Journey of a Journalist

My father has been telling me for years that anything I put online will be there forever, and I need to be cognizant of the image I am projecting. He used to frequently search for me on Google — and let me know that he was doing it, as well as what he found. Once we became friends on Facebook, his comments became more frequent.

There’s a picture of you from 2009 at a party. It looks like the party was the kind that had alcohol. What do you think people think when they look at that?! They know your birthday! They can do the math!

I had to admit, he was right. In the crazy, collective world of the internet, people can tag you in photos that aren’t even on your profile. I was not too concerned, because nothing on my profile was too revealing or obscene. But I began thinking twice about even taking pictures, with his voice in the back of my head: “What do you think people think?!”

Every once in awhile I’ll get a call from him about comments other people put on my profile.

Peanut, profanity is disrespectful. You should tell him not to leave **** like that on your page.

The irony of that statement is not lost on me, by the way — but perhaps that’s the point.

My father was in the Navy for years and can have a bit of a potty-mouth sometimes. But he does not put those statements into the World Wide Web.

The conundrum of what is acceptable to say online becomes more important when you are a college student beginning your job search. There have been reports for years that employers check people’s Facebook pages before beginning the hiring process. But is this really true? And if so, does what they see really affect whether or not they’ll give you an interview?

According to an article by Mashable‘s Todd Wasserman, the answer to that question is yes. A recent study between three universities suggested that reviewing somebody’s Facebook page can accurately predict not only their GPA but also their future job performance. The researchers subjectively evaluated potential employees on five personality traits:

• Openness
• Conscientiousness
• Extraversion
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism

My father was not completely right, however (but don’t tell him I said that). Wasserman states that in many cases photos of applicants drinking or partying will not disqualify them from a potential job. He also clarifies that more research needs to be done on this subject.

But still, companies are looking.

When you are job searching, you wouldn’t show up to an interview late or dressed unprofessionally. You want to make a good first impression.

So consider this: What if your Facebook profile is your first impression? Is there anything on it you wouldn’t want your boss to see?

If so…it’s probably best to remove it from your profile.

Many, many years ago, humans fought for survival using hunting and gathering techniques. We have evolved. Today, those of us in civilized countries simply hunt for bargains and gather pre-packaged meals into our shopping carts.

Years ago, the hunter-gatherer technique served journalists well. Technology has evolved. Today, journalists need to not only locate the most valuable information, but compile it into useful and understandable segments.

Thankfully, there are many avenues to choose from. And they all rely on the power of the people.

Mark Briggs’ third chapter of “Journalism Next” is devoted to the phenomenon of crowd-powered collaboration. These recent reporting methods are rapidly changing the journalism landscape. Briggs identifies three separate types of collaborative publishing:

• Crowdsourcing
• Open-source reporting
• Pro-am journalism

All of these methods rely on the internet to provide many different sources, which contributes to an overall understanding. However, there are subtle differences between them.

• Crowdsourcing is centralized and can be thought of as an “open call” for information relating to a specific topic. This makes data collection much easier and can result in thousands of contributions. Readers provide tips, and can also be given specific tasks.
• Open-source reporting relies on transparency and involves letting readers into the story from the beginning of the reporting process. This method creates trust in the reporting process, provides new ideas, and strengthens brand identity. Some forms of open-source reporting are beatblogging and linking to other sources and documents.
• Pro-am journalism is essentially when readers provide the news topics themselves. A fundamental example of this phenomenon is CNN’s iReport, which allows the audience to upload videos and stories to share their stories with the rest of the world. It is “citizen journalism” in a pure form.

Briggs establishes that print journalism continues to be a respected and influential tool for news, but any news source that fails to establish online forms of collaborative publishing is selling themselves short. People today want to share their opinions and news that is important to them. Let them.

Considering that Mark Briggs‘ book is about journalism for the next generation, it’s no surprise that one of the first fundamentals he discusses is about blogging. (It is also no surprise that one of the main assignments for this course is to maintain a blog.) I have created blogs in the past, but I always had difficultly maintaining them for any significant period of time.

And writing in them regularly.

According to Briggs, this is a big mistake, and the reason that I never earned a following.

Blogs have changed journalism, and will continue to do so over time. They offer the opportunity to create a real community and have conversations with readers, as opposed to simply spouting out information. (As a Communication student with a PR concentration, I am well-versed in the importance of two-way communication.) But while starting a blog is simple, creating a good blog that people want to follow is not.

• Getting started

There are many foolproof blogging platforms, two of the most commonly used being Blogger and WordPress. Within a few seconds, users are able to name their blogs, choose attractive themes, and start posting. This, however, is where things can get a little more complicated.

• Getting people to read your blog

First, find a good niche, and stick with it. Trying to be “the authority” on a broad topic will cause readers to become disinterested. Develop a personality and carry it through. Blogs allow journalists to actually write in a unique voice.

Use specific headlines and summarize information. Write briefly. The idea is to inform the reader; not bore them.

Link to other information.

Post regularly (preferably once per day). This is the beauty of the blog; posts don’t need to be (and shouldn’t be) overly long, but there does need to be a lot of them.

For more information about crafting a standout blog, check out some articles from social media guru Darren Rowse. He offers techniques varying from how to work ideas into posts to garnering two-way conversation.

In his first chapter of “Journalism Next,” Mark Briggs states that in order to be successful, journalists must have a working knowledge website design and development. Considering the trend of news distribution transitioning from print to online, this makes perfect sense, but can be intimidating. Even for young adults who have been utilizing the internet for years.

Thankfully, Briggs breaks down tricky “Web speak” into comprehensive explanations and tips. Here are some of the items he addressed that were most helpful for me:

• Web browsers

I have been using Firefox for years now, ever since I bought my beloved MacBook. However, I had no idea that browsers temporarily hold onto all the files you download on the Web in a cache. Briggs recommends regularly clearing the cache, which enables the browsers to work faster and more efficiently. My eyes widened as I read this. No wonder my internet runs infuriatingly slow! My first task of chapter one: Clear cache. Check.

• Real Simple Syndication (RSS)

I’ve been hearing a lot about RSS feeds in my classes recently. Although I had an elementary understanding of what they were, I didn’t see how they were really going to be useful to me. It almost seemed like a massive news feed of other articles, which is primarily what I use Twitter for. I receive regular news updates automatically to my phone. But when Briggs pointed out that my job is to receive information from multiple different sources (like expanding your media pyramid), I decided to go ahead and try out this whole RSS thing. This was two days ago, and I’m already hooked!

I set up an account with iGoogle, which took less than thirty seconds. Whenever I open Firefox, my homepage is now a wealth of information covering topics from local weather to news to online journalism and fitness blogs. I can even glance at Food Network’s recipe of the day.

Task two: Set up RSS feed. Check.

• Web-design basics

In order to graduate from George Mason University, I was required to take (and pass) a simple IT lecture and lab. While the process was grueling, I finished that semester with a six-page website that I was actually quite proud of. The entire page was written from basic HTML, and I played around with colors, fonts, graphics and images. I sent links to my parents, who were clearly not as impressed as I was, but nonetheless. I proved to myself I was capable of creating a (VERY basic) website all on my own.

However, I am certainly not under the impression that anyone other than my parents would spend more than twenty seconds looking at my simple, unexciting site. And that’s where CSS and XML come in.

According to Briggs, CSS “makes Web sites look cool” and XML “uses tags to describe what data is.” Both are used as a complement to HTML.

Briggs provided tutorials explaining how to use both to make Web pages more exciting. I spent about half an hour playing around with my previously created website, and sure enough, CSS definitely did make my it look cooler.

Task three: Play around with HTML, CSS and XML. Check.

While I doubt I will ever be a graphic designer, I was impressed by the difference a few lines of coding makes in a site’s overall appearance.

For anyone interested in learning more about web design (I found CSS to be the “coolest”), I highly suggest checking out this site: www.csszengarden.com.

The news industry faces a bright future despite its rapid transformation, according to Mark Briggs.

As the author of three acclaimed journalism texts, as well as an entrepreneurial journalism blog, Briggs understands the changing expectations of the industry. In 2007, he wrote “Journalism 2.0” in an effort to assist the print journalist generation transition into the multimedia climate of today and tomorrow.

His 2009 venture “Journalism Next” is written instead for journalism students and young professionals who will never be part of the traditional print news of the past. Despite the negative stereotype depicting a dying industry, Briggs remains optimistic and motivates readers that they will play a significant role in this exciting future.

Briggs argues that news media will not die; it will evolve. One century ago, newspapers faced technological upheavals similar to those seen today. That was a legendary time to be going into journalism, and Briggs provides three reasons why the same is true today.

1. Journalism has a bright future.

The demand for journalism is actually increasing – not decreasing – as audiences obtain the ability to selectively choose their news sources. Commitment, passion and the ability to provide insights or a niche that nobody else can sets successful journalists apart from the trough.

2.         The future is in your hands.

The most pertinent skills Generation Y has to offer potential employers are unique media/distribution ideas and a basic knowledge — or at least intuition — of emerging technological tools. Where major newspapers failed in their attempts to re-market an identical news structure to the online audience, the new generation of journalists can succeed by redefining the medium and techniques.

3.         Journalism will be better than it was before.

Briggs writes, “Change is inevitable, but progress is optional.”

Journalists today do not have a choice whether or not their industry is changing; it has, and will continue to do so. The good news is that journalists can modify their contributions to work with the evolution and ultimately help their audience become more knowledgeable. Advances such as Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds allow multiple pieces of information to be shared with a larger audience than ever possible before.

Journalists today will decide how citizens tomorrow are informed about some of the most crucial aspects of their lives.

Mark Briggs discusses the evolution of journalism methods.

[View the story “Rising Against the Superbowl” on Storify]

The evolution of technology affects the news industry in seemingly limitless ways, but perhaps one of the most significant changes is how stories are being written – and why.

The ability to track and evaluate page views allows news sources to have a solid understanding of what attracts readers’ eyes and attention. But according to Washington Post staff writer Joel Achenbach, this is also a recipe for journalists to get caught up in popularity numbers and sacrifice the information readers really need to know. Particularly at a time when opinionated blogs and unverified tweets litter the media landscape (how many false celebrity deaths were reported last year?), ethical news reporting is more necessary than ever.

The pages that draw the most views are not necessarily the best. They may not even be accurate.

Dedication to solid reporting and good writing continues to set journalists apart from the sea of internet opinions. Writers must remember this when their balanced analysis of Obama’s health care bill seems to fall on deaf ears compared to the hits on a scathing article about Kim Kardashian’s divorce.

There is certainly an audience and a need for entertainment, and there is also an audience and a need for hard news. Sometimes the stories overlap. Sometimes, they do not.

Journalists have an obligation to listen to their readers and provide information on the stories that are hot topics, including pop culture and fads or trends. Page view data can certainly assist with this. But as journalists, they are also obligated to research and inform readers about less-popular topics.

And – of course – to do so factually with the appropriate punctuation.

At the end of the day, page views aside, it is easy to tell the difference between a TMZ article and one written for the Washington Post.

In today’s rapidly evolving media climate, consumers have seemingly unlimited options in terms of their sources for news and entertainment. The prevalence and dominance of the internet and other technological developments are dramatically altering both the ways the public receives their news and the techniques used by journalists to reach them.

However, not all of these sources are equal when it comes to evaluating their credibility and scope. According to Eric Deggan’s Poynter article, the choices we make about our media consumption affect our intellectual well-being the same way our food choices affect our physical well-being. Traditional news outlets continue to aim for well-balanced and factual articles, while television news programs tend to be more one-sided and emotionally charged.

In some ways, opinion columns have evolved into personal blogs, wherein any so-called “citizen journalist” can air their social and political views which may or may not be supported by facts. In my (strictly personal) opinion, these changes have contributed to the increased polarity between political parties and their constituents. Between the “tree-hugging Liberals” and the Tea Party, moderate middle ground seems to be disintegrating.

Deggan’s statements caused me to re-evaluate my own media choices, and I found that I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to selecting news sources which validify my personal views. My main source of information is without a doubt CNN; I receive multiple updates daily through my iPhone application and I browse their website whenever I find a free moment. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter also play a large role in my media consumption, although I use them mostly for keeping in touch with friends and sharing pictures. I regularly read articles from the Washington Post and, for dessert, Cosmopolitan.

I listen to the radio frequently while running errands, but I listen for something to dance to, not for information. While financial constraints persuaded me to cancel my cable subscription, once or twice a week I watch DVR’d episodes of the Colbert Report at my boyfriends house. Even when I had cable, I never watched Fox News — not even once. When my father, a strictly down-the-ballot Republican, turned it on I would leave the room to avoid any conflicts or arguments.

So I am certainly not holier-than-thou in my media consumption, despite the fact that I am an aspiring journalist and take care to stay abreast of major news. This exercise has convinced me that it would be beneficial for me to expand my media horizons in an attempt to meet all my news nutrition goals.

Maybe Fox News could teach me something new.

And, if not, at least it will allow me to construct better arguments about the things I disagree with.