Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Breaking News over Twitter


·         Revisiting the ethics in digital media
In addition to the reading that we were assigned from Patterson, I will be going over some key items from the NPR Ethics Handbook on social media, as well as key points from the University of Wisconsin Center for Journalism Ethics.
·         Citing written work, Photoshopped pictures, or otherwise
This is an area that we all have experience in when we put entries in our blogs. We are encouraged to use different multimedia aspects to support our arguments, but also to engage our readers. How diligent are you when you post pictures on social media that are not yours? How would you feel if your work went "viral" at the hands of somebody else?
·         Verified sources and Twitter’s verification process.
In 2009 Twitter unveiled a verification process in which celebrities could provide Twitter with information that would prove that they are who they claim to be. This is especially important when it comes to the journalists you follow because even professionals can be duped by fake Twitter accounts. I would like to take a look at how important it is for reporters to be verified by Twitter in order for people to believe what they are tweeting.

I have three different subjects that I will be going over as they pertain to chapter nine’s coverage of new media. I will be focusing mainly on the usage of Twitter's role of breaking news as well as how it is being used by respected journalists at major news outlets, local journalists in small-town news outlets, and citizen journalists with no ties to any news outlets. The three subjects I will be covering are as follows:
Trade Deadlines & Transfer Windows
                Sports fans do not only get excited by the actions that their teams give them when they are on the field competing against their rivals. Baseball, basketball, and hockey have trade deadlines which allow teams to get better or worse in the middle of the season, or in some cases they will do nothing at all. The 24-hour news cycle allows for national journalists and team beat writers to tell their followers what they are "hearing" in the days and hours leading up to the deadline. These journalists tend to use coded language, and name the positions within the organization where the information is coming from, rather than putting a name to the person feeding them information. This will transition into the second subject where I will ask:
Who Are Your Sources?
                "A source within the White House…"
                "A high level front office source…"
                "A source familiar with the situation…"
                All of these are sayings that we hear on news, or see in print, on a daily basis. With the recent trouble Brian Williams got himself into, it's important to question the credibility of the person reporting the news as well as the "source" that is giving the reporter the information.
On The Scene at Sandy Hook, Ferguson, and across the globe
                In the past three years we have witnessed several tragedies that have unfolded across all media, but especially on Twitter. I will be showing the coverage from two national news making events covered by a national reporter, a local reporter, and a citizen journalist. Each of these reporters has the same job to do, but I would like to know which reporter covered the event the best. I'd also like to ask if there were any mistakes that the journalists made.
Questions:
                While I have questions to ask throughout the presentation, these are four questions that can be answered as part of our blog entries for the next week.
1.       What, if any, is your “go-to” digital news website? Have they ever been wrong in their online reporting?
2.       Is it ethical to publish a story based strictly on confidential sources?
3.       With regards to Skip Bayless, could you out somebody as an alcoholic? Why, or why not?

4.       When news is breaking as it did in Egypt, Ferguson, and Sandy Hook, who would you choose to follow? Pick one of the three "reporters" on the scene, and explain why you chose them.

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