Smartphones are Smart for Journalists

Do the smart thing-buy a smartphone.

In the modern age of technology and news gathering, it is essential for a journalist to own a smartphone to keep pace with the 24-hour news cycle. Rather than regarding the smartphone as a tool for teens to update their facebook or twitter accounts 50 times a day, embrace the technology that can be one of your best friends in the field.

Obviously, any aspiring journalist should be aware that their future profession requires a lot of traveling to destinations. During these travel times, every minute counts now. Long gone are the days where a journalist would sit and wonder what is happening with a story they are working on while they await a source to return a message that was left three hours earlier.

Smartphones, such as the iPhone, allows journalists the tools to constantly stay on the internet and find the research or information they are looking for. These phones also lessen the burden of having to carry so many devices.

A few blog posts back, I referred to what a backpack journalist is and what they need to fully cover a story. While all that equipment will help capture a story, constantly carrying around all of those items can become a burden when in the field without a news team helping out.

The Handy, Dandy iPhone

This is where the iPhone comes in handy. It acts as a cell phone, tape recorder, laptop computer, camera and video recorder all in one device.

In recent days researching for projects, which take up most of my day as a senior communication student, I came across a story that put the handiness of the all-in-one capabilities of the iPhone into context.

Back in October 2010, WTOP-FM in Washington, D.C. featured a journalist doing something that had not been accounted for in many other places. Neil Augenstein used solely his iPhone to report, edit and file his story straight from the field.
While Augenstein may be one of the first journalists to accomplish this, he potentially could represent a trend in new ways of reporting and embracing technology.

This is a sign that it is important for journalists to not only run out and buy a smart phone, but also learns how to correctly use all of their functions.

Companies today will certainly look to their journalists to be tech savvy with smart phones. Lacking those fundamental skills could be a barrier to landing the job you want out of college.

Other Helpful Tools of the iPhone

1. SpotCrime
Finds out what crimes have occurred in a desired location. This enables journalists to locate heavy crime areas for news like they never have been able to before. Local media outlets tend to be considered a sort of gatekeeper for this information, but now journalists have access to it as long as they have an iPhone.

2. Kindle
This allows journalists to have the ability to research long text on the go without having to carry around several books or documents. Journalists can expand to their stories in real time.

3. Howcast
This application allows journalists to make quick videos pertaining to a story for consumption by the public. Quick videos with helpful tips regarding any story or idea can be relayed to the audience without much work.

4. HearPlanet
HearPlanet allows journalists to get quick information on such things as landmarks. Journalists can make location-based material available in a short amount of time.

5. UStream
This application enables the journalist to upload videos from HowCast and audio clips quickly.

6. Reeldirector
Reeldirector is a video editing application that can edit clips and combine videos cohesively. This tool can also add sound or music to the clips to add emotion to them.

7. WordPress
Wordpress is a tool that gives journalists the opportunity to write stories and embed multimedia on the road without ever having to stop off to get on a computer. This saves time and adds to the immediacy audiences want.

References
Ferenstein, G. (2010, February 1). Five essential tools for the mobile journalist. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2010/02/01/mobile-journalist-tools/

Shiver, R. (2010, November 1). Continuing the journalism evolution-using smartphones. Retrieved from http://students.com.miami.edu/netreporting/?p=1019

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Full Speed ahead on Social Media

The majority of the internet users are getting social with social media. Journalists are too.

A Facebook update detailing how you are in the process of using the washroom or a tweet specifying what beverage you just ordered are not the only ways to use social media. Social media has begun to serve as an integral tool in a journalist’s repertoire.

The ability to properly use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Skype allows journalist’s opportunities to get information like never before. With seemingly so many stories’ origins being traced back to a tweet or a post on Facebook, a journalist can often find leads to stories without speaking with anyone over the phone, in person or through e-mail.

With the use of a smart phone and the following of the right people in the various forms of social media, a journalist adds another option to get a beat on a story before anyone else does. However, a journalist must proceed with caution at this point.

Caution!

This should not be a news flash to anyone who has used the internet or read about it before-not everything on the internet is fact. If that idea is a shock for anyone, then I am sorry for bursting your bubble.

Every week or few days there are stories about how something that began with a simple tweet exploded into a big story on the internet, but was denounced as being false later. This happens with false reports of deaths of celebrities (Jeff Goldblum, Morgan Freeman), sports coaching hires or player transactions and anything creative someone could come up with to potentially ruin someone’s day.

Earlier this month there was rampant internet speculation about the arrival of the McLobster to nationwide McDonald’s menus. This was all due to one person tweeting that the seafood sandwich would be available to US customers, then the tweet was retweeted, then retweeted again, and again. For those few days, the McLobster became one of the most searched for items on Yahoo.

While the McLobster does exist seasonally in Maine and areas in Canada, McDonald’s shot down the ill-informed claim with, of course, a tweet:

“Despite all the rumors there r no plans 2 bring mclobster or mcsushi 2 the US menu. We r working on a new menu item called McWinning.”

The McLobster is a clear example of how information can be passed along without any real confirmation from anyone, yet explode into something that is believed by large amounts of people.

This is why it is crucial for future journalists to remember the guidelines that have been a part of journalism forever. Do not just follow a trend to get the story out before anyone else can. Good old-fashioned checking with sources or company representatives allows you to find out if these claims are true or not.
The patience may not get you the first story out there, but the article will have the accuracy that fellow journalists may not have in their stories because they fell victim to the immediacy dilemma.

Stay ahead with Social Media

I was at first reluctant to buy into the social media craze. I essentially believed that it was just a way for people to say things they would never say to anyone’s face or just another tool for people to arrogantly throw thoughts out to the world because they believe their opinion is important.

As an aspiring journalist, though, it is necessary to buy into the hype. I have created a few different twitter accounts to help get my name out there and update the happenings of this blog.

The thing that social media does is connect you to your audience at another level. In an age where technology is essential to the profession, a journalist must explore every way to develop a more personal relationship with their readers to connect with them.

The advantage of social media is that it does allow for more creativity in a more informal setting. More resources and multimedia can be shared with an audience that wants to delve more into the subject matter they are interested in. There can be a running dialogue between the journalist and reader that can invoke a sense of trustworthiness between the two that has never existed before.

It cannot be forgotten, though, that the professional standards you live by apply to all aspects of life including use of social media. A professional journalist cannot one evening become an intoxicated tweeter or Facebook poster that posts something that will be read by everyone associated with the page.

A journalist’s reputation is always on the line. They must always use these tools for the greater good to be more connected to their audience.

Backpack Preparation

The backpack that carried my spelling and history textbooks in middle school, which potentially has something to do with my back problems, could be put to better use today.

My previous blog entry talked briefly about the idea of backpack journalism.  On the surface, this idea could look to mean that simply carrying a backpack and a pen makes a person a professional journalist.  It has a more significant meaning.  

A more thorough definition is needed to fully understand what backpack journalism is all about.  The American University School of Communication delved into the growing idea that has helped evolve journalism in a March 2010 article.

The article referenced a man named Bill Gentile, who is an independent journalist and experienced photographer that made the foray into the video story telling business at the dawn of the new technological age.  Gentile expanded on his new venture by creating BillGentileBackpackJournalism.Blogspot.com.  There he created an in-depth assessment of what a backpack journalist is:

“The craft of one properly trained professional using a hand-held digital camera to tell visual stories in a more immediate, more intimate fashion than is achievable using a larger team with a camera person, sound person, correspondent and producer. We do it all and, most importantly, we make the pictures which are the driving force of visual communication... In the field, a backpack journalist shoots, acquires sound, produces, reports, interviews. Once back from the field, he writes the script and narrates where necessary. Depending on the circumstances, he either edits and uploads the piece alone, or sits side-by-side with an editor” (“Journalism definition,” 2010).

What Gentile is trying to communicate to his audience is that backpack journalists can create a more personal feel with their readers than they ever would by simply writing a story.  He mentions the strong connection people can make with visuals.  If I have been taught anything in my life, it is that visuals can make a more lasting impression on a person than text can.

The public’s increasing demand for a wider scope of a story could be due to the possibilities in technology that journalists have at their disposal.  It becomes up the journalists to take the initiative and following through with wider coverage.

All throughout life, people are always told that they need to be prepared.  School made sure to let us know to study to be fully prepared for the test tomorrow.  Our parents always made sure to drill it into us how important it is to be prepared for whatever the professional world offers.

One aspect of my father’s teachings to me was to always be prepared for the unexpected.  This lesson stands out even more as an aspiring journalist.

Professional journalists always have to be prepared for something out of the ordinary to happen.  That unpredictable nature makes the news so engaging to people worldwide.  

Adopting the essential rules of a backpack journalist can ensure that you are always ready at any given moment.  Keeping the below list of items will enable you to be at your best for covering any story:

            -Large enough backpack or type of storage unit to hold a variety of items, including:

            -5-10 pens

            -as much paper as you can bring

            -tape recorder

            -laptop computer

            -cell phone (preferably with internet access)

            -camera

            -video recorder

            -tripod

Any long-time journalist knows that the top three items have always been necessary, but the last five reflect the changing times.  To attain a personal connection with readers, as Gentile was alluding to in his definition, journalists have to gather video, audio, and pictures to add the most depth they can to their stories.

For a look at how some backpack journalists are operating around the world and useful information, check out Bill Gentile’s blog: http://billgentile.com/backpackjournalism/

For more of Gentile's thoughts about the basics of backpack journalism, click on the video below.

References

Journalism definition. (2010, March 31). Retrieved from http://www.american.edu/soc/backpack/definition.cfm

Journalism is a-Changin'

While the change towards spring weather has not yet shown up here in Aurora, Ill., the winds of change remain constant in the journalism profession.

The journalism profession has undergone significant changes as society has transitioned into the 21^st century.  A heavier reliance on technology, and the further development of the 24-hour news cycle to satisfy society’s thirst for news around the clock, has forced the majority of journalists to adapt to a revolution in the business.  The new, technological-savvy journalist has to be willing to accept new responsibilities to stay ahead of others in the field.

The days of simply covering an event, writing a story, and getting it into an editor by a deadline are essentially gone for a journalist.  The technological influence has expanded the duties of journalists around the world.  Journalists are not only expected to tell a story to their readers with text in a newspaper or online artifact, rather, they have to find ways to show their readers what the story looks and sounds like.

 Journalists must become backpack journalists, meaning that they must be equipped with pen, paper, laptop, tape recorder, and camera to recreate the story for their audience (“Journalism definition,” 2010).  With online publications growing, journalists can make their audience feel apart of the actual news experience with pictures and audio from the event, and video of the story as it unfolds (Bardoel and Deuze, 2001).

Blogging has become a huge part of a professional journalist’s ability to connect with their audience on a daily basis.  By keeping a relatively active blog, journalists can keep updating a story they wrote throughout the day, ask blog readers questions about the story, and directly communicate with them in real-time.

Blogging allows journalists to provide more personality and immediacy to their published piece than ever before (Morozov, 2005).  The informal type of setting allows the journalist to add more color or sometimes opinion to their article to give more in-depth insight to what they are reporting on.  All of these factors can give more credibility to the journalist’s work (Morozov, 2005).

References

Bardoel, J. & Deuze, M. (2001). ‘Network Journalism’: Converging competencies of old and new media professionals and professionalism. Australian Journalism Review 23 (2), 91-103. Retrieved from http://jclass.umd.edu/classes/jour698m/BardoelDeuze+NetworkJournalism+2001.pdf

Journalism definition. (2010, March 31). Retrieved from http://www.american.edu/soc/backpack/definition.cfm

Morozov, A. (2005). Minding the gap: An ethical perspective on the use of weblogs in journalistic practice. 1-27. Retrieved from http://students.washington.edu/amorozov/AMorozov_Weblogs_and_Journalism_Ethics.pdf

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Let's Get Ethical (Part II)

Now is time to move on to the entrée portion of the ethics meal.

In trying to become more acclimated with the several journalistic organizations, I have come across some real helpful web sites that inform and give me ways to improve myself.  One site that has caught my eye of late has been the Society of Professional Journalists web site. 

Since its founding in 1909, the Society of Professional Journalists organization has been a leading professional member of the journalistic community.  Their well-conceived mission statement outlines their main purpose:

“The Society of Professional Journalists is dedicated to the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone of our nation and our liberty” (“Our mission”)

The site holds a great deal of importance to aspiring journalists because it outlines the essential elements that a journalist must have to fulfill his or her duties.  The Society’s code of ethics, last under revision in 1996, is widely recognized by writers across America. 

The SPJ code of ethics features four integral essentials for journalists to be ethical: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable (“SPJ code of ethics”)

The first code, to seek truth and report it, could be the most crucial of the codes to aspiring journalists.  First and foremost, the public expects an honest and fair account each time they read an article.  The journalist must keep that in mind each time reporting on a story.

Some of the key elements of this code include how to handle sources.  It is said by some that a journalist is only as good as their sources, and the journalist has a duty to get accurate information from those sources.

The code mentions that it is important to identify sources whenever possible because it better informs the public.  If a source asks for anonymity in a story, it is important to find out their motives for trying to be anonymous.  This is a good way to identify if a source is valuable to the story or not.

Journalists are expected to find all they can about each story they cover, but that does not mean they have the power to make a story out of themselves with their conduct.  Minimizing harm is a code that cannot be forgotten when approaching subjects for stories.  

Journalists all will have to face sensitive situations where they have to take precaution as to how to approach getting information.  A journalist has to follow the golden rule when approaching subjects of a story for information.  

A journalist cannot simply jump to conclusions and declare a suspect of a crime as guilty before the verdict is in.  Journalists have to be as patient as anyone else in a matter such as that.

Journalists have to find a way to act independently.  A certain affiliation with a subject of the story can damage a journalist’s credibility.  As much as the subjects may try to persuade the journalist one way or another, the journalist must not let that attempt factor into the way the story is written. 

As I have been told in journalism courses, a journalist is normally expected to be the invisible writer.  Unless it is an opinion piece, journalists cannot allow their own biases to infiltrate one of their stories.

Along the lines of being a public servant, journalists have to be accountable for what they do.  If an error is made in coverage, it has to be acknowledged.  If a fellow journalist is unethical or distorting information, attention must be brought to the issue to maintain the integrity of the profession.

For more descriptive coverage of each code and SPJ’s preamble for the codes, visit http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

To further explore all of the resources that SPJ has to offer, please visit their homepage, http://www.spj.org/index.asp

For an in-depth look at how a prominent newspaper such as The New York Times outlines its code of ethics, visit http://www.nytco.com/press/ethics.html#intro

References

SPJ code of ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

Our mission. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.spj.org/mission.asp