The Evolving Newsroom

OnlineJournalismBlog has generated some data maps showing how much coverage various newspapers' editors give to various countries. The country expands if it gets lots of coverage, shrinks like a deflating balloon if it gets very little. (Thanks to NZBC for the link).

Here's a couple. Click through to OJB see the rest, and the explanation.

A few big names got caught out not long ago using quotes from a Facebook profile purported to belong to Benazir Bhutto's son. The profile was a fake, although it turns out her son did have a profile but clearly one which reporters didn't stumble upon.

Subsequently, AFP has banned its reporters using either Facebook or Wikipedia as 'sole sources' and requiring additional, trusted, sources to be used corroboratively.

That should have gone without saying. Reporters should never use a single source. Even trustworthy sources are worth checking. After all, sometimes it's the discrepancy in view between trusted sources that turns out to be the story.

There's no reason reporters can't use Facebook, Bebo and Wikipedia as starting points for ideas, trends, information, sentiment and sources of potential interviewees. But they should double-check any information they come across on wikis and social networking sites. This is not rocket science. It's standard journalistic practice. Get on the phone, and check your biographical dictionaries, electoral rolls and so on.

The best way to prevent being duped is to know your beat - no change there. If you understand what your sources are talking about, you quickly get a sense when something's not quite right.

I know reporters don't always have the luxury of knowing their beat. I know you can often be thrown into story after story with little lead-in time, no specialist knowledge and a looming deadline. The answer then is to use common sense, check your sources, and talk to your editor.

That means, of course, that editors need to understand social networks. If they don't, they will be incapable of properly weighing the importance of stories and unable to direct reporters. I'll be honest, I've seen a few cringeworthy stories in recent times which showed loud and clear that the newsdesk didn't understand them.

I'll get off my soapbox now and finish with a few tips. I blogged recently about Telegraph Communities Editor Shane Richmond's ideas on how to minimise the chance of getting tripped up by fakes. (I gather the Telegraph did get tripped up by the Bhutto profile but I'm confident it wasn't Shane doing the reporting). You can read them here.

And Jennifer Woodard Maderazo, associate editor of PBS's Mediashift blog, writes a great set of guidelines on how she uses Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in her researching and writing, along with the pitfalls to watch out for. It's a worthwhile read.

LA Times editor James O'Shea has left the paper citing differences with the publisher over how to take the company forward. He "told senior editors that he opposed the constant drumbeat of cuts in response to falling advertising revenue." His departure comes a month after the paper was bought by real estate magnate Sam Zell.

Here's the LA Times story about it, in which O'Shea is said to be leaving. And here's
CNN's version of the story, in which O'Shea was fired. Here's what O'Shea told staff in a farewell speech:

"In discussions about the current and future budgets, it became clear that Publisher David Hiller and I didn’t share a common vision for the future of the Los Angeles Times. In fact, we were far apart. So David decided he wanted a new editor. As I’ve said on numerous occasions over the past 14 months, I intended to stay here and lead this newspaper to the greatness it deserves. But David decided he wanted to terminate my employment and get another editor. I wish the new editor the best."

He ended his speech with this: "When this industry stops relying so much on cuts and starts investing in journalism, it will prosper because it will be serving the best interests of our readers. That’s when we will prosper."

You can read his speech here and the publisher's memo to staff here.

Six months ago O'Shea brought in a few changes at the LA Times aimed at making the paper more transparent and engaged with its readers, and taking steps towards integrating web and print. It was under him that the Times launched its Readers' Representative blog and Editors' blogs, and started routinely including reporters' email addresses with their stories and encouraging more direct contact between readers and reporters. He also set about bringing web and print operations closer together in areas like motoring and business.

The changes were announced in an internal memo, which did the rounds online last July, along with directives on writing shorter stories (except where a good, long read was truly warranted) and a focus on 'projects' - bigger, collaborative, good-old-fashioned-journalism-type stories that he saw as essential to the paper's continuing success.

Having overheard a couple of conversations in newsrooms recently that ran along the lines of 'you can't trust what you read online' I realise that we have a ways to go in New Zealand on understanding quite how profound the changes are that face our industry.

So, here's a must-read for all reporters, editors, sub-editors and media executives. It neatly encapsulates what's required to make the leap from traditional media to digital. This is not a quick fix, by the way, more like a journey that will take time and a lot of effort.

Twelve things journalists can do to save journalism

May as well read this too:
Five guiding principles for the transformation of media companies

While you're at it. If you haven't already (most have been around for a while), read:

The Cluetrain Manifesto
The end of business as usual
By Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls and David Weinberger.
The blog, the book.
In a nutshell: the internet is changing the way we do business and the way we relate to one another. Out goes meaningless marketing piffle, in comes honest appraisal of what you've got to offer. Out goes secrecy and walls, in comes transparency and engaging in dialogue with your customers. Out goes pretending you don't mistakes, in comes owning up and accepting help in fixing them. It's a light read and I think worth looking at.

The Long Tail
Why the future of business is to sell less of more
By Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired.
The blog, the book.
In a nutshell: digital products create new business models - without the need to warehouse and stock products on shelves, you can carry exponentially more stock and make even extremely low sellers available year-round. It's an easy read and much more than just a business lesson.

The Search
How Google and its rivals rewrote the rules of business and transformed our culture
By John Battelle
The blog, the book.
In a nutshell: search is the internet, pretty much. Without search we wouldn't be able to find each other and carry on conversations. This is highly readable and a fascinating look at the history of Search, Google's rise and rise included, and where we are now.

The World is Flat
The globalised world in the 21st century
By Thomas Friedman.
The blog, the book.
In a nutshell: while we're arguing about whether or not text language is acceptable in exams and ignoring science and maths, a gazillion parents in China and India are working their socks off to put at least one of their children through university. Those children are working their socks off to get the best job they can. They speak several languages, excel at physics and eat algebra for breakfast. And because of the internet they can do our jobs. Good to know. You may not agree with Friedman's take on who wins with globalisation and this isn't an easy read, but it's certainly thought-provoking.


And if you haven't already seen these, take a look now: