Blogs and Your Thanksgiving Week Assignment

How do you define a blog?

I’ve heard numerous definitions, including these given a few years back by blogger-journalists participating in a national Online News Association conference in Berkeley, Calif.:

• “It’s a template with dynamic content, updated frequently, with links. It doesn’t have to be commentary.”—Denise Polverine, editor in chief of www.Cleveland.com, which started several Weblogs in spring 2003
• “It’s a new form of journalism. It’s irreverent, it’s not in the authoritarian male voice … and transparency is important.” --Sheila Lennon, who writes a blog on www.projo.com
• “Blogging is a conversation…” –Jeff Jarvis, president and creative director of Advance.net

Others have tried to define it in writing:

“Call it participatory journalism or journalism from the edges. Simply put, it refers to individuals playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, sorting, analyzing and disseminating news and information—a task once reserved almost exclusively to the news media”; and “an emerging new media ecosystem—a network of ideas.”-- J.D. Lasica, senior editor of OJR, writing in the fall 2003 Nieman Reports

“It should be obvious that Weblogs aren’t competing with the work of the professional journalism establishment, but rather complementing it.”—Managing Editor Scott Rosenberg writing in Salon in 2002.

Many would agree: blogs are updated often, from the top down; they include reader comments and questions; they include links to documents or stories; they can build a nongeographic community based on interests, or a geographic community based on shared locale; they are sometimes reported, but often simply commentary or roundups based on others' reporting; they are sometimes but not always written with attitude and edge.


Who’s doing it?

Leslie Walker, who until late-summer 2006 wrote a dot.com column for The Washington Post, reported that free blogging tools have been available since 1999, but they didn’t catch on in a big way until the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. She quoted Evan Williams, chief executive of one of the earliest tools — blogger.com — saying that site had more than a million registered users in early 2003.

Technorati, which allows users to search for blogs (www.technoratic.com), was tracking about 113 million sites as of November 2007.

Teens are turning to blogging in a big way: A November 2005 Pew Internet & American Life Project study reported that 4 million youths between the ages of 12 and 17 had made a Web log--or 19 percent of teen Internet users.

But Web logs have also played an important role in emerging democracies.

Jeff Jarvis estimated, for instance, that in 2003 there were about 100,000 Weblogs in Iran. He said: “Countries without free speech are finding free speech in Weblogs.”

Are there negatives to blogging?

Tom Regan, associate editor of csmonitor.com, wrote in the fall 2003 Nieman Reports: “In the eyes of many journalists, blogs are poorly written, self-absorbed, hyper-opinionated, and done by amateurs.”

Some have called the nonjournalists who sometimes write them a threat to the gatekeeper role that news organizations have held.

On the flip side, supporters have argued: “They introduce fresh voices into the national discourse on various topics and help build communities of interest through their collection of links.”—Walter Mossberg writing in the Wall Street Journal in March 2003.

On a personal note: Friends and students have found they are a good way to stay in touch with friends and family, while traveling or studying abroad.

Bloggers’ Influence

And, of course, lots of political stories have been influenced by bloggers. Among them:

• Then-Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott’s comments in 2002 about how the country would have been better off had it elected segregationist presidential candidate Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1948 eventually cost him his leadership post. Initially, the mainstream media ignored the comments, which Lott made at a birthday party for Thurmond. But bloggers kept the story alive, and Lott stepped down as minority leader.
• During the last presidential election, bloggers questioned the credibility of CBS News Anchor Dan Rather’s September 2004 piece, which alleged President Bush had used influence to evade the draft and join the Texas National Guard. Bloggers raised the possibility that the documents Rather and his producers built the story around had been forged; Rather later resigned the anchor job.

In addition, blogs come in handy in times of crisis. Citizen reporters and bloggers helped the Times Picayune in New Orleans to report on the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in fall of 2005.

Getting Started

A few commonly used blogging publishing tools:

 www.blogger.com (you're on it!)
 www.wordpress.org
 www.xanga.com
 www.livejournal.com (for blogging and social networking)
 www.MySpace.com (for blogging and social networking)

For your assignment this week:

Read the published readings attached to your syllabus for this week (week 13):
http://www.jclass.umd.edu/652352/jour352fall07a.htm

Check out four well-established blogs, for content and interactivity:

Wonkette

Buzz Machine

E-Media Tidbits

Romenesko

Plus one blog of your choosing. (If you don't have one you view regularly, check out technorati.com.)

For each of the five blogs, answer these questions in a Word doc. Give just a couple of paragraphs per blog:

1. Is this a reported blog, an opinion/commentary blog, an author’s journal, a news roundup, or something else entirely?
2. How good is the content?
3. How easy is it to navigate and find archival entries?
4. How well does it encourage reader interaction?
5. How could the blog be improved?

E-mail me your responses by Monday, Nov. 26, 1 p.m.

That's it!

Please read my note (below) on your final paper site selections.

And watch the class blog this week for details on our trip to a Web newsroom Nov. 28.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Final papers due in one month (Dec. 14)

Class, you got one major project out of the way today (congrats!). This is a reminder about another due in a month. On Dec. 14 at 3:30 p.m., your final papers are due. (See syllabus, under assignments, for details: http://www.jclass.umd.edu/652352/jour352fall07a.htm.)

The final paper requires you to analyze a news Web site. Please select a site from the following list; some are traditional sites (with print or TV or radio sister publications), some are Web-only, and some are citizen-media sites. Please e-mail me your choice within a week. Thanks much!

The list:

Washingtonpost.com, Nytimes.com, Salon.com, ABCNews.com, Slate.com, CNET News.com, BBC News Online (http://news.bbc.co.uk/), Jerusalem Post Online, Digitaljournalist.org, LATimes.com, Yahoo! News, Time.com, USAToday.com, npr.org, TheStreet.com, MSNBC.com, GothamGazette.com, ESPN.com, BET.com, Camden.VillageSoup.com, iBrattleboro.com, Baristanet.com, Politico.com and CNN.com.

Headlines:

Bad headline:

Judge Who Lost Pant Suit Loses Job

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103002058.html?hpid%3Dmoreheadlines&sub=AR

Good Headline:

Halloween's Traffic Nightmare

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103002333.html?hpid=topnews

This headline was on the main page of Washington Post.com, not on the actual story page. It was the link.

Good & Bad Headlines

"American held in Italy sex-murder case"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21659676/

This was the headline for an MSNBC story about an American woman who is being held as a suspect in Italy after her roommate was found dead. Police believe that the girl was killed fighting off a sexual assault.

I'm not sure about you, but I've never heard of "sex-murder" before. This headline would have been better using just murder or suspected rape/sexual assault.

"It's aliiiiive! Campaign beast awakens in Iowa"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21652415/

This headline is great for the story. So far, most of the presidential race has been calm, but after the Iowa caucus, the real campaign seems to have finally begun. The headline is punchy without being obnoxious, and gets the point across with two simple words: it's alive! Brilliant.

Good and Bad Headlines

My headlines come from washingtonpost.com.
The good comes from a story with the headline, "Gist and Milbourne suspended for opener" (Nov. 7, 2007). This is a good healine because it invokes intrigue in any sports fan to find out why these players were suspended. Suspended is a good eye-catching word because it implies that something was don wrong that caused these players to be suspended.
The bad is from the story with the headline, "Wizards rest Arenas". To anyone who is not familiar with the NBA and specifically the Washington Wizards, this could be misinterpreted as the organization is resting its basketball court. It could be made clearer by putting the word guard in front of Arenas, since that is his position on the team.

Good/Bad Headlines

Hollywood Strike Turns Punch Lines to Picket Lines
Washingtonpost.com, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110500138.html

I really like this headline because it is witty and catches your attention. I was wondering why there hasn’t been much hullabaloo surrounding the Writers Guild Strike, and this headline perfectly sums up what has been happening in a few, simple words. If I saw this headline on a website, I would definitely click on it to read more about it.

On main page: Child porn cops arrest Children’s Museum exec
When you click on the story: Children’s Museum employee distributed child porn, officials say
CNN.com, http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/06/childrensmuseum.arrest/index.html

I was so confused when I first read, “Child porn cops arrest Children’s Museum exec,” on CNN’s homepage. It was the first story listed on the homepage and it really caught my eye, because it puzzled me that they decided to call the police, “child porn cops.” Huh? The other headline makes much more sense and gives a much clearer picture as to exactly what the situation is regarding the museum executive who is suspected of distributing porn.

Good Headline/Bad Headline

I managed to find a headline that is good and bad all at once:

Police: Man tortured with freshly baked cookies

The good is pretty obvious here: How could you not want to find out more about a man being tortured with freshly baked cookies? I'm not endorsing torture (not even torture with freshly baked cookies), but you have to admit, when you see that headline, you're clicking on it to find out how, exactly, one tortures someone with freshly baked cookies and the circumstances behind the story.

This is where we get into the bad: the story isn't quite as fun as the involvement of freshly baked cookies would lead you to believe. It turns out the cookie torture was the result of a drug deal gone bad, and wasn't the only torture inflicted, although the victim's injuries weren't bad enough to require hospital visit. I guess my issue here is really more with the story failing to live up to the headline than with the headline itself. Now that I think about it, this is actually an example of how a great headline can take one aspect of an otherwise mundane story and make it attractive to readers.

headline exercise

Good Headline:
This article on Salon.com immediately grabbed my attention:
"A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan"
My first reaction is WHAT???!!! My next reaction is, well, there are quotes there, so somebody SAID that. Then I want to know WHO would be quoted saying something like that?
The quote is simple, to the point, and makes me want to continue reading. It does a perfect job of drawing me into the story without ruining the article. Using quotes as the entire headline seems to be pretty rare, but in this case it’s incredibly effective.
The article is here:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/11/06/mormons/


Bad Headline:
Some of the sports headlines are incredibly cheesy.
Haywood Shines Bright Despite Wizards' Woes
“Wizards’ Woes” just strikes me as ridiculous-sounding; it’s such a contrived alliteration it makes me shudder.
Another alliteration I was not a fan of: Rookie Runs to Record: Minnesota 35, San Diego 17. Yes, you’re clever, congratulations, don’t smack us over the head with it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/04/AR2007110401372.html

Headlines

Bad headline:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071105/METRO/111050038/1004
"GW student charged in swastika on dorm door"

This is a bad headline from The Washington Times for a couple different reasons. First of all, it doesn't make any sense. "Charged in swastika on dorm door?" Huh? It should say something like charged for not in or something to that nature. It is confusing and even when I read it over more than one time, it still does not make much sense to me.

Secondly, the student was also charged with several other racial incidents. So maybe the paper was just trying to get more clicks/readers with a controversial word in there.


Good headline:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/mens/bal-sp.nation05nov05,0,7870454.story
College coaches left to cope with stars' fast break to NBA

I liked this headline from the Baltimore Sun because it is a nice little play on a basketball term 'fast break.' The story is about how superstar college basektball players come to a university and only stay for a year and jolt to the NBA for money and more stardom.

The headline gets the point across, is informative and has a nice play on words.

Online News Headlines

Looking on AOL News, I found this headline, "Drunk Driver Sues Police for Car Crash." The story is about an Arizona woman who crashed her car into a wall and though the police took her keys, she used a hidden key to drive off. She is suing police for not taking her hidden key from her. I think the word "for" makes the headline confusing. The "for" implies that she wants a car crash from the police. The headline would have been clearer if it said, "Drunk Driver Sues Police Over Car Crash."

Another unclear headline I found was on today's Washington Post home page. It was found under the More Local Headlines heading and read, "Protest Styles Present a Clash of Cultures" Upon reading this headline, I really wasn't sure what the article would be about. My first instinct was that the story was a Style section-esque feature on the different ways people protest. I clicked on it and learned the story was actually about the immigration debate in Virginia's Prince William County. This really surprised me because I've actually been following this issue for another class, and I would never have known this is what the article was about just from reading the headline. In order to tip off readers and be easier to find in a search engine, the headline should have included key words like "immigration" or "Pr. William County"

One of the better headlines I found was in AOL's Entertainment News section on this weekend's box office hits. The headline, "'American Gangster' Swats 'Bee Movie,'" creatively conveys which of this weekend's highly anticipated movie releases came out on top. The colorful writing continued into the lead, which read, "LOS ANGELES (Nov. 4) - A heroin pusher and a honey bee put some sting back into the movie business." I will concede that the headline may not have worked if a reader didn't know what the two movies were, but in that case they probably wouldn't have been interested in the article anyways.

I also really liked this headline for the lead story on the Washington Post's homepage. It's a video link titled, "VIDEO: In W. Va., Celebrating the Fall of Man" The package is on BASE jumping and accompanies a double page spread on the topic in today's print edition. I like the play on words with the literal falling of people that BASE jumping entails. However, because the headline is accompanied with a photo and a three-line summary, it still works.

~Priya Kumar

good and bad headlines

Looking through cnn.com, two headlines immediately stuck out to me.
The first, located at: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/01/southern.drought/index.html, reads "Plea for Plan B in Southern drought saga." This may not confuse other people, but for someone who is very involved with women's health, Plan B is the morning after pill. I know that this just means plan b instead of the first intended plan to deal with the drought, but the wording is just off for me.
I also did not like this one on cnn.com: "Composite sketches released of girl stuffed in box" located at http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/02/body.found/index.html. The story following is a very emotional one that the headline seems to belittle. "Stuffed in box" is very insensitive to me.

As for good headlines, I found FOXnews.com's version of the article about the girl who was found in the box and their headline was "Texas Police Release Sketch of Girl Whose Remains Were Found in Washed Up Storage Box." For me, this is much more sensitive to the death of the little girl. I also found one on FOXNews.com entitled "Oregon Police Looking for Owners of Gnomes Without Homes." This was the headline used as a link to the article and the actual article did not have this headline, but I thought it was clever wordplay. I thought those were both good examples of a good headline.

Adrienne Kasper

bad headlines... and some for comic relief!

I really enjoyed the headlines listed below, from actual news sources (found on website: http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/badheds.html). One thing I noticed is that legal jargon tends to trip up headline writers--appeal, case in just a few of these--because words that have a very specific connotation in legal terms have every day meanings that are quite different.
Another problem with a lot of these headlines that makes them so hilarious is the confusion over subject. With headlines, leaving out an "it" or unclear terms means that the reader is confused about who did what to whom. My favorite is "Enraged cow injures farmer with ax." Obviously, the farmer had the ax, but because there are so few words in the headline, it seems like the cow has the ax. I worked at a dairy once, and let me tell you, the last thing you want is an angry cow armed with an ax!

In terms of my headline, I found a headline from my hometown newspaper, the Lexington Minuteman, from September 13:

Word-renowed pianist at Hancock Church

Come on, Minuteman, that's an embarassing typo. (The reason I kept this paper was the police log: A woman reported that her vehicle was damaged while parked near the skate park. Her car, a hatchback, had a dent in the rear door that may have been caused by a watermelon. That police entry deserves a story!!!)

So here's a list of bad headlines, courtesy of http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/badheds.html:

Something went wrongin jet crash, expert says

Police begin campaignto run down jaywalkers

Safety experts say school buspassengers should be belted

Drunk gets nine months in violin case

Survivor of siamese twins joins parents

Farmer Bill dies in house

Iraqi head seeks arms

Is there a ring of debris around Uranus?

Stud tires out

Prostitutes appeal to Pope

Panda mating fails;Veterinarian takes over

Soviet virgin landsshort of goal again

British left waffleson Falkland Islands

Eye drops off shelf

Teacher strikes idle kids

Reagan wins on budget,but more lies ahead

Squad helps dog bite victim

Enraged cow injures farmer with ax

Plane too close to ground, crash probe told

Miners refuse to work after death

Juvenile court to try shooting defendant

Stolen painting found by tree

Two soviet ships collide, one dies

2 sisters reunited after18 years in checkout counter

Killer sentenced to die forsecond time in 10 years

Never withhold herpes infection from loved one

Drunken drivers paid $1000 in '84

War dims hope for peace

If strike isn't settled quickly,it may last a while

Cold wave linked to temperatures

Enfiels couple slain; Police suspect homicide

Headlines

One thing that I learned about headlines in print publications is that you have to be careful about what individual deck of a headline reads, especially if the decks are a few words each. This rule apparently also applies to online journalism.

Brother of Irish running back
shot to death

That was the way the headline read on the index page of http://www.chicagotribune.com/ on Oct.31. The headline was listed among many others near the editorial pods, and at first glance, just blends in with the others. When I first read the headline, I only read the first deck and had two questions: 1) Who's Irish and why does that matter since the brother is probably Irish as well and 2) where is this brother running back to? It wasn't until I re-read the whole headline (a few times) that I understood that the brother of an University of Notre Dame football player was shot and killed. What also contributed to my difficulty of understanding the headline was Notre Dame's mascot/team names; while I know that they are the Fighting Irish, but the use of Irish in this headline first gave me the impression that it was a noun, which is why I interpreted running back as a verb.
(story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/cs-071030irishside,0,3206444.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout)

While the splitting of the headline into decks can create ambiguity, puns, if used correctly, can make a headline memorable while still getting the message across.

Iowa tax on pumpkins is no treat

That headline is from http://www.miamiherald.com, and, from a list of about 10 stories, it was the headline I noticed almost immediately. The headline is clear and concise while still attention-getting because of the play on traditional Halloween concepts such as pumpkins and trick-or-treating. This play on words also makes the story more timely in that readers know immediately that the story will in some way relate to Halloween.
(story: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/290551.html)
(headline list: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/)

Questionable Headline -- Washington Post Oct. 30 Issue

After reviewing some of the stories in the online edition of the Washington Post, I found a couple of headlines that left me questioning what the stories would be about.

One headline read "Fortunes of Executive, Saftey Official Entwined in Pr. George's County". This story did not leave me questioning the nature of the story as much as it appeared to be misleading. From the title I expected that the story may have somehting to do with financial gain or money. I could be overestimating the words but I would not have thought the story would have been based largely on the professional gains of two Prince George's County public officails. The problem with this headline is the ambiguity in the word "fortunes." The writer meant for the word fortunes to be synonymous with the word "future." This headline could have been reconstructed in a way that limits ambiguity in the word choice. I believe there should be a focus on the relationship and the official positions. My suggestion for a headline for that story is Pr. George's Co. Officails' Relationship Is Under Specualation . Even that headline could be tighter but the is no question about the nature or expectation of the information in the story.

The next headline I saw that could have been revised reads "Noise Sensors Back Police In Teen Shooting." I think the word "back" could have been exchanged for "Support" or something else that limits the need for the reader to use contect clues in the headline. I had to read the headline a second time in order to underestand that the term "Back" was being used synonymously with the term "support" or "reinforces" this headline is not bad, it could (in my opinion) be written in a way that minimizes ambiguity and possible confusion.

Good and Bad Headlines

I looked through today's Post to see if I found any headlines that I didn't like. While I didn't find anything that posed a major factual problem, as many of the examples we typically see for "bad headlines" do, I saw one that I didn't find to be effective and easily readable.

The headline reads: Weary, Wary Lawmakers See Compromise as Way Forward.

First off, I had a problem with the forced alliteration in this headline. I think they're trying to be cute with it, but being that this is not a feature story, I don't think it's appropriate. Furthermore, I think their attempt at alliteration and their excessive use of adjectives takes away space that could be used to describe which lawmakers the story is about or what they are going forward from/to. Someone who reads this headline would not get an accurate grasp of what the article is going to be about, and in that respect, I think this headline is a failure.

A headline from the Post that I think was successful in using alliteration is "Preteens Trading Fairy Wands for Fishnets."

I think this article pulls off the alliteration because of the fact that it is a featurey article. It also accurately describes what the article is about--a movement of preteens costumes from innocent to racy.

Good Headline/ Bad Headline

I was searching for bad headlines, and I found this one from the Cornell Daily Sun: "Colbert Brings Satire, T-Shirt Gun to Barton Hall" http://cornellsun.com/node/25260

I think it's kind of a confusing headline because it's meaningless at first glance and doesn't provide much insight into the story. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't understand the "T-shirt gun" part until reading the article and realizing the headline referred to a T-shirt launcher. During a visit to Cornell University, Stephen Colbert used a t-shirt launcher as part of the show. I've never heard of a t-shirt launcher referred to as a t-shirt gun, so I think the more common name would avoid confusion and be more appropriate for the headline.

An example I found of a good headline is "Mukasey Unsure About Legality of Waterboarding" from the Washington Post. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/washington/31CND-mukasey.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

This headline is straight to the point, and you don't even have to read the story to know what it's about. In the article Michael Mukasey denounced waterboarding but said he had to "review the legality" of all interrogation techniques. The headline is in present tense and has an appropriate tone for the story. Also, very important terms like "Mukasey" and "waterboarding," could easily be searched to produce this article.

The Future of Journalism Workshop

“The Future of Journalism” session helped illustrate a point of view about the importance of knowing about technology as well as the dangers of using this median. One of the major themes that I heard reiterated over and over again was to take chances. Jim Brady repeatedly said that online journalism is a risk, but the very successful companies are all taking risks. A significant amount of trepidation comes from current controllers of journalism and even academic instructors being unfamiliar with new technology, according to Brady. The point has been made on many occasions that some forms of citizen journalism is not a respectable form of journalism. For example the point has been made that “bloggers are not journalists,” Brady’s response was that the statement was true but many journalists are bloggers so it was important to understand the difference between the two crafts.
Brady also made an important point about the use of technology, he said that it is not necessarily important to understand exactly how to do everything using new technology but it is important to know how these forms of technology work and how they may impact the future. One important point Brady made was concerning the dearth between online advertising in comparison to print. When analyzing this issue it is important to recognize that online advertising is growing, however it still does not compare to the revenue brought in by print advertising. Brady made the comparison of online journalism to the concept of the“ Field of Dreams” saying that unlike this notion if you build I they do not just come.
Online journalism as a new and evolving media is a risk however while it has not taken over newsrooms and newspaper offices it is involved in almost every legitimate/ competitive news outlet today.

My only personal concern with online journalism is the expectation of computer access. And while yes, 2007 is absolutely in the middle of an extremely technological age, there is a population of people in this country – namely the economic underclass and senior citizens – who do not generally use or have access to the internet. I believe the evolution of this online age further causes social stratification between the privileged and deprived.

Jim Brady workshop

Yes, print publications are dying. And yes, the concept of journalism is changing at a rapid pace. But despite the above, for once during my time in the journalism school, I was told that I had a chance of finding a job in the journalism field.

During the workshop, Jim Brady emphasized the need for journalists, not writers. The difference? A writer can only put words on a paper, and a journalist can put together a newspaper.

Brady advised the audience to step outside of the traditional cookie-cutter type "journalist" from before the Internet era. Before the Internet became integrated into daily life, journalists focused on writing. Now, editors are looking for journalists who not only know how to write, but also know how to take photos and videos, crop images, write basic HTML, and take any other necessary actions to complete the package.

Eight years ago, I became interested in web design. For the past several years, I became increasingly worried that I was cornering myself into a design career with my previous experience. Yes, web design was an entertaining hobby, but it was also not exactly impressive to newspapers. It was not until recently that my web design experience proved to be more than an after-school activity. Magazines and newspapers (on the verge of a massive technological change) began to contact me, and I was able to use my hobby to catch and keep the attention of editors.

The workshop was interesting and gave me a sense of calm. I now know that while traditional jobs in the journalism field may be disappearing, new positions are forming.

The Internet is creating a new era of journalism, and students need to be prepared for the changes.

MMIAA Workshop with Jim Brady

Ever since I entered the journalism school my freshman year, my professors have been telling me how the journalism world is changing and converging, blurring the lines between reporter responsibilities. The MMIAA’s “Future of Journalism” workshop Sunday not only reiterated this fact, but gave students a valuable opportunity to hear directly from professionals in the field about how their organizations are dealing with these changes.

The most important thing I took away from the workshop was the need for reporters to have multi-platform skills. One of the speakers stressed that if we go into the field with the mindset of only being a newspaper reporter, we would be left behind very quickly. In addition to the staple of writing skills, today’s reporter should be able to shoot basic video and audio and upload it into a Web package. The panelists also talked about the value of blogging, and how a reporter needs to be able to write conversationally for a blog while still maintaining their objectivity.

Hearing from Jim Brady was especially informative, as he discussed some of the behind-the-scenes thinking that goes into maintaining a major news website. Since washingtonpost.com is my primary news Web site, it was interesting to hear about how the editors and reporters use the site to enhance their stories through slide shows, video, reader comments and reporters’ blogs. Increasingly, the washingtonpost.com is looking to include searchable database information on its site. Brady also talked about how data like the number of page views a story gets and the demographics of the readers help the editors tailor the site to the readers in a way that the print paper cannot. However, Brady warned against putting too much emphasis on the numbers, saying that journalistic values always come first.

I asked Brady a question about the Washington Post's foray into radio and how that is representative of journalism's changes. Brady emphasized that while the venture ultimately failed, he has no regrets that the Post attempted it. Despite many media organizations' desire to do the safe thing, Brady said it is important to take risks, for that is the only way media is going to survive this changing time. I believe this was one of the most valuable pieces of advice from the workshop. As budding reporters, we have to be thinking outside the box and not be afraid to follow through on those ideas.

While walking out of the workshop with a free pen and notepad certainly made the event worthwhile, I more importantly walked out with thoughts and advice that will help me make the most of my remaining time at Maryland. I am now thoroughly convinced that the skills I learn in journalism classes such as this online class will do wonders for me when I enter this dynamic wold of journalism in only a few short years.

~Priya Kumar

Post.com Executive Editor on Campus Oct. 21

Jim Brady, executive editor of washingtonpost.com, will be speaking on the UMD College Park campus Oct. 21 about the future of journalism.

He'll be talking from 2-3:15 p.m. in Room 0200 Skinner, as part of a slate of speakers brought here by the Maryland Media Alumni Association.

You're all strongly encouraged to attend.

Sign-up sheet is outside Penny Fuchs' office on the 3rd floor of journalism.

You'll get extra class credit for attending and posting an item about the chat to this blog.

Details to come in class.

Questionable Photo...

http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2419,00.html#3_0

This photo, part of Fox New's package of coverage of the Princess Diana inquest, shows the people in the car moments before the crash that killed her. The potentially disturbing aspect of this photo, to me, is the expression on the driver's face. Maybe he's just in the middle of talking about how much he hates the paparazzi or maybe he's yawning, but his wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression suggests to me that maybe he's realizing, at that moment, that he's losing control of the car and is about to crash. I can't remember if he survived the crash or not, but if those were his last moments and I were a member of his family, I probably wouldn't want his facial expression at the moment he realized he was about to die out there for anyone with an Internet connection to see.

I can't fault Fox News for putting the pictures on their Web site, though. After all, they are now part of a public record thanks to the inquest, and I suppose some people are still interested in this ten years later. I do, however, think their coverage is a bit sensationalist. I think putting the photo I just described alone on the front page and running a breaking news banner about the accompanying video of Princess Di in a hotel elevator (how exciting) on her last night is a bit much for something that happened ten years ago, especially when it pushes North Korea's agreeement to disable its main nuclear facility out of the lead news spot.

Questionable Content

I think the footage of the tasering of the UF student at the Kerry forum could be considered questionable content. While I don't think the footage was gruesome (you don't see him actually being tasered, you just hear it), I think this footage brings up the controversy over citizen journalism. The networks accepted footage that was not professionally obtained, which a lot of journalists consider to be extremely controversial and are skeptical to do so.

In my opinion, I think that this footage should have been run because it was the only way for them to get the content. I do think, however, that the footage was edited to favor the student because it did not show what happened before his last question.

There is a video of MSNBC's coverage on YouTube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=tCBcOQkUNjI.

Picture of Child Sexual Assault Victim

This picture shows the image of a child who was the victim of a sexual assault. This has been a major story in recent news. The showing of this image is more deviant than it is questionable. Given the information the police were provided, showing the image of the child was necessary. Usually, however the identity of sexual assault victims (especially children) are kept private. But again given the circumstances of this instance such as the unknown location of the girl and the perpatraitor, the child's safety was at risk. I think the showing of this image was very necessary in order to help close the investigation.
One concern that I have about the photo is that it is still up on some online news sites. I think now that the girl has been found "safe" her image should be removed, however sites such as the one included in this URL continue to make this image available to the public even after the girl was found.
http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=103639

questionable photo

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13195017/

This is an incredibly dramatic photo; and quite graphic. However, I think it tells an important story and is important to include in the article. The United States was sending a very specific message about their work in Iraq, and the picture captures this message effectively. It was on the first page of the story, and there was no prior warning to readers.

I don’t know if it is graphic “enough” to warrant an advisory to the public; perhaps it could be on the second page of the article after one click. Violent pictures are not always bad; this one illustrates a few important points. It shows the news that al-Zarqawi is dead and also conveys how the U.S. is publicizing this information. Although seeing a dead body is certainly shocking, some of the shock value has been reduced because it is a photo of a photo. It could be a "questionable" photo, but I think it's acceptable.

2004 Tsunami Photographs

Hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs showing the devastation of the 2004 tsunami in South Asia inundated the media following the disaster. On Dec. 28, 2004, both the New York Times and the Washington Post emphasized the loss of children with their front page photographs.

The New York Times took up almost the entire front page above the fold with this photograph, to which many people took offense. The Washington Post led with this photograph, also placed above the fold on the front page. I think the Washington Post made the better decision in this case because its picture conveyed more emotion while still maintaining poignancy and taste. Instead of relying on the shock value that comes with the dead bodies of children in the Times' photo, the Posts's photo appropriately conveys the deep sense of loss and devastation without possibly offending individuals the minute they see the front page.

When I found these pictures online, they didn't come with any warnings, especially not the New York Times' photograph. The Washington Post has a slide show under the Photos from the Disaster tab of images from the disaster. The slide show does come with a warning to viewers of violent or graphic content. When scrolling through the photos, I didn't find anything offensive; although dead bodies were shown, they were covered or wrapped in tarp. I personally don't think the warning is necessary, but it is always better to be cautious than to misjudge a readers' reaction. As an editor I would always want to err on the side of caution, so I would keep the warning label on this slide show.

I think it is important to convey to readers the true gravity of any situation, which is why I would keep the pictures in this slide show online, even though they contain dead bodies. However, I believe in maintaining taste and decency, which is why I would not publish the the New York Times' photo in print or online.

-Priya

Questionable Photo

http://bop.nppa.org/2007/still_photography/winners/OPY/104928/187447.html

Carolyn Cole of the LA Times won BOP Photojournalist of the year for this photo. However, I do not think the picture was appropriate for news. When I look at this picture my stomach literally hurts. Portraying the dead bodies of two children online or in a newspaper seems unnecessary and too graphic. One must remember that online news is easily accessible and all kinds of people could come across that photo. As a news consumer I did not enjoy coming across this photo. I believe the conflict between Israel and Lebanon and its consequences could have been displayed more tactfully. For instance, the tenth photo in the Picture Gallery at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2550369.ece is a good example of how to display violence in less gruesome way. This photo allows the consumer to understand the gravity of the conflict without seeing any dead bodies. I feel as if Cole's photo was put up to shock people and I don't think people need those types of images to understand what's happening.

CBS and Anorexia

Today I read an article on CBSnews.com called "Anorexia Stripped Bare."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/26/earlyshow/health/main3300268.shtml?source=search_story

The article was accompanied by a photo of an emaciated woman and professed anorexic. The photo first emerged on billboards in Italy, and as disturbing as the picture is, the photographer had an understandable reason to broadcast it: to show anorexia without the guise of beauty and fashion and shine light on the fashion industry's obsession with extreme thinness. The billboard is part of a campaign against anorexic models and supports London, Milan and Madrid's ban on too-thin models. The photo is controversial not only because of the issue at hand but because the woman is nude, and the extent of her anorexia- which she's dealt with for 14 years- is very apparent. Her bones are poking from her body, and she looks much older than her 27 years. I was not offended by this article or photo at all because the billboard is meant to be a deterrant against anorexia and employing anorexic models. There is a video link to CBS News' The Early Show, where this topic was also reported, and in the course of the video, the anorexia billboard is shown more clearly. There's nothing about this page that I would have handled differently. The photo is informative and newsworthy because this is a topic that continues to pop up in the media and remains relevant.

Controversial Video on CNN

The front page of CNN on Wednesday Sept. 26, had its lead story about a woman who is going to court saying she was unfairly tasered during a confrontation with a policeman. Immediately under the link to the story and a photo of the officer standing over the woman is a link to a video. In the video there is a clip (about 20 seconds in) of the officer repeatedly tasered the woman and even shoving her with his foot at one point and of the woman being so shocked that she falls into the car she is writhing next to.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/09/26/chetry.tasered.woman.interview.cnn
I would not have this video on my website. Personally I do not see the need to show a picture of the officer and woman on the front page of the website and then also give a link showing the merciless treatment she receives from the officer. I'm sure if the website is looking for hits, a lot a people would look into this video but it's awful that they show this woman getting tortured by an offic er of the law. I would have shown a photo or two but not a long segment of video.

YouTube

The link I found was on foxnews.com. It was the feature story of the day, and it is a link to a YouTube video of a landmine exploding in Iraq with American soldiers driving on a highway.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298122,00.html

Fox directly linked to the YouTube video with the only disclaimer saying "WARNING: Graphic language."

This brings up an interesting debate of how to handle YouTube videos, which are hardly censored and often times have explicit language.

In this case, I would have linked it as well, with the same disclaimer - I think FOX made the right move because it is an unbelievable, eye-popping video that really does show what American soldiers have to deal with every day during the war.

It is a YouTube video that is informative, even in spite of its graphic nature.