1 / 17

Deciphering “News” (and our roles as digital journalists)

Deciphering “News” (and our roles as digital journalists). COM466 – 4 Apr 2011. From Poynter - NewsU Tutorial. Prominence Importance Human Interest Timeliness Proximity Meaning . The 5Ws+H. Who What When Where Why How. Other Considerations. Controversy/Conflict Usefulness

tracy
Download Presentation

Deciphering “News” (and our roles as digital journalists)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Deciphering “News” (and our roles as digital journalists) COM466 – 4 Apr 2011

  2. From Poynter - NewsU Tutorial • Prominence • Importance • Human Interest • Timeliness • Proximity • Meaning

  3. The 5Ws+H • Who • What • When • Where • Why • How

  4. Other Considerations • Controversy/Conflict • Usefulness • Emotion • Impact • Educational Value (“civic journalism”)

  5. Check It Out : Newsworthiness • KING5: Willie Greens … • What elements of this story are told “best” through images? Sound? • CNN: Was your fish dinner… • What elements of this story are told “best” through images? Sound? • WaPo: Fact Checker … • What elements of this story are told “best” through text?

  6. Verification • Direct observation (the reporter was there) • Who said? (the reporter interviewed someone) • Challenge: most stories quote government officials, “expert” counterparts • Who said? (the reporter accessed public databases, documents)

  7. Verification Exercise • You read this on Twitter or Facebook: “RT @yourBFF: OMG. There’s been a 7.1 earthquake in SF!” • What do you do? • RT/share based on trust of source • RT/share only after verifying • How might you verify? • Why would the comment be more credible with a link included? Why might it not be a good practice to RT/share without checking the link (if it were there)?

  8. Clarification • Ask questions in order to simplify, put a fact/idea/event into context • Tell more more about … • What happened next? • Who else was involved? • No “closed ended” questions! • Rephrase what you think you heard to get confirmation from your expert

  9. Four Big Tasks • Invite (lede/lead) • Inform (the hook/what’s in it for the reader) • Illuminate (your evidence) • Connect (context)

  10. Judgment • Journalism requires interpretation, judgment • “News” could be a stock quote or today’s temperature, but without context, it’s just data • In other words, we need facts but facts alone are not “journalism”

  11. A Bit More On Context • What might be important to us as the UW community might not be important to everyone in Seattle • But what’s important in Olympia might be important to everyone in the state • Providing that context is a key part of a journalist’s responsibility

  12. Thinking About Audience • Assume: Microsoft just announced it’s laying off 3K employees, one/third in Seattle area • How might this be reported in the WSJ? • How might this be reported in the Seattle Times? • How might this be reported on GeekWire? • How might it be reported in the London Guardian? • What questions do you have that will contextualize this “fact” for your audience?

  13. Accuracy • AKA “getting it right” • Spelling (especially proper names – spell check doesn’t always help here) • Grammar • Facts • What else?

  14. Simplicity • AKA not talking over their heads! • “At this point in time, the current levels of societal tension are enough to create a high degree of anxiety among citizens of every persuasion and every economic and cultural class.”versus • “These are the times that try men’s souls.” From http://www.jprof.com/wfmm7/chapter1.html

  15. Your Check List • Working in small groups, develop a checklist for evaluating the “news” that crosses your computer screen

  16. Credits • Kathy E Gill • @kegill, @kegill_uw • http://wiredpen.com • http://faculty.uw.edu/kegill • Creative Commons: share-and-share alike, non-commercial, attribution

More Related