – you’re readers/viewers need to be aware of what opinion you have. I believe it is a journalistic duty to disclose your beliefs to your audience, especially if the story could be a potential conflict of interest.
As a member of the LDS church, if I was asked to report a story on Mormonism, I think it would be only fair to disclose my affiliation with the church to be fair to my viewers. The same goes for political views. I think it's ok for a journalist to be affiliated with a political party or politician as long as they're honest about it. It's an American right. As discussed in previous blogs, taking an independence in journalism, I believe, coincides with transparency and honesty. Regardless of what is being reported, it is important to remain as objective as possible while maintaining an independence.
Group 7 talked about William Safire, a speechwriter for Nixon who was recruited to the New York Times, who was a conservative. The NYT staff had a hard time accepting him at first because he wasn't a "homegrown" journalist, but after saving a co-workers child at a company event, he came to be accepted. A point that was brought up in class was that as long as he was willing to abide by journalistic standards and he has the talent of being a good writer...why couldn't he be a journalist? I think he was a great example of independence and transparency because he didn't hide who he was and what he stood for. Safire had opinions but he disclosed them and made himself transparent. (click here to read columns by William Safire)
Another question in group 7's presentation was "Can we rightly call opinion journalists, journalists?" Of course they are! They're still writing things that are news and include facts. Fact gathering and verification are required despite opinion output. Facts don't change whether you have an opinion or not.
"Having an opinion is not only allowable, not only natural, but it is also valuable to the natural skepticism with which an good reporter approaches a story. But a journalist must be smart enough and honest enough to recognize that opinion must be based on something more substantial than personal beliefs if it is to be of journalistic use. It is not about believing in people...It is a craft based on reporting, learning, understanding and educating. Creating barriers to this process of discovery is, in the end, being disloyal to the public." - Elements of Journalism
I found this interesting article about journalism vs. opinion - http://blog.us.cision.com/2010/11/are-journalists-and-influencers-two-separate-groups/
No matter what a journalist's medium may be, it's important to be a people person, no matter what your background or bias may be. Maintain an independence and still be a "jack of all trades".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)