The latest news

This weeks reading was looking at a Youtube video on Reuters Mobile Phone Reporting.

One of the global community editor’s main points and ambitions is to create an identity around journalistic talent which is not what they’ve done much of in the past.  I think this point is important and it’s refreshing to see Reuters talking about it.  Another point the made was that Reuters wants to create a “blog-shpere” where the growing number of blogs are supported and embraced.

He then showed various clips filmed by mobile journalists.  Unfortunately the footage was quite shaky and hard to watch.  This is why it’s important journalists get full training on what to film and how to film best with or without a tripod.  In this conference they discussed the way professional reporting tools need to change in order for journalists to be able to use them easily.   One TV reporter spoke about how he found it difficult shooting his piece to camera and how the tool needs to change for him to do his best.

I think there’s a lot of pressure on journalists already and adding the pressure of being a ‘professional’ camera person too makes the job a lot harder.

Today I’m reading an article on Mediashift where Jennifer Maderazo discusses her top five videoblogs.

“Lately, it seems everybody’s a video producer,“ Maderazo states.  People have been quick to jump from blogging in writing form to becoming ‘host’ of their own video blog (of course not everyone has a natural aptitude for this format).  So people have started creating videoblogs that involve moving images to engage their audience.  What stands out to me about videoblogs is that they have no real classification, they can be about anything from comedy to opinion.   With today’s affordable and high quality technology most people can create and maintain a video blog.

“Each one has traits that I think show how this medium can entertain and inform if used effectively,” Jennifer says about the five blogs she reviews.  She says most viewers just want videoblogs with engaging content and a good quality picture but it’s not simple to do.  I like videoblogs because they’re a great way to get information and entertainment from a range of sources.  It’s easy to dismiss videoblogs as not important to journalism and the public but after all, isn’t the MEAA slogan, “to entertain and inform”.

I just finished listening to a Guardian blog interview with Jasmine Teo, content producer of STOMP. The success of STOMP proves how much the public has been crying out to put their opinions and their ideas into the public eye. Perhaps this is one of the reasons AM talk back radio has become so popular in Australia. Users can contribute to STOMP by texting, MMSing or emailing their pictures, videos or stories.

Ms Teo said STOMP originally targeted a young audience but now increasing numbers of middle aged people are getting involved by taking part in forums and contributing to the news. In society there are some preconceived notions that only young people are interested or know how to use online facilities. It’s clear that people of all ages are welcomed and involved in contributing and using new technologies. This means there’s hope yet for the older journalists in Australia who face a new bi-media news room where technology knowledge is key.

Teo says Singapore Seen (the citizen journalism section) is the most popular segment on STOMP. She says users upload videos and pictures they want to be highlighted to the public. It’s fantastic that people feel a sense of accomplishment after sharing news and issues in the public sphere.

Want a tool which tells people where you are, what you’re doing and who with?

Take that one step further… do you want people to know your on holidays sipping a cocktail so they can break in and steal all your worldly goods?!

In my opinion, that’s what live reporting via the web or mobile phone feels like.  Who’s to stop untoward people looking up your latest status and taking advantage of it?

But apparently live reporting is a huge development in the world of journalism and BBC among others is using it to post breaking news to the world.

For use in reporting I prefer ‘www.coveritlive.com’   to ‘www.twitter.com’ because Twitter reporting is limited to 160 characters.

Here’s some of what Coverit said on its website about breaking news:

“If you cover politics, your readers want your perspective as events unfold, not just the next day. Live blogging a political debate or an election night using CoveritLive creates an engaging event like they’ve never experienced before.“

One of the great features of Coverit is that users can comment on blogs but the author can control what gets published.  This assures the content is of high quality and also allows users to generate content and be involved.

Kevin Sites is behind the video blogging hit “The Hot Zones”.   Video blogging is a new reporting tool that Sites uses to show his experiences as a independent journalist.

In an interview with “Citizen tube” he says “war wasn’t being covered the way I wanted it to be covered.”   This was one of the reasons he traveled the “hot zones” which are places that are dealing with conflict and war.  He said that most coverage of war does not engage us because it does not deal with the person behind the war which readers take interest in.

After watching episodes of The Hot Zones, I think Sites brings the stories of people in war torn countries to life.  He gives insight into the wars most of us hardly understand and puts a face to the victims of war.  His stories engaged me and made me want to learn more about the countries which are affected.

In the interview, Sites talks about the internet and citizen journalism and says “the dark things that happen in our society are not so hidden anymore… crimes and corruption can be more easily revealed by citizen journalists.”

OhMyNews is certainly running at the right time because the current audience appears to want an interactive media with fast and broad coverage.  And this website concept is definitely in the right place  where 89 % of Korean people have broadband internet (according to the listening post).

I think this idea has become so successful in Korea because of the culture and amount of people interested in technology.  I don’t think as many people would become involved if this idea was created in Australia,   mainly because of cultural differences.

OhMyNews has ramifications for the world of journalism.  Although this website has a code of ethics, the principals of trust, accuracy and fairness could be harder to instil in this case.   There are nearly 60,000 correspondents who don’t necessarily have any previous knowledge or training in ethics and it can be harder to monitor citizen journalists.

One thing that is really interesting to look at in this case is advertising.  According to our week five readings, Min said “South Korea’s print dailies were having difficulties attracting advertising revenue in 2007. But the online advertising market was growing, with between 15 and 20 per cent of advertising dollars being spent online.”

Who would have thought that a slideshow could be as powerful as video image?! SMH’s “Killing fields of Darfur” story was insightful and moving. Its amazing the impact a still image of a “devil on horseback” (a man with machine gun held over his head) had on me. The saying “a picture paints a thousand words” is what comes to mind as I see the drawings of the displaced children of Dafur. These crayon depictions of violence, rape and death are something I wouldn’t want any child to look at. It’s unspeakable that these children have actually experienced these gruesome events.

This ‘slideshow on demand’ form of journalism is more emotive than print and more accessible than traditional linear television broadcasts. This online form of multimedia journalism allows more people access to the information, it allows the audience to interact with the material and it allows the content to be accessed immediacy. This non-linear form of journalism is more convenient than the traditional forms and therefore may be more attractive to a younger generation. Creating a bond between news and a younger generation is extremely important for news to continue and thrive.

User generated content is an amazing phenomenon which increases the coverage of news right around the world. The London Bombings is an example of ‘citizen journalism’, where average members of society who had multimedia devices gave news stations the latest updates. This ‘participatory’ method of journalism removed most of the traditional restraints of journalism such as travel, timing and access.

Because of technological advances people have the chance to be journalists… but why would they want to…

One of the motivations for people to become ‘citizen journalists’ is gratification. People find gratification in their accomplishments and producing a blog or assisting in the latest news is something which drives the public. This can be seen in the shear number of people wanting to participate and provide user generated content. In 2005 the Pew Center in USA reported that eight million Americans have created a blog and in 2004 the BBC received over 25,000 news related emails in the first week after the Tsunami.

Media companies are of course happy to receive the latest news from citizens. In the future as user generated content becomes even more popular, companies may need to become competitive and offer greater incentives to people so they’ll choose their channel and give them exclusive rights to information or images.

 The average news junkie is time poor and asset rich.  This is one of the social changes affecting journalism.  People are working longer hours and expecting new technology to suit their lifestyle.

Companies such as Apple and Nokia are fighting for this market and they’re creating multi platform devices which fill a need.

As journalists we want people to be interested in what’s happening around them and overseas.  This is why it’s important for journalists to keep up with technology and for media companies to jump on the technology bandwagon!

The public wants all their information, news and entertainment from one piece of technology.  This means traditionally linear media must converge so the audience can have video, audio and print at their fingertips.  People want to pick and choose their news and this can already be seen in the example of Sky news ‘video on demand’.

With short attention spans and a culture of information overload, these needs are only reinforced.  For a younger demographic, news on demand presented on gadgets seems the only way to go… it gives the person control and they don’t have to lug around a large paper.

If a media company wants to survive and be competitive, convergence is the way to go.

It will be a sad day when many of those huge Age spreadsheets (that almost knock out the person next to you on the train) are be replaced by I-phones and other web based gadgets. But it seems an inevitable change….

A recent Future of Media Report asserts that new media competitors are emerging and some media is suffering. An example of this is the print publication which is suffering because of the rising popularity of web based publications.

The internet is available in new portable technology such as mobile phones. Information and entertainment are easily accessible through podcasts on Ipods.

An Advertising Revenue graph in the report states the internet has the highest revenue and is on an upward incline while magazines/print have the lowest revenue.

Chairman Mr Ross Dawson said an “increasing proportion of our social interactions happen across media channels”. This can be seen in social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace where events invitations are received online.

Mr Dawson noted that some media that is “tapping into peoples almost insatiable desire for content and connection“. This media appears to be technology based, portable and convenient.

It seems human nature to want life to be easier….but what happens when there’s no where left to go?