Bob Sharpe's Blog

Chapter eight talks about the use of video in journalism and how it can captivate an audience.

We are at a point where most of us need to see something visual whether it be a picture or a video to keep our attention, not just words.

In some cases, such as the first one in the chapter about the one-leg baseball player, a video of him playing truly does grasp the incredible feat that boy is doing.

This is another example of how a video captures a truly miraculous event.

Final Seconds of the \”Miracle on Ice\”

After another great Olympic hockey tournament, it reminds us of the glory the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team gave back to the citizens of this country.  It was a victory beyond sports.  It was a political statement and restored a sense of patriotism among Americans.

Words cannot fully describe the impact of that team.  The sights and sounds of it however, can.

Chapter 11 discusses how to gather and maintain an audience using new journalism platforms.

The main point of the chapter was to establish what the audience likes and dislikes.  It would be a waste of time and effort to report on something nobody wants to know or cares about.

To keep organization and track what is being reported on there are some things to look out for:

•    The total news stories in a day
•    How many stories there are in a certain category such as sports, business, politics, etc.
•    Video stories per week
•    Blogs for a specific blog

Finally, the use of images and videos are becoming a main component of attracting audiences and keeping up with competition.  The audience wants something appealing to the eye not just the mind.

Despite being a Flyers fan, I think Capitals fans and Flyers fans can all enjoy a moment such as this.

Crosby Demolition

Video courtesy of youtube, user kyleBOTD

Chapter 10 discusses using journalism as a conversation.  The key aspect in the chapter was the influence the audience now has using an online medium.

The chapter distinguishes how there seems to be a division amongst journalists.  There are journalists who are trying to adapt to incorporating the audience as much as possible while still upholding their professional responsibility.

However, there are still journalists who feel they are above the audience in terms of distributing information and reporting on it.

Regardless, it is inevitable that the audience has a defining role in journalism.  This has both positive and negative consequences.

Here are the positives:

•    The audience can establish a personal connection with the writer by either commenting or sending them a personal message such as when The Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Gonzalez goes through his mailbag or has a question and answer session each week.
•    It allows readers to see counter arguments to the opinion of the writer in an editorial piece.

Here are the negatives:

•    Some comments can be very distasteful and despicable.  An example of this can be seen on people’s reaction to Allen Iverson leaving the Philadelphia 76ers.
•    It brings up First Amendment debate.  The chapter indicates to monitor all posts.  However, do we as journalists have the right to censor someone’s opinion on a public post?  It technically would violate that commenter’s right to free speech.  It is certainly an interesting issue to debate.

Chapter 3 delves into how the audience has become much more involved in journalism.

The three key components to support this argument were new methods being used involving the audience:

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

All three are very beneficial forms of connecting with the audience.  It also however, places more responsibility on the journalist.

For example, every passionate Philadelphia Phillies fan knows that the team will have to decide what to do with star outfielder Jayson Werth once his contract expires after this season.

So it is useless for a journalist to write a piece only about the unfortunate situation.  Instead, a solid journalist such as David Murphy tries to go deeper and get Werth’s opinion on it so the fans know where he stands.  Sometimes this works and other times the response is the agonizing, “No comment.”

I thought the best point brought up in the chapter was about links to other media outlets.  I completely agree with the argument that by media outlets loosening their stance on links to rival outlets is in fact, beneficial.  As stated in the book, it is just like Google, everyone will want to go back to it, thus it seems logical.

Chapter six was an eye-grabbing chapter.  This was due to the photos throughout the chapter.  Photography has always been instrumental in journalism.  However, it is now even more critical for contemporary journalists.

A compelling photo can be the difference between a reader staying on a page to read the article or navigating away from the page.

I know I am more compelled to stay hooked to an online article if there is a photo to connect to the story.  Although the content of the story is more important, a photo can lead into the article will discuss or set the tone for the article.

For example if the Philadelphia Flyers won a game, it will likely show a photo of a player scoring such as this:

Flyers Win

However, if the Flyers lost it would look more like this:

Flyers Lose

The discrepancy between the photos set up for what the article will entail.  Finally, I thought it was important that copyright was mentioned.  Credit must be given where credit is due.

Photos courtesy of “Google Images.”

Chapter five was about the importance of adapting and using mobile devices as a journalist.  I immediately connected with the chapter since it started with a sports example.  It was about soccer superstar Christiano Ronaldo and an automobile accident he had this time last year.  The reporter on scene was able to take a picture with her cell phone and the photo and story spread like wildfire throughout England.

Cell phones have been both great and devastating to journalism.  The positive aspect is that they allow an instantaneous method for publishing effectively.  The negative to me is that it seems privacy goes out the window.  Celebrities, athletes, and people of power are no longer allowed to be themselves anymore.  If the slightest off color remark or joke is made to a friend, a recording cell phone picks it up and it leads to a public image nightmare.

I am not condoning these people make off color remarks like it is their job, but they have to be allowed to be themselves somewhat, they are people after all.  We would not appreciate a complete stranger recording a conversation with a friend while walking behind us.

I felt the stories we use mobile devices were legitimate.  However, I thought the description of court cases was too vague.  Most judges do not tolerate cameras in their courtroom.  This is why we see the sketches of the scene on the nightly news.  I felt Briggs could have elaborated on this and say perhaps outside the courthouse after a proceeding or verdict.

Chapter 9 focused on the constant collecting and distributing of data.  Journalism like every other profession uses data to justify its arguments and to make improvements on their product.

This is what I agree with the chapter on why data is so important to journalism:

•    It is organized.  Using data helps in categorizing what we are looking for in our stories and how to prioritize that information.  For example in the book it mentions a business writer may look for some of the following:  Name of the company, location, CEO, etc.
•    Justification.  It is unprofessional to write a baseless article.  You cannot just have a gut feeling about a story.  It needs to be supported with concrete facts because in journalism, the truth is all that matters.
•    Influence.  Facts cannot be ignored.  The blog that was started by The Los Angeles Times literally saves lives.  It was a homicide blog that ended up as a database with each murder in the city posted on a Google Map.  While it is not a pleasant story, it is a real issue and helps everyone in the bad areas of that city.

Data can be real dry and boring, but it gets the job done.  It is factual, concrete, and until otherwise proven different an accepted truth.  And that is all that matters to a successful journalist, truth.

Chapter four was the most interesting of the first four chapters we have read so far.  It focuses more specifically on blogging and the twitter phenomenon.

Twitter is probably the hottest form of communication right now.  It is short, concise, and connects journalists and celebrities to their audience and fans directly.  Any celebrity can claim they are posting something on a blog or website, when it is probably a lawyer or representative.  Twitter can be done right on a cell phone and is quick and direct.

Although I do not use twitter, here is what I think has launched its popularity:

•    It’s instantaneous.  Online articles can be written and posted five minutes after an event happens.  With twitter, a short and concise summary can be sent out while the event is going on.
•    The length.  A 140-character limit is going to keep the attention span of the reader.  They can glance at their phone and look at the update as if it were a text message.
•    Availability.  Virtually every person of importance now has a twitter.  It makes especially celebrities’ public image better since it makes it seem like they are making a conscious effort to reach out to their fans.

While twitter is a great way of communicating and receiving information, some accounts have a price to access it.  I think I will wait the extra five minutes for the article to go up then pay a monthly fee to get the information on the spot.

Chapter two was a very interesting and intriguing chapter.  It talked about what blogging is and its evolution in the past decade.

To me, blogging is one of the greatest tools applied to journalism in recent memory because it is easy to do and establishes a true connection with a journalist and his audience.

Here were the key concepts I took from the chapter:

•    I found it very interesting and was unaware blogging really started gaining popularity after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
•    I knew blogging was different from general reporting, but it is almost its own world.  There are key aspects such as post, permalink, and blogroll that distinguish blogging as a new form of journalism all on its own.
•    The methods of which a blog is structured.  For example, if I did a blog on President Obama, it should be something specific such as only following his pursuit of health care legislation.

This is the future of the profession.  It may not be the most objective or formal method, but it certainly sells to the public.  Why move further away from the audience when this tool only brings them closer to the writer?  Blogging will only further develop and improve from where it is today.

Chapter one like in all other books was a brief introduction into what we would learn from reading the book.  It touched on what the journalism industry is doing to keep up with all the advances in technology.

The key topic that jumped out to me was the influence of RSS feeds to journalists.  Many journalism students are subscribing to RSS feeds to keep up with their favorite writers and/or interests.

It may sound odd, but I am not a passionate RSS feed subscriber.  Here is why:

•    I browse around so much on the Internet that I do not really have a particular writer I prefer.  I look for what I need to find and then read about it.
•    Like everyone else, what is news to me may not be news to someone else.  If the Philadelphia Flyers win a critical game or make a monumental trade, I am reading about it.  If it is about how another writer is complaining that nothing is getting done in Washington, I want nothing to do with it.
•    It comes off as lazy to me.  It takes less than a minute to locate what you want to find on the Internet.  Instead, if the writer writes something, it is automatically sent to you.

I am obviously in the minority on this, but I still am unconvinced how great a tool RSS is after reading the chapter.