Ethics, law and libel. Three terms we see often in journalism of all sorts; in fact, many colleges have j-courses devoted entirely to ethics, law and/or libel. But in those courses -- or at least the ones I've experienced at the University of Connecticut -- the focus is largely upon print or photo journalism. There isn't much emphasis on the Web.
That's where James C. Foust's "Online Journalism" textbook comes in. He specifically discusses "Legal and Ethical Issues" in chapter 10 of the print version of his book. I read the chapter and I think I'll try to tackle the three activities on p. 235.
Activity 10.1 focuses upon user agreements. I've linked The Chronicle of Higher Education's user agreement here. A user agreement, sometimes seen as "Terms of Use," is the contract between a Web site and its users. It's not something that jumps out at a netizen normally, but virtually all sites have a link to such an agreement somewhere.
For the purposes of Foust's question, I'm going to center on ESPN's Web site. Listed under "Terms of Use" at the bottom of the homepage, it links to Disney's user agreement because of the merger between the two powerhouses.
In regards to copyright, it says: "Notifications of claimed copyright infringement must be sent to Service Provider's Designated Agent," which in this case is WDIG. In terms of linking it says users may be directed to other sites without ESPN's knowledge, at which point they are not liable. As for postings made by users, they make the reader aware of the fact that anything they post may be made available via the Internet and search engines. A fair warning.
These examples would stand up to court challenges because ESPN/Disney is thorough in its definition and rules about copyright, linking and postings. Legally, nothing imperative is left unsaid.
Moving forward, let's take a closer look at linking. There are a few different types of linking. Deep linking is, "bypassing a Web site's home page or other introductory material by linking to a page 'deep' within the site's structure," according to Foust (226). Inline linking is done through the use of HTML and URL's, while associative linking concerns the reputation of the sites that are connected to one another.
In deep linking, the rights that need to be balanced are those of the Web site's central producer and those reaping the benefits of a click on a deep link. Inline linking calls for a balance between the engineers/technicians and site operators, while associative linking requires a balance between the two sites that are linked -- regardless of whether or not the linking is accidental or contrived.
Finally, for activity 10.3 I'll head to CNN.com. I must admit this was Foust's suggestion in his textbook. I'm going to take a look at some of the specific photo credits and get a general idea as to how many copyright owners are out there. Are they far and few between, or plentiful? Let's see...
On the home page I see one credited to Getty Images. In the "World" section I see another to Getty Images. On the "U.S." page there's credit to Kristi Keck of CNN, while mostly all of the sports pictures were credited to SIpictures.com. Of course CNN and Sports Illustrated have merged, as well.
Overall it seems that the number of copyright owners is small. Almost like an oligopoly in the industry.
All this being said, the point is that ethics, law and libel are very much a part of the online journalism realm. As much so, perhaps, as the world of print and photo journalism.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
Non-Traditional Storytelling Techniques
Print, audio and video. Generally online journalists stick to those mediums for storytelling, but that doesn't mean they are the only viable options.
For new examples, let's take a look at chapter 9 of James C. Foust's "Online Journalism" textbook. Specifically, I'll focus on the section of the Web text called "Types of Media Elements."
Flash journalism is an interesting storytelling possibility. Flash journalism allows for the combination of audio, video, text and pictures in one medium. This can certainly be extremely helpful in packaging a story and giving the reader a number of different options. Perhaps the best aspect of flash journalism is that it allows the reader to select the way they'd like to get the story, according to Jose Marquez, a producer at KQED Interactive.
Photo composition is another potentially beneficial technique. Often Web photos are blurry, disorganized and mismanaged -- but focusing on composition can rectify those problems. Composition centers upon the way the subjects of the photo are positioned in the frame and the amount of zoom or focus that is used after the fact. An example from the link I've provided is that photo of the family of four pushed to the left in the wide scope, but then centered and enlarged on its own. The second option is much more effective and clearer.
Perhaps the most contemporary and interesting new example is under the heading "Going Digital." This section discusses the recording of interviews directly into a reporter's computer. So much for the old paper and pen. This technique can work if a reporter plugs their tape recorder directly into their computer's slot for the multimedia sound card.
Moving on to question 2 on page 214 of Foust's print textbook, the "game" elements discussed at the end of the chapter certainly do help the reader get a better understanding of the information at hand. Looking at the three examples -- The Enron Blame Game, Minnesota Public Radio Budget Balancer and Can You Spot the Threats? -- it is easier to comprehend each situation when put into game format where competition is involved.
I liken this to high school teachers or college professors who like to play factual Jeopardy with their students in order to make them more interested and enthusiastic about their subject matter. It generally works.
Finishing up with question 3, a story I recently worked on that could have used some multimedia elements was called "Cut A-Rod Some Slack." This column was in defense of the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez who is constantly under great fan and media scrutiny.
I would have featured a video clip of A-Rod's game-winning, walk-off grand slam so my readers could get a look at what I was describing. For audio I would have utilized a clip of the rowdy fan reaction at Yankee Stadium. Perhaps I could have added an interactive slideshow of the post-homer celebration which was quite a sight to see.
These features could enhance the story in ways that print cannot by putting the readers back into the actual moment with the same feel and intensity of the instance. My words do the story justice, but the sights and sounds help the reader relive it.
For new examples, let's take a look at chapter 9 of James C. Foust's "Online Journalism" textbook. Specifically, I'll focus on the section of the Web text called "Types of Media Elements."
Flash journalism is an interesting storytelling possibility. Flash journalism allows for the combination of audio, video, text and pictures in one medium. This can certainly be extremely helpful in packaging a story and giving the reader a number of different options. Perhaps the best aspect of flash journalism is that it allows the reader to select the way they'd like to get the story, according to Jose Marquez, a producer at KQED Interactive.
Photo composition is another potentially beneficial technique. Often Web photos are blurry, disorganized and mismanaged -- but focusing on composition can rectify those problems. Composition centers upon the way the subjects of the photo are positioned in the frame and the amount of zoom or focus that is used after the fact. An example from the link I've provided is that photo of the family of four pushed to the left in the wide scope, but then centered and enlarged on its own. The second option is much more effective and clearer.
Perhaps the most contemporary and interesting new example is under the heading "Going Digital." This section discusses the recording of interviews directly into a reporter's computer. So much for the old paper and pen. This technique can work if a reporter plugs their tape recorder directly into their computer's slot for the multimedia sound card.
Moving on to question 2 on page 214 of Foust's print textbook, the "game" elements discussed at the end of the chapter certainly do help the reader get a better understanding of the information at hand. Looking at the three examples -- The Enron Blame Game, Minnesota Public Radio Budget Balancer and Can You Spot the Threats? -- it is easier to comprehend each situation when put into game format where competition is involved.
I liken this to high school teachers or college professors who like to play factual Jeopardy with their students in order to make them more interested and enthusiastic about their subject matter. It generally works.
Finishing up with question 3, a story I recently worked on that could have used some multimedia elements was called "Cut A-Rod Some Slack." This column was in defense of the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez who is constantly under great fan and media scrutiny.
I would have featured a video clip of A-Rod's game-winning, walk-off grand slam so my readers could get a look at what I was describing. For audio I would have utilized a clip of the rowdy fan reaction at Yankee Stadium. Perhaps I could have added an interactive slideshow of the post-homer celebration which was quite a sight to see.
These features could enhance the story in ways that print cannot by putting the readers back into the actual moment with the same feel and intensity of the instance. My words do the story justice, but the sights and sounds help the reader relive it.
Monday, April 9, 2007
It Doesn't Hurt to Try New Things
Web site construction can be a tedious, frustrating, time-consuming thing, but if you're going to do it, might as well go all out. This means trying new things with it and giving your site plenty of features that will make the netizen's life easier.
This week I'll take a look at pop-up windows, jump menus, playing a sound and last week's rerun -- the swap image.
Not only can these features make the netizen's life easier, but they can also keep them more interested and entertained by your work.
Let's lead off with the creation of a pop-up window. Instructions for this process can be found at entheosweb.com, where they also provide the function and links codes for people who do not have Microsoft Dreamweaver.
Following the steps I was able to open a new window, although you may get stuck at steps 3 and 5 (like I did). I've been working with Dreamweaver for a couple of months, but by no means am I an aficionado -- as a result, I had trouble finding the plus symbol in step 3 and deciding on what to specify the width as in step 5.
The use of jump menus can consolidate a surplus of links. Here you can look at the steps for creating a jump menu. Once you've located the plus symbol in the steps for the pop-up window, this process becomes much easier. The six steps are fairly simple and as you can see you can tag as many links as u would like with the +/- option.
I didn't make any permanent changes to my Web site but for practice I used the links to ESPN, the University of Connecticut and Yahoo! Sports. Seemed to work just fine, I usually get more frustrated with a bunch of steps being thrown at me.
The difficulties emerged, however, when it came to playing a sound. The instructions say it can be done in two simple steps, but for some reason I'm stuck on step 1. I've never created a link before so I tried the simple suggestion of "#" but it failed. I'm sure I'm overlooking something specific but after a few attempts I'm moving on to round 2 with the swap image.
If you've been reading weekly, you know the swap image gave me quite a headache a couple weeks back. If you follow that link the steps are there, but the first thing that jumps out at me is where it says, "Swap images are fun and easy to design."
Oh, I beg to differ.
But before I go off on a rant about my prior struggles with the swap image, let's jump back into the steps. This set of instructions is entirely different from the list that gave me trouble last time. Most helpful are the pictures that have the specific boxes to click clearly circled in red. Thank you very much for that.
Step 3, slicing the images was a problem for me, as was step 5 and exporting the entire file. After battling back and forth with those steps, while breezing through the others, I'm left with my name (in yellow) popping up over a blue box I initiated with. I don't know if this is a rollover or swap image but it certainly looks like something.
For my satisfaction's sake let's assume it's a swap image. Thus, the deed is done and the battle with technology is over...for now.
This week I'll take a look at pop-up windows, jump menus, playing a sound and last week's rerun -- the swap image.
Not only can these features make the netizen's life easier, but they can also keep them more interested and entertained by your work.
Let's lead off with the creation of a pop-up window. Instructions for this process can be found at entheosweb.com, where they also provide the function and links codes for people who do not have Microsoft Dreamweaver.
Following the steps I was able to open a new window, although you may get stuck at steps 3 and 5 (like I did). I've been working with Dreamweaver for a couple of months, but by no means am I an aficionado -- as a result, I had trouble finding the plus symbol in step 3 and deciding on what to specify the width as in step 5.
The use of jump menus can consolidate a surplus of links. Here you can look at the steps for creating a jump menu. Once you've located the plus symbol in the steps for the pop-up window, this process becomes much easier. The six steps are fairly simple and as you can see you can tag as many links as u would like with the +/- option.
I didn't make any permanent changes to my Web site but for practice I used the links to ESPN, the University of Connecticut and Yahoo! Sports. Seemed to work just fine, I usually get more frustrated with a bunch of steps being thrown at me.
The difficulties emerged, however, when it came to playing a sound. The instructions say it can be done in two simple steps, but for some reason I'm stuck on step 1. I've never created a link before so I tried the simple suggestion of "#" but it failed. I'm sure I'm overlooking something specific but after a few attempts I'm moving on to round 2 with the swap image.
If you've been reading weekly, you know the swap image gave me quite a headache a couple weeks back. If you follow that link the steps are there, but the first thing that jumps out at me is where it says, "Swap images are fun and easy to design."
Oh, I beg to differ.
But before I go off on a rant about my prior struggles with the swap image, let's jump back into the steps. This set of instructions is entirely different from the list that gave me trouble last time. Most helpful are the pictures that have the specific boxes to click clearly circled in red. Thank you very much for that.
Step 3, slicing the images was a problem for me, as was step 5 and exporting the entire file. After battling back and forth with those steps, while breezing through the others, I'm left with my name (in yellow) popping up over a blue box I initiated with. I don't know if this is a rollover or swap image but it certainly looks like something.
For my satisfaction's sake let's assume it's a swap image. Thus, the deed is done and the battle with technology is over...for now.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Learning from the Web
While some of the Web's information is unattributed and unreliable, much of it remains very helpful and as the old saying goes, I "learn something new everyday."
I recently took a look at four Web sites that (in part) discuss this very phenomenon -- distinguishing between legitimate and falsified information.
On virtualchase.com there is a list of six things to do when evaluating information, in general. Of course this is supposed to be applied to Web sites and some of the criteria include identifying the source and discovering their expertise and verifying the key claims of the information.
These tips can be helpful, although I can't see how common sense wouldn't tell a reader to take such steps if skeptical about the validity of certain information. Also, what if you are looking for the source's credentials but they are simply unavailable on the Web -- does that make them unreliable? You can see where some consistency issues might arise here.
This page from the UC-Berkeley library site highlights some techniques and questions to ask when looking closely at a Web site's content. In terms of layout this particular page is brutal, it's cluttered, has an odd color scheme and jumps all over the place, making it virtually unnavigable. That being said, some of the tips include evaluating the URL, searching for indicators of quality information and looking at the number of outside links on the page.
As is often the case in the realm of online journalism, Mindy McAdams chimes in her expertise on the topic. Her tips for verifying information are checking the domain name, being weary of the tilde, using the "Whois lookup" and making a phone call, if necessary. Her suggestions are always noted, but just as we should be skeptical of Web information, the same applies to the extent of McAdams' knowledge in what is still a relatively new field.
The fourth, the Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility is about as straightforward as they come. I'm sure it's helpful to the students on campus looking to cite Internet sources in their essays and dissertations, but for me it's a regurgitation of what's been discussed above.
The point of it all is, don't believe everything you see on the Web. Take a closer look.
I recently took a look at four Web sites that (in part) discuss this very phenomenon -- distinguishing between legitimate and falsified information.
On virtualchase.com there is a list of six things to do when evaluating information, in general. Of course this is supposed to be applied to Web sites and some of the criteria include identifying the source and discovering their expertise and verifying the key claims of the information.
These tips can be helpful, although I can't see how common sense wouldn't tell a reader to take such steps if skeptical about the validity of certain information. Also, what if you are looking for the source's credentials but they are simply unavailable on the Web -- does that make them unreliable? You can see where some consistency issues might arise here.
This page from the UC-Berkeley library site highlights some techniques and questions to ask when looking closely at a Web site's content. In terms of layout this particular page is brutal, it's cluttered, has an odd color scheme and jumps all over the place, making it virtually unnavigable. That being said, some of the tips include evaluating the URL, searching for indicators of quality information and looking at the number of outside links on the page.
As is often the case in the realm of online journalism, Mindy McAdams chimes in her expertise on the topic. Her tips for verifying information are checking the domain name, being weary of the tilde, using the "Whois lookup" and making a phone call, if necessary. Her suggestions are always noted, but just as we should be skeptical of Web information, the same applies to the extent of McAdams' knowledge in what is still a relatively new field.
The fourth, the Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility is about as straightforward as they come. I'm sure it's helpful to the students on campus looking to cite Internet sources in their essays and dissertations, but for me it's a regurgitation of what's been discussed above.
The point of it all is, don't believe everything you see on the Web. Take a closer look.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Journalistic Exercises
As journalists, sometimes we have to test ourselves. I spent a little time working on Power Reporting's web treasure hunt this weekend, to gauge the extent of my research abilities.
I specifically took a look at questions 1 and 2 and the answer I found for No. 1 is $1,071,047.37. That would be Babe Ruth's $80,000 salary from 1931 -- adjusted for today's value -- according to the CPI inflation calculator.
Oddly enough, my answer was incorrect based on Power Reporting's assessment. They said the value was closer to $980,000.
Question 1 would have been difficult to answer if not for the hint, but question 2 is a walk in the park. Given the phone number 202-965-3515, all I had to do to find out whose number it was was plug the number into Google. The correct answer is Elsa Walsh of Washington, D.C.
In another realm, the swap image is an interesting journalistic tool. "The swap image action swaps one image for another by changing the SRC attribute of the image tag," according to Microsoft Dreamweaver's help page. I linked to it from this page of Kodi Barth's website. Barth is a professor of online journalism at the University of Connecticut.
As for the swap image, the second step says to enter a name into the "property inspector." I have no idea what that is, nor is it specified in the directions -- thus the rest of the process was quite difficult.
Step three makes it clear that multiple images can be swapped, which is a nice feature. Some of the problems I encountered following steps four through six included a lack of access to the "behaviors panel" and "actions pop-up menu" and struggles with the "plus" button, because it wasn't clear as to what I was supposed to be doing with that.
After a little help from my friends I was finally able to swap a few images of myself that I had saved on file. Quite a nifty little trick, too bad I failed to figure it out on my own. In addition, step nine details a very useful "preload images" option that allows for the prevention of downloading delays.
As we all know in today's world of netizens -- the faster the better. As for the swap image, potentially helpful, but essentially a big headache for me.
I specifically took a look at questions 1 and 2 and the answer I found for No. 1 is $1,071,047.37. That would be Babe Ruth's $80,000 salary from 1931 -- adjusted for today's value -- according to the CPI inflation calculator.
Oddly enough, my answer was incorrect based on Power Reporting's assessment. They said the value was closer to $980,000.
Question 1 would have been difficult to answer if not for the hint, but question 2 is a walk in the park. Given the phone number 202-965-3515, all I had to do to find out whose number it was was plug the number into Google. The correct answer is Elsa Walsh of Washington, D.C.
In another realm, the swap image is an interesting journalistic tool. "The swap image action swaps one image for another by changing the SRC attribute of the image tag," according to Microsoft Dreamweaver's help page. I linked to it from this page of Kodi Barth's website. Barth is a professor of online journalism at the University of Connecticut.
As for the swap image, the second step says to enter a name into the "property inspector." I have no idea what that is, nor is it specified in the directions -- thus the rest of the process was quite difficult.
Step three makes it clear that multiple images can be swapped, which is a nice feature. Some of the problems I encountered following steps four through six included a lack of access to the "behaviors panel" and "actions pop-up menu" and struggles with the "plus" button, because it wasn't clear as to what I was supposed to be doing with that.
After a little help from my friends I was finally able to swap a few images of myself that I had saved on file. Quite a nifty little trick, too bad I failed to figure it out on my own. In addition, step nine details a very useful "preload images" option that allows for the prevention of downloading delays.
As we all know in today's world of netizens -- the faster the better. As for the swap image, potentially helpful, but essentially a big headache for me.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Web is Not Print
There are many ways in which print journalism differs from online journalism. In fact, in recent years many of the nation's top newspapers have expanded upon their one-dimensional traditions and entered the world of Web interactivity.
The specifics about the publications that have expanded can be found in chapter nine of James C. Foust's Online Journalism textbook, in the "advanced interactivity" section. A study by the Bivings Group lists the key findings. For example, 80 of America's top 100 newspapers offer at least one reporter blog on their websites.
As for the nuts and bolts of interactivity, well, it's basically the availability of print, audio, video, opinion and fact -- all in one place. Also in chapter nine of Foust's online text, Thom Lieb discusses "Inactivity on Interactivity" and how despite all of these options in one place, readers may still utilize very little of it and fail to capitalize on the opportunity to use these multiple mediums to their advantage.
The same can be said of those running interactive sites, as well.
The impressive nature of Foust's online textbook prompted me to take a look at the print version of his work, specifically page 214 and the "Activities" section. Looking at question 9.1, Macromedia's website shows these tools that are not of a "journalistic nature," but Mindy McAdams (online journalism expert) discusses how despite that fact, flash players can help add video and audio clips to websites.
Question 9.2 can be answered with a simple yes. Interacting with information obviously gives us a better understanding of it because as comes with all repetition, "Practice makes perfect." The more exposure we have to this type of information, the better.
9.3 has already been addressed here. Utilizing multimedia to its fullest means putting your story in print and giving options for both video and audio commentary or follow-up. Nice additions could also be message boards and chat rooms to allow readers to discuss your work.
Marie Shanahan, Senior Online Producer of CTnow.com, recently spoke at the University of Connecticut and emphatically told journalism students that, "Web is not print!" She was stressing the point that while Web may offer print, it can go much further beyond that and has greater capabilities than say, paper news or the hard copy of a magazine.
It's a new age in the rhelm of journalism and while print is still with us, it no longer stands alone.
The specifics about the publications that have expanded can be found in chapter nine of James C. Foust's Online Journalism textbook, in the "advanced interactivity" section. A study by the Bivings Group lists the key findings. For example, 80 of America's top 100 newspapers offer at least one reporter blog on their websites.
As for the nuts and bolts of interactivity, well, it's basically the availability of print, audio, video, opinion and fact -- all in one place. Also in chapter nine of Foust's online text, Thom Lieb discusses "Inactivity on Interactivity" and how despite all of these options in one place, readers may still utilize very little of it and fail to capitalize on the opportunity to use these multiple mediums to their advantage.
The same can be said of those running interactive sites, as well.
The impressive nature of Foust's online textbook prompted me to take a look at the print version of his work, specifically page 214 and the "Activities" section. Looking at question 9.1, Macromedia's website shows these tools that are not of a "journalistic nature," but Mindy McAdams (online journalism expert) discusses how despite that fact, flash players can help add video and audio clips to websites.
Question 9.2 can be answered with a simple yes. Interacting with information obviously gives us a better understanding of it because as comes with all repetition, "Practice makes perfect." The more exposure we have to this type of information, the better.
9.3 has already been addressed here. Utilizing multimedia to its fullest means putting your story in print and giving options for both video and audio commentary or follow-up. Nice additions could also be message boards and chat rooms to allow readers to discuss your work.
Marie Shanahan, Senior Online Producer of CTnow.com, recently spoke at the University of Connecticut and emphatically told journalism students that, "Web is not print!" She was stressing the point that while Web may offer print, it can go much further beyond that and has greater capabilities than say, paper news or the hard copy of a magazine.
It's a new age in the rhelm of journalism and while print is still with us, it no longer stands alone.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Journalistic Blog Reviews
I'll lead off with the ever-popular Mindy McAdams. She's an expert in the online journalism rhelm and yet her blog leaves a lot to be desired. Of course, she uses links and white space efficiently, but her page is quite cluttered. To the left, she has her writing as well as the posts of others, including Rob Curley. On the right she has a bio, then an extremely long laundry list of links, followed by a section of other blogs that she reads. I wish she kept things simple like she herself suggests to other bloggers.
Then there's Dan Gillmor. Gillmor mirrors Romenesko in that he chooses to list by linked headlines and then provide teasers beneath those links. This format certainly boasts organization but it also can breed monotony. Overall, I'm indifferent. It doesn't bore me too much, but I'm simply not enthralled. The advertisements on Gillmor's page are plenty, but they run around the perimeter and aren't too distracting.
Moving on to Adrian Holovaty of the Washington Post. Holovaty's blog is especially bland. White background and plenty of listing, but it's successfully simple and he uses boldfacing and underlining well. There aren't many ads and virtually no clutter, so it's an easily navigable site. Certainly the easiest to follow of the three thus far.
Jeff Jarvis and Pamela Parket are good examples of stylistically contrasting blogs. Jarvis uses a smooth gray on his border while Parket features a sharp green. Parket annoyingly dabs groups some links together at the top of her page while Jarvis incorporates his links nicely into his paragraphs. Lastly, Jarvis is politically inclined while Parket is clearly environmentally-minded.
Then there's Dan Gillmor. Gillmor mirrors Romenesko in that he chooses to list by linked headlines and then provide teasers beneath those links. This format certainly boasts organization but it also can breed monotony. Overall, I'm indifferent. It doesn't bore me too much, but I'm simply not enthralled. The advertisements on Gillmor's page are plenty, but they run around the perimeter and aren't too distracting.
Moving on to Adrian Holovaty of the Washington Post. Holovaty's blog is especially bland. White background and plenty of listing, but it's successfully simple and he uses boldfacing and underlining well. There aren't many ads and virtually no clutter, so it's an easily navigable site. Certainly the easiest to follow of the three thus far.
Jeff Jarvis and Pamela Parket are good examples of stylistically contrasting blogs. Jarvis uses a smooth gray on his border while Parket features a sharp green. Parket annoyingly dabs groups some links together at the top of her page while Jarvis incorporates his links nicely into his paragraphs. Lastly, Jarvis is politically inclined while Parket is clearly environmentally-minded.
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