Beat it

Beat Blogging looks at how different forms of social media and Web tools can improve beat reporting. Interesting, insightful posts. Worth a look.

Filed under: Digital media, beat, BeatBlogging, journalist, reporter, social network

The many faces of social networking

In a March 23 RTNDA post by Lauren Viera, Amy Webb, principal consultant for Webbmedia, an online media consultancy based in Baltimore, said journalists shouldn’t wait for content to be delivered to them. “All social networks have search tools, making it possible to discover new ideas, sources and more by simply using a keyword or two,” she said.

The idea of using social networking sites as venues to find sources has been around for a while — for some journalists since the advent of social networking — but only in recent times has the practice lost the stigma once attached to it. The Web is teeming with sites full of ideas and sources, and there’s really no reason journalists shouldn’t utilize them to their full potential.

In the article, Viera says discussion boards and blogs, among other sources, were almost off-limits to professional journalists and for some traditional journalists, they still are. But why should journalists cut themselves off from valuable sources?
I’m sure the same problems arose when recording devices and computers came into the newsroom. When did the time come when e-mail interviews became acceptable? (Assuming they are.)

Sites like Ning, which is based around the idea of creating unique communities, offer journalists a place to go when they need sources either knowledgeable or just impassioned about a subject. The same goes for message boards and other online communities.

The big question here is, how should journalists go about this? In many, many cases, journalists look out of place on social networking sites, they jump into a(n oftentimes tight-knit) community, asking questions and searching for answers. That can’t be conducive to good journalism.

Filed under: Digital media, integration, journalists, Lauren Viera, social networking, Webbmedia

Twitter, Twitter, everywhere

Digital media blogger and journalist for Norwegian company Aftenposten John Einar Sandvand‘s four ways journalists can utilize Twitter:

1. Tool for communication — sources, eye witness, experts
2. Source for stories/articles
3. Production tool (blogging)
4. Publishing channel; way to distribute news

Click to view the full presentation:

Twitter As A Tool For Journalism

View more presentations from John einar Sandvand.

Filed under: Digital media, john einar sandvand, journalism, Twitter

The news on the news

Mashable, founded in 2005, calls itself “the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Networking news.” The site offers news and reviews on all that’s new on the Web. From Facebook etiquette to Twitter advice, it’s definitely worth a look.

The site is divided into lists (Twitter, HowTo, Music, Travel, WordPress, Jobs, Games, Google and Business) and news channels (YouTube, Facebook, Google, Myspace, Video, iPhone, Twitter, Firefox and Blogger ), which makes searching easy.

Filed under: Digital media, Digital media, journalism, mashable, social networking, web 2.0

A world without newspapers

Talk of newspapers collapsing is nothing new. And heck, newspapers actually collapsing is becoming commonplace. Here in Arizona, two of our major papers, The Arizona Republic and The East Valley Tribune, have laid off hundreds of workers. The Tribune has even cut it’s coverage base and knocked down print edition days. This makes me wonder, what happens when a town is left without a paper?

In a Washington Post article by Howard Kurtz, the Miami Herald’s former editor, Tom Fiedler, said that if the Herald folds, no one will do the job the reporters who worked there did. “The difference that a good newspaper makes to the quality of life in any community is vital,” he said. “It’s like a healthy heart.”

I can’t help but agree. With bloggers and self-taught journalists coming out of the woodwork by the minute, there’s no doubt news coverage will be safe. But safe is relative. Sure, consumers will get some news, but what happens to the quality of news coverage?

While bloggers and contributers to hyper-local news sites are valuable, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than a trained journalist being the one to write investigative, in-depth stories. In many cases, bloggers have other jobs, and many lack the skills and connectuons neccesary to do that level of work. But I suppose we’ll just have to hold our breath and see what happens.

But I digress. And now, back to the plight of newspapers. Each one is scrambling to fit into the puzzle. I can’t think of a successful news Web site that hasn’t launched additions to make the public part of the news. Maybe that’s part of the solution. Make the public a part of the process, and they may not be able to watch it die.

Filed under: Digital media, digital, howard kurtz, newspapers, washington post

Twitter + video = ?

And just like I thought, the concept of Twitter is expanding to more than just words.

Rather than 140 characters, short by anyone’s barometer, there are now sites that allow users to upload short videos instead. Seesmic seems to be a leader, and the site looks pretty good to me. It isn’t too flashy, but really, neither is Twitter. The only thing I’m a little leery of are the featured videos. Everyone in them looks a little creepy… Also, videos on Seesmic can be long, which is  contrary to the idea of microblogging.

I prefer 12seconds.tv, a site where, as the name alludes, you have 12 second of video to get your point across. The site is well designed and seems a little more user friendly than Seesmic, though it does prompt users with a huge log-in box at the top of the page. The site is in it’s Beta version, and I’m sure it has it’s kinks, but it seems like a good implementation of a great idea.

Filed under: Digital media, 12seconds, Seesmic, Twitter, video, video blogging