Social Media is the World

At the beginning of the semester I attended Brian Stelter's lecture about social media. Back then I was not expecting a New York Times journalist to say social media is the new form of journalism. Now I realize how vital and important it is to journalists everywhere. The government even uses social media to update on current events and to inform and receive information. Stelter said, "government is to represent us, by being on social media they can better represent us in the future." I feel like this relates to journalism too. Journalists represent everyone if you think about it, they represent whomever or whatever they are writing about making them representatives of the world. Just like Stelter said, by being on social media sites, journalists can represent better in the future.

Social media also allows people to give immediate feedback. Think about how fast someone can make tweet, I have no doubt that within seconds someone will read that tweet and can respond within the minute! There is no way that happens with newspapers! This has come to be the reliable way to contact the editor or writer of the story. This is just one of the many pluses about social media and journalism. Tweeting is the new way to take notes, inform the public, find information, and report the news. Social media is the new way of journalism, social media is the world.

http://www.niemanlab.org/tag/social-media/
http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/SocialMediaJournalism.html

Communication and Journalism

      I attended a seminar by Josh Ray who talked about communication in the workplace. His main principle was how to maintain a positive image for your brand and how to communicate that internally and externally. Is this not similar to what journalists have to do? It is a journalists responsibility to maintain and keep the confidence of their readers. Journalists must also make sure they communicate their story in a comprehensive way, in fact that is one of the elements of journalism.  Communication and social media now go hand in hand. For any business to grow, social media teams are a must to spread the word. 

      Josh Ray gave some statistics such as in  2013, 52% of all marketers found a customer via Facebook and 36% via Twitter. Also, 85% of customers expect businesses to be active on social media. Now if the majority of your customers expect you to have a Facebook, it would be very smart to make sure your company has one! Journalists have taken it upon themselves to master the art of social media. There is a certain etiquette to it if you think about it and journalists must obey these so-called "hidden rules" to keep their readers reading. 27% of total U.S. internet time is spent on social networking sites. The way people find and read information is changing from your basic newspaper, to tweets and blogs. I'm not saying journalism is in the past, as a aspiring journalist I sure hope it isn't! But journalism is evolving into something bigger than it was before, and it is a journalists job to make sure they keep with the new and don't live in the past. 

      http://money.howstuffworks.com/business/starting-a-job/10-tips-for-effective-workplace-communication.htm

      http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=101882

Independence in Journalism

"Be close enough to know what is going on, but be far enough away to see things clearly."
Can this statement be any more true? Objectivity is key in journalism, it is up to a journalist to write a bias free story. "Journalists don't tell the news they help make sense of it." Making the news comprehensive and proportional is what some may call this. This is a basic element of journalism and must be performed well. "Do not take the work if there is a conflict of interest." Being involved personally or emotionally in a story is completely unacceptable in my opinion. Emotions will sway and change the way a story is written and will completely contradict journalism's importance.

There are major threats to journalism's independence. A politician's public agenda or a newspaper editor's religion might try to sway a journalists ability to produce and publish stories. Bribery, pressure from outside sources, and even forgetting the public prohibits independence in journalism. It is up to the journalist to have zero tolerance for bribes or anything of that nature. Journalists should come up with their own ideas and be perceptive in the world.


http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%203/volume3_58.htm

http://scrippsmediaethics.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-bribery-in-journalism-says-about.html

Faith and Journalism

Is it right to have an opinion on something? Absolutely! Is it right to have an opinion and use it when you are a journalist? I think absolutely not! There is a time and place to share your opinion, but when it is your job to report an unbiased story to a biased audience, you better make sure you do it! Stories about religion appear in the news weekly, reporters like to associate certain religions with certain topics. When Romney was running for president the fact that he is Mormon appeared in every headline and story, it was like his defining characteristic. This really is not a bad thing but is it necessary? When a reporter reports on a Muslim tradition happening and she or he does not agree with what they are doing they should never say its wrong or input their opinion. Journalists have an expected standard they must do their job by, and it is very important not to cross that line. 

(http://www.cpj.org/2013/02/attacks-on-the-press-journalism-and-religion.php)

(http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/culture/effects-social-networks-religious-belief-practice)

The Power of Media Coverage

What would of happened to the Civil Rights Movement without the media coverage?

The media back then and now sets the public agenda. What that means is the media gets to choose what they cover (well those who pay or are in charge of the media do) and this is what the public sees and responds too. The media is not supposed to tell the public what to think but they do tell the public what to think about. Now this relates to the Civil Rights Movement because (in my opinion) without the media covering it, it might not of taken off like it did. This picture was seen by families everywhere because of the media, and this sparked anger and frustration as to how the police were treating African Americans. The coverage of Martin Luther King Jr's speech gave light to the movement as well, broadcasting to people everywhere one of the most quoted speeches in history. 

This may seem obvious but to me it was surprising, past events and history were all affected and influenced by media coverage. The JFK assassination pushed the media to be the main source of news, and the radio station that scared the country into thinking we had a "war of the worlds" made the radio the go to place for tragic events. Media coverage is one of the most important systems this country has, and history has shown that without it, maybe things like the civil rights movement would not have succeeded. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIF4_WzU1w
http://articles.latimes.com/1987-04-05/news/mn-380_1_civil-rights-movement

Up Front and Close

"You get a front row seat to what most people don't see in journalism."
 -Anonymous

When it comes to journalism, journalists see everything up front and close. You kind of have to be daring, adventurous, and a little crazy! What I have come to understand, when there is something like a natural disaster or intentional disaster, it is a journalists job to get there as soon as possible and get the facts no matter where you are. You always need to be looking for stories and finding news. One of my professors said when he goes out to dinner, he listens to the conversation in the booth over instead of listening to his wife. That is what I call commitment!


"Everyone please remember: it's better to be late and right than early and wrong" -Chris Gayomali

The Boston Marathon bombings was a chaotic time for the country and journalism. We all know the story of the 2 bad men that were falsely accused on the New York Post. These two men obviously had nothing to do with the bombings and ended up suing for "libel, negligent, infliction of emotional distress and privacy invasion."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/06/06/new-york-post-sued-for-libel-over-bag-men-story/

There was also the story of the woman who used fake hospital records to pretend to be a victim with a brain injury... this would of given her the 480,000 she wanted to buy a house. It's a shame people use tragedies like this for personal gain. All over twitter and social media there were fake posts and sites for people to donate money for victims. Although these posts were incredibly wrong, they did notify people of the bombings. 1 of out every 4 Americans got notified about the bombings from social media with 56% of those people being 18-29 young adults. Within 24 hours there were 1.2 million tweets and 1 million posts on Instagram. Social media played a huge role in the covering of this tragedy, whether it was good coverage, that is questionable.


http://nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=102877

Code of Ethics

The definition of ethics is simple, it is about whether something is right or wrong. In class the group that presented said "ethics is a branch of philosophy that covers a whole family of things that have a real importance in everyday life." I really like this statement because it says ethics applies to life daily, which is absolutely true. The decision of whether to steal something or to even cut off someone on the road is all about your ethical views. Also, making moral choices is very opinionated. Someone who grew up in a stable home may think stealing food is unethical while someone who is homeless and struggling to stay alive may think it is necessary. What is the right thing to do? What is good and what is bad?

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95hRCbX4Dn0)

In journalism, ethics is so important. Many find it unethical to harass and bother families of people whose child was a victim in a mass murder or families of convicted felons while journalists thrive off of these interactions. Is it okay to bother somebody who has just suffered a trauma to get a story? That is the question all journalists ask throughout their careers. Also, is it ethical to insert your own thoughts and feelings in a story? As a journalists it is important to never show bias for a specific side because then your story and words become slanted and not credible. I watched this video in class and I could not pass up the opportunity to show how incredibly wrong it is to be biased and rude to people who may not agree with your views. Susan Roesgen became the   poster child for unethical reporting ever since this report aired. "Ethics produces some of the most passionate arguments that take place in Congress, church, family and school."It can pinpoint disagreements but it doesn't always provide people with the answers or help they want. Society of Professional Journalists has a site that provides their code of ethics. ( http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp) The main points I got from it was to just seek the truth and report it. If every journalists did that maybe the audience would trust them more?