Blogit2010

We have finally reached the day and age where a journalist can go into the field armed with only a mobile phone. I still remember my first mobile, the Nokia 3310. The functions included making calls, sending text messages and playing snake… simple! If someone had told me then that one day journalists would use a mobile phone to take photos, videos and send documents I would have laughed in their face. 

 Images from Google Images

The growth of the mojo or mobile journalist has been rapid with almost all journalists having to adapt to this new way of reporting. Below is a screen snap from a Website called mojotrotters, it has been set up by two journalists who are travelling the world reporting through new avenues of multi-media. Mojos do not only operate in Australian but over dozens of cities of Asia and Africa.

Stephen Quinn’s article ‘Mojo – mobile journalist in the Asian region’ shows how reporting is changing around the world. So what is next for the mobile journalist? Laws are not yet prepared to deal with the advances in technology and mobile journalism. Almost everyone has a mobile phone able to take photos and videos, ethical and legal laws needed to be put in place to guide the use of this media.

 YouTube Video of Stephen Quinn

Young users have taken mobile technology with both hands, the development of this means it is of particular interest to educators. Areas such as journalism and media and communications need to educate students on the new changes to mobile technology and predict what is to come for the future.

I will begin this post with a quote from Felix Soh, Deputy editor for digital media. “Internet is no longer text, it is multimedia. Earlier this week I gave a presentation to people who used the term ‘new media’. I said, please do not use that term. It is now media.”

Soh’s quote shows just how far media has come, it is no longer something only understood by IT lovers, yet is now seen as a part of everyday life.

User-generated content has become so big in Singapore that the country’s main media group, Singapore Press Holdings launched Stomp (Straits Times online mobile and print) in June 2006. Stomp formed a bridge between newspapers and young readers.

Image from Google Images

 YouTube video created by the team at Stomp

Publications such as Stomp utilise new emerges in technology to connect with their audience. Audiences are able to submit their own content allowing a strong relationship between the audience and journalists to form. 
 
Ohmynews discussed in a previous post has the same concept as Stomp but seems to be falling behind in the way audiences can submit stories. Unlike Ohmynews Stomp allows its audience to send ideas and photos via text message or email. 
 
The main difference between both is that all of Stomp’s articles are written and edited by actual journalists. I believe this is the smartest way to control user-generated content. Ohmynews may be giving a little too much control to their audience. 
 
I hope one day Australia will follow in the footsteps of Stomp and Ohmynews, allowing people like me to submit news worthy stories.

Being a self confessed Facebook addict I have spent little time exploring the world of twitter. My first impressions based solely on Twitter as just another social networking site, another procrastination tool. After reading ‘The journalist’s guide to Twitter’ my eyes are open to its many uses, other than tweeting what you had for lunch!

This table shows the reasons people use Twitter supplied by Aligned Marketing Toronto. 
 
Twitter enhances reporting, offering a way for journalists to connect with one another and their audience. Networking is no longer just for business events and seminars, yet, now can take place in the living room of your own home. Journalists such as Jason DeRusha, a reporter at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis has found Twitter as a way of promoting his work. With over 2,200 followers he is able to receive more targeted feedback from people with relevant life experience. 

As touched on in my previous post journalists are using Twitter as a new reporting tool. Patrick Thornton editor and lead writer of BeatBlogging.org has posted an informative how-to video outlining the uses of Twitter for reporting.

Just like Thornton’s video, other journalists are now sharing thoughts and tips on using Twitter as a journalist. DeRusha has created his own tips for journalists using Twitter, below a few of these tips are listed:

-          Do get engaged

-          Do respond

-          Don’t turn Twitter into a non-stop back-and-forth exchange. Take bigger discussions to e-mail or Direct messages

So now you have been given some insight into the tools and benefits of Twitter, it’s time for you to enter the Twitterverse!

Image from Google Images

 When I hear of breaking news I no longer switch on my television or start up my laptop. I simply push a button on the right-hand side of my mobile phone to read breaking news articles within seconds. With these advances in new media journalists have to constantly update their tools to stay in-touch with wider audiences.

Image from Google Images

New media such as RSS (really simple syndication) feeds, online video and multi-media, Skype, blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, have all changed the way audiences want to receive news. A 2008 study conducted by Zogby International in the United States showed that almost half of the respondents (48 per cent) said the Internet was their primary source of news and information. This was up 40 per cent from the previous year. 
 
The Internet is now becoming the fastest way to receive breaking news, moving ahead of radio and television. Tools such as twitter and podcasts are allowing journalists to publish news online within seconds. Many news organisations such as the BBC is now breaking news on Twitter. Just to show how prompt information can be published, a reporter from the Seattle Times ran a marathon in June 2009 and twittered it at the same time. 
 
Once journalists update their tools, learning the ins and outs of technology the process of reporting news should become easier. With tools continually updating, becoming smaller in size, bigger in memory and faster in speed, the pressure added on journalists become a concern.

Can combining traditional journalism with citizen journalism actually work? This is what online Website OhmyNews is doing and succeeding. Almost 60,000 citizen reporters submitted an average of about 200 stories a day to OhmyNews, as of June 2007.

The founder of OhmyNews, Oh Yeon-ho started work as a reporter for a small liberal magazine in 1988 called Mahl. Yeon-ho holds the idea that ‘every citizen is a reporter’, keeping this in mind while completing journalism studies at Regent University in Virginia in the United States.

Image from Google Images

OhmyNews covers a wide range of subjects including technology, food and science allowing citizen journalists to submit their own news stories online. OhmyNews is the first citizen journalism site to make a significant dent in Korea’s mainstream media’s ability to set the national agenda.

The success of OhmyNews is shown in its repeat visitors boasting 700,000 each day. During events such as the 2002 election the Website received 20 million page views a day. Australian journalism is slowly following in the footsteps of Yeon-ho with publications encouraging citizens to send in photos, videos and comments related to the media.

 The only downfall of a system like OhmyNews is trying to publish only accurate and credible stories. Between 2000 and 2007 this website has seen only five legal disputes take place. I personally am all for citizen journalism, everyone should get the chance to tell their story but accuracy has to be key when dealing with this.

Below is a YouTube video called “The Leaders” which shows an interview with Oh Yeon-ho about OhmyNews.

 Video from YouTube

If you had the chance to photograph a major event would you? More and more people are becoming citizen journalists, using various mediums to record and photograph major events.

Image from Google Images

Many media companies today are becoming accustomed to the fact that users themselves can offer material that is interesting and able to grab the attention of a wide audience. It can reach a wider audience because those who are the audiences are contributing to the articles. These advances have seen a split in journalists, some criticising user generated content and others choosing to embrace it. 
 
The term “user generated content” has received some criticism. The criticism has addressed issues including fairness, privacy, quality and legal issues, namely related to intellectual property rights such as copyright. User generated content or citizen journalism is discussed by Gavin Ellis the former Editor in Chief of the New Zealand Herald and Russell Brown from publicaddress.net in the below YouTube video. 

 Video from YouTube

Major events such as the September 11 attacks and 2005 London Bombings were all captured by citizens and published worldwide. It is almost impossible for journalists to cover all newsworthy incidents that occur; this is when citizen journalism can help journalists to get the best photo for the story without being present at the time.

Questions are being raised in regards to user generated content. Will citizens one day phase out journalists completely? Maybe one day you will find yourself in a newsworthy situation, the question is, will you stop to capture it?

Would you pay for news that you can get for free?

Image from Google Images

Newspapers began to put their content online in the late 1990s and early 2000s; allowing readers to gain access for free. Consumers now think that they have a right to free news content which in turn has caused major dilemmas for news organisations. The main issues surround online advertising and the fact that this does not currently generate enough revenue to support the free content model.

In May 2003, The New York Times began charging for its news tracker email alerts. These allowed users to list specific topics or keywords that might appear in stories in which they shared some interest. Whenever one of the related terms appeared in a Times story an email would be sent to the user. The cost of this service was to be set at $19.95, a large rise for a once free service. A battle came for The New York Times when Google launched its own news alert system. The service offered unlimited alerts, for free, drawing information from the thousands of news Websites it monitored. The New York Times eventually reverted to a free model.

With the loss of advertising revenue Newspapers have had to find new ways to cut costs with staff buyout and layoffs becoming increasingly common. Will the continuing emerges in technology and online news see the fall of newspaper organisations around the world? We will just have to wait and see!

Remember the days leading up to your birthday; you check the mail and find an envelope, the one envelope you know exactly what is inside, a birthday card. In 2010 these days seem almost nonexistent. Those two words ‘Happy Birthday’ said out loud or written with love, is now thrown around in a fast paced more convenient environment, using such technology as SMS, social networking sites and e-cards.

Images from Flickr

Social factors are changing; people are looking for ways to save time. The line between work and home lives are also becoming increasingly blurred. In 2003 employed Australians averaged 1,855 work hours a year, narrowly edging out American and Japanese workers (1,835 and 1,821). Time to sit and read the newspaper is becoming unrealistic for most Monday-Friday workers, with the convenience of news becoming a high priority.

Image from Flickr

 Journalists have felt the push to adapt to our new viral world, ‘it is important to understand the environment in which the seeds of convergence are beginning to grow’ Stephen Quinn states. The idea of convergence is to satisfy the audience desires 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Journalist’s mediums have changed from typewriters and laptops to versatile pocket sized devices like the JASJAM. This device uses photos, videos, audio, word, excel and Internet explorer, allowing data to be emailed within seconds. Quinn’s article has shown devices such as this continue to change, improve and help journalists with their work. By learning from our past advances in technology, we can prepare ourselves for the future.

Image from Flickr

Welcome all to my first ever blog! Although I thought this would be easy, to my surprise I find sharing my thoughts and feelings with all who pass by quite daunting. I am currently in my final year of university and am ready to enter the real world, one small step at a time!