Tag Archives: Media

Media Convergence

0
Posted by Joe on January 31, 2010 – 6:19 pm
Filed under Communication, Featured, Journalism

The media is changing. It is evolving. Convergence is happening right in front of our very eyes.

What is Media Convergence?

Media Converge is the combination of services into one service. For example, the iPhone is an excellent example of convergence. With the iPhone, you can make a phone call, go online, watch movies, listen to music, get directions and much more. In the past you would need multiple devices to do all of those things.

Convergence: Good or Bad?

Is convergence a good thing or a bad thing? The short answer is that it depends on your perspective and the context you are looking at convergence. Convergence allows us to access a variety of services on one single device. This limits the amount of devices that we have to carry or have. The ability to do multiple tasks on one single device is definitely easier. Depending on your opinion, you may not like this. You may feel that separate devices are better. Since I don’t want to make assumptions, I’m not going to say that majority of the people would prefer a single device with a load of services rather than individual devices for each different service. What are your thoughts on this?

Convergence also brings a bigger issue into the arena in regards to journalism. With access to the internet and in particular Facebook and Twitter on our phones, iPods, Wiis and other devices – we are literally able to communicate whenever and wherever we want. We could now be out to eat and contribute to a conversation about current affairs on Twitter. This added communication allows the public to join in on the conversation. A tool that I think every journalist should use, but use with caution.

Convergence could have a downside in the sense that there is a lot of clutter in regards to particular subject. Things tend to be a little chaotic. Go onto Twitter and search for a topic and you’re bound to find tons of “tweets” on the topic. How do we know which “tweet” is accurate? Accuracy in journalism is crucial. Convergence can also make journalists lazy if we rely too much on these tools.

What’s your thoughts on this?

How has Convergence affected you?

With all of these media changes occurring, how has it affected you personally? Do you like the fact that you can use a single device to do multiple activities? Do you think this good for society and for the media? Let me know your thoughts, I’m curious to hear them. Leave a comment below.

Before I go, I’m going to leave you with a video from CBS’s Sunday Morning show.

NYT: Charging for News

0
Posted by Joe on January 20, 2010 – 12:06 pm
Filed under Journalism

The New York Times acknowledges reports of a “metered-model” on their website for 2011. Under the metered model, the newspaper’s website “will offer users free access to a set number of articles per month and then charge users once they exceed that number.”1

The internet has changed media and news as we know it. Social Media websites like Twitter and Facebook have changed the landscape in regards to personal communication but also to mass media. Mass media must adapt to the changing technologies that are being thrown at us. The web is the place to get ahead. Could this be the break newspapers have been looking for?

Another interesting aspect of the internet and social media is how we get the news. We have so many options to get the news today – newspapers, TV, internet, cell phones, iPods, and the Wii. With all of these options to choose from, we don’t have to be in front of the TV or our computer to get the news. Rumors are that the New York Times may try to strike a deal with Apple to get their content on the Apple Tablet. The Apple Tablet is expected to be released sometime in early 2010 (rumor – sometime in March). Apple is expected to release information on the Apple Tablet on January 27th.

The bigger question here is should news be free? Should media companies charge for news regardless of whether or not they are a TV station, newspaper, or radio station?

Thoughts? Vote in the poll and/or leave a comment!

  1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/20/new-york-times-metered-mo_n_429508.html [↩]

Striking Stories

0
Posted by Joe on January 10, 2010 – 12:23 pm
Filed under Communication, Featured, Journalism, Tips

As a journalism student, where do I find my story ideas? How can you find stories to cover that are interesting and relevant to the general public? It’s easy to get lost in the constant banter of “headline news.” Throughout my day, I watch countless hours of news on both CNN and Fox News. Within an hour they constantly rehash the same stories over and over again like a broken record. They cut away a couple times to the weather and may be some side secondary story. It’s not long before they are back to the same “headline news” that they have been discussing for hours on end. I’m not saying they shouldn’t those cover stories and give them coverage that they deserve – but there is a line from obsessing about it and giving it appropriate coverage.

STORIES THAT SHOULD BE COVERED

I was taught in my introduction to Broadcast Journalism course at Lyndon State College that stories should be both interesting and relevant. The stories, whatever they are have to be of interest to the people who are watching. The internet is changing things not just technologically but because people now have choice to the stories they want to read, see and hear. You no longer have a group of people making decisions on what news stories that will be covered – people now have a choice to see, read and hear the stories they want to know about.

People want to know what is happening politically, economically and their personal security. However, we are only scratching the surface of what is really happening. If an outsider was looking in and watching our media – what impression would they get from our country? Is it an accurate depiction of what is happening in the country? As journalists our job is to uncover these stories and make sure our stories tell the true story. We need to cover stories from both angles so we tell the whole story from both sides. This not only makes the story unbiased but also gives the story depth and targets a broader range of people.

We need to target stories that matter most to the people. We need to stop scratching at the surface – we need to dig deeper and show the people what we really are about.

Group Communication

0
Posted by Joe on December 7, 2009 – 5:36 pm
Filed under Communication, Tips

Group Work

Photo by: Sue Hickton

Group communication is important for many companies and businesses around the world. Companies will often rely on people to come together to work on projects. If people can’t come together and work well in groups then the productivity of the company will suffer.

Effective group communication plays a large role in mass media. As a television network or company, you have to come together to produce a news package that is relevant and interesting to the public. If you’re producing a show, your crew and actors must be able to work together in order to make the show.

Here are some tips to developing good group communication:

» Conflict can be good. For some reason conflict has a negative connotation to it. Some conflict is bad, but conflict can be good. Conflict shows us that we are passionate about an idea, person or belief.

» Respect the person even if you don’t agree with their ideas.

» By taking conflict on, you can iron out any frustrations early then risking it boiling over. Also, it could help people see different points of view.

» Provide Leadership. To make sure that your group remains on task, be sure to either elect a leader or establish a leader. A leader will ensure that the group completes its task on time and organize thoughts.

» Participation. It’s important for everyone to get their views and thoughts expressed in the group. By doing so this allows a wide range of ideas to be brought to the table. This also helps to ensure that everyone is heard and someone doesn’t feel like they weren’t able to participate.

» Establish ground rules. Rules are important to make sure the members of the group stay on task. Rules ensure that people do the same amount of work as everyone else and ensure that people aren’t disruptive and arrive on time. Rules should be made early in the first group meeting to make the group the most productive.

Groups provide us with greater resources, new ideas and thoughts and helps us solve problems that we could never do on our own.

What are your thoughts on this?

Write at your own risk

0
Posted by Joe on November 29, 2009 – 7:56 pm
Filed under Journalism, Opinion, Tips

Word

Photo by: websuccessdiva

Each one of us has the opportunity to reach millions of people with what we post online. With so many online outlets such as chat rooms, message boards, blogs, social networking sites we have to be careful with what we post.

We all get heated about certain things we are passionate about in life. It’s easy when we’re in the moment to go online and post our frustrations. This may not be a good idea because if you damage someone’s reputation they could sue you.

UNDERSTANDING THE RULES

We hold many news agencies and journalists to high standards. We expect the truth and we expect our news to be accurate. New agencies and journalists have to be careful about what they say and do on the air because it could have an impact on how we perceive or view someone. With that being said we can not damage somebodies reputation reputation online, on TV or in a magazine or newspaper.

“To avoid defamation, journalists need to recognize it. Libel is written; slander is spoken. Although local laws define defamation differently, as a general rule, libel is an unprivileged, false statement of fact that is published and that injured a person’s reputation. Reporters and publishers get into trouble when the statement is published as a result of negligence or malice”1

As citizens, we need to be held to the same standard. We have the right to disagree but we can’t make false accusations and damage someone’s reputation.

PREVENTION

By following the basics of journalism, you can limit the risk of having a lawsuit on your hand by posting inappropriate content about individuals.

Tell the truth. One of journalism’s foundations is by telling the truth. Lying not only damages your reputation but it also could land you in a lot of trouble. If you tell the truth then you have nothing to worry about. This includes slanting the truth to make the story more interesting.

Private vs. Public. This is important to know. We hold public figures differently than we do private individuals. Public individuals must prove that you acted maliciously or purposely lied causing them to be brought under false light. A private individual only has to prove that you acted negligently.2

Balance. Every story has two sides. Another foundation of journalism is balance. This causes the story to become unbiased. I wrote a post last week on the risks of journalists posting on blogs and social media. In that post, I discussed one of the keys is to remain balanced in posting online. We all have opinions, but balancing them with other people’s opinions will not only attract more people to your story but it will also be good journalism.

Wait. Stop. Think. So you are really annoyed with someone. They did something unforgivable to you and you’re ready to go off the deep end. Don’t immediately go to your computer and start going on the defensive. Cool down and think about things objectively before posting. Take a couple hours or a day to let the situation calm down. You may also realize that it really wasn’t as big of a deal that it seemed at first.

Proof it. As a journalist, proofing your work is important to catch typographical errors but also to make sure you have things right. In certain instances this may not be plausible like in breaking news.  Furthermore, some journalists are under incredible time restraints which limit them the appropriate time to check their work. However, if you have the time proofread – do it. It doesn’t hurt to also have an extra set of eyes read it as well.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

  1. http://www.j-learning.org/promote_it/page/online_libel_issues/ [↩]
  2. http://www.j-learning.org/promote_it/page/online_libel_issues/ [↩]