journalism Archives - Author JD Lasica

Why cybersecurity should be front of mind for journalists

Post by Jack Warner TechWarn While anyone who conducts any kind of digital activity is at risk of a security breach or cyber attack, journalists are especially vulnerable to surveillance and hacking by malign actors. The communications and data kept on the devices of those reporting the news is of particular interest to government agencies, large corporations, small businesses and many different kinds of organizations. When journalists concern themselves with cybersecurity and take defensive measures, they not only protect their own personal data and that of their news organization but also they also strike a blow for the independence and integrity of the press. In some cases, data protection is even more significant, rising to a critical safety issue. Why

Journalists’ big switch

More companies are hiring scribes to ramp up ‘content plays’ From left, Michael Copeland, Ben Worthen, Dan Lyons, Harrison Weber & Brian Caulfield Afunny thing is happening to a lot of journalists I know: They’re bailing on Big-J journalism. But while many are leaving the profession of journalism, they’re taking their craft with them. Faced with the Incredible Shrinking Business Models of the old media economy, journalists have begun taking their storytelling skills to the business world, particularly tech.

Accuracy tip sheet

How to emulate the practices of professional journalists As more individuals practice citizen journalism and more organizations incorporate media into their online communication strategies, it’s important to keep in mind the fundamental precepts of journalism. Here’s a short guide to ensuring accuracy from the Center for Citizen Media in a project that I managed. Before you write 1. The best way to maintain accuracy is to develop a system and stick to it. 2. Take the extra seconds to read back to the interviewee the spelling of his or her name. If you need an age, ask for a birth date and year. 3. Avoid using secondary sources to verify facts. 4. If you have to use secondary sources, find

Blogs and the news: How blogging & journalism intersect

The following resources provide information about new forms of personal journalism — including weblogs, collaborative news sites, personal broadcasting, and more — as well as pointers to examples of each genre. • The New Media Resources collection at the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism has published an earlier version of this page. The published articles are presented, weblog-like, with the most recent articles first. Note: I’ve left the dead links intact below to show how much link rot has occurred since 2003: Weblogs Introduction to blogging: Blogging for Beginners: What You Need to Know to Start a Weblog Jeremy Wagstaff Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2002 Introduction to weblogging.

What are the ethical rules of online journalism?

How to separate good writers & publishers from frauds & con artists online By Colin BraytonOnline Journalism Review The ethics of online journalism are, ultimately, no different than the ethics of journalism. The Society of Professional Journalists has articulated a comprehensive policy of journalism ethics that can help guide any consciencious online writer. That said, here are some basic qualities that any good online writer ought content ought to demonstrate: No plagiarism By now, you’ve likely discovered that writing is hard work. You certainly don’t want someone else swiping your effort and presenting it as his or her own. So don’t steal others’ work. Such theft is plagiarism. It includes not just cutting and pasting whole articles, but copying photos,

Online toolkit for citizen reporting

Jump-start your journalism with these resources for amateurs & pros Note: Some links in the resource kit below may no longer work. Do you need to find an expert, research your U.S. senator’s voting record or find out more information about a local nonprofit? Here are some resources to help you get started. OpenCongress www.opencongress.org This site houses official government data, including full text of bills that are going through congress and information about votes. It features “Bills Most Viewed,” “Bills Most Covered in the News” and “Bills Most Covered in Blogs,” as well as its own blog on congressional happenings.

Citizen journalism questions and answers

Where to find citizen journalism sites — and how to start your own Editor’s note: Some links in the article below may no longer work. By Christopher Grotke, Mediagiraffe and Jarah Euston, FresnoFamous What is citizen journalism? It is community news and information shared online and/or in print, with contributions written by users and readers. It can be any combination of text, image, audio file, podcast or video. Stories typically include user comments, fostering additional discussion. What else is it called? Grassroots journalism, community news, we media, open source journalism, folk journalism, bottom-up journalism, etc. How does citizen journalism differ from citizens media? Citizen journalism is a narrow subset of citizens media. Citizen journalism chiefly centers on covering news and

OhmyNews: ‘Every citizen can be a reporter’

A tour inside the newsroom of the pioneering citizen journalism publication Following is a Q&A with Jean K. Min, communications director of OhmyNews International, the trail-blazing citizen journalism publication in Seoul, South Korea. The exchange — with questions put to him by myself and Matthew Lee of the Center for Citizen Media — took place in January 2007.

Citizen sleuthing: The unmasking of Lonelygirl15

19-year-old offers tips on research methods used to uncover her true identity Matt Foremski, pictured below, tells how he did some citizen sleuthing to discover the true identity of YouTube’s Lonelygirl15. She was not a home-schooled 16-year-old girl named Bree but rather an actress named Jessica Rose, who had recently moved from New Zealand to Burbank, Calif. I caught up with Foremski in an AIM chat to learn the details of how he broke one of the biggest Internet stories of 2006.

Citizens’ media gets richer

Photos, video and audio are becoming part of the user-generated palette This article contains some broken links but we’ll keep them intact as a snapshot in time. By J.D. Lasica Online Journalism Review Not long ago, online news sites discovered that users wanted to become part of the media conversation. Begrudgingly, many news sites added group blogs and other devices that cracked open the palace doors and allowed readers to become writers. Turns out the barbarians at the gates were adept at slinging words. Who knew? Now we’re seeing the next stage take hold in the citizens’ media movement. People are beginning to contribute rich media — photos, video and audio — to news sites. “If news organizations don’t embrace