These Are My Views and Do Not Represent The Views Of My Employer

OJ1 #10

Journalists, big brother is watching you!(Or maybe just your boss.) Everyone whose tweeted a twitter message or perused a twitter bio is familiar with the phrase, “These are my views and do not represent the views of my employer.” It’s a little but very important line on the social networking profiles of those who use twitter to network and advertise their work.

Obviously the idea is that those viewing the professional’s tweets will never be able to hold their work place accountable for them. And fair enough, one person cannot and should not personally represent their company based on their tweets. However, no matter how many disclaimers are added to a page, the world is watching.

Journalists posting online need to think before they tweet. Columnist Catherine Deveny found herself in hot water after tweeting messages many thought inappropriate at the 2010 Logies. “I do so hope Bindi Irwin gets laid” she said of the then 11 year old. She also targeted comedian Rove, saying, “"Rove and Tasma look so cute ... hope she doesn't die, too," in a reference to his first wife dying of cancer. The tweets caused public outrage, with many disgusted by Deveny’s words. The journalist defended herself on the basis of being a comedian, whose messages where taken out of context but her employer, Melbourne newspaper, The Ager, deemed her tweets inappropriate and fired her.

While it may be a simple matter of thinking before you tweet, journalists can be caught out in other ways online. It’s widely accepted that you should not speak badly of your employer or colleagues online, or you risk being sacked. Most workplaces have a social media policy but sometimes a hot headed worker, with a keyboard at his fingertips, is in no state to follow rules.

Foreign Correspondent and freelance journalist, Rob Crilly, last week took to twitter, angry over edits made to his work.

Crilly than tweeted that he will probably be sacked and later deleted all tweets. But it was too late, his comments had reached over 2million viewers and details of his rant made their way into major media reports all over the globe.

Journalists need to be constantly vigilant about the information they tweet. Posts can be deleted but rarely before a screenshot can be taken.

The (Revolutionary) Citizen Journalist

OJ1 #9

*Note this blog focuses exclusively on wartime and revolutionary citizen journalists. The author recognizes many citizen journalists are not in similar situations and there are many citizen journalists from all walks of life.

They come in the form of the disenfranchised. Many have suffered incredible forms of abuse, others have lost loved ones to ruthless military regimes and war. Some emerge from under the helm of aggressive dictators, silenced if their view isn’t government approved. They fight to revolutionize their often troubled nations and contribute to massive changes within government systems. Their lust for freedom can be felt within the words they type and the message they send. They speak for those with no voice and break through fire walls.

These progressive individuals aren’t esteemed journalists, or highly trained reporters. They are everyday people, stuck in restricted sections of their own country. They take on the responsibility of informing the entire world of their people’s struggles and spread what they believe to be the truth. When international journalists are banned from entering or not allowed to cover certain stories and local media are hushed or under government control, it is the citizen journalists who defy authority and let the world in.

After a contentious presidential re-election in 2009, the international public called on social networking site Twitter to cancel scheduled maintenance, to ensure its Iranian users could use the tool to spread news of their opinions, emotions and movements during what many considered a revolutionary period. Although the government censored social media sites, such as twitter, users found ways past and triumphed over authorities. Twitter allowed many suppressed Iranians to contact and communicate like minded citizens and hash tags made it easy for all concerned to understand what major events were happening. It allowed ordinary Iranians the opportunity to share their struggle with the world.

Syrians used the internet in much a similar way. What started as angry protests over the treatment of school aged anti-government protesters, led to a massive revolution and fighting. Many have died standing up for peace and the use of video recording devices has meant the outside world have seen the abuse the Syrian government denies as happening. The Syrian freedom fighters determination to use technology is based around their wish for the revolution to be televised and throughout the bloody conflict videos and messages have been constantly posted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nr56UB6zEI  (Al-Jazeera news report using footage and story filmed by citizen journalists)

While twitter and individual bloggers can’t bring down governments alone, joining hands over the globe through awareness via social media CAN. When career journalists are locked out and banned from entering, it is the citizen journalists punching their way out from behind the walls. And they sure do pack a punch.

Gen Y Apprentices Wonder Y They’re Being Criticised

Friday, October 7, 2011.
By Stephanie Kay.

Recent criticism of gen y apprentices has angered Australian tradies, who say there's no problem with their attitude.


The 'Apprenticeships For The 21st Century' final Federal Government report (www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/.../Apprenticeshipsforthe21stCenturyExpertPanel.pdf ), has found only 48 per cent of apprentices completed their apprenticeship, a statistic which has led some analysis' to criticise young Australians, despite the report warning non‐completion statistics can be misleading.



Comments in the media angered youg tradies.

















In a Sunday Telegraph report (http://www.news.com.au/business/worklife/teenagers-pulling-plug-on-trades/story-e6frfm9r-1226155557037 ), KPMG demographer Bernard Salt said the high drop-out rates are a result of Generation Y chasing high starting salaries.


“The rewards of an apprenticeship are medium- to long-term and that doesn't fit with the thinking of Generation Y, which has a reputation for seeking immediate gratification, particularly in terms of remuneration," he said.


"The pay rates need to be looked at and the benefits, such as no HECS debt, need to be better promoted."


Fourth year hairdressing apprentice, Jeri-Lee Ludwig said most first years need to live at home to afford to begin their education and says she wouldn't have survived her first year of training without her families support.


"It wasn't good, you work so hard for so little money, it was terrible."


Ms Ludwig, now in the final stage of her apprenticeship, said she earned more per hour while working part time in retail during high school .


She said although her workplace provided in salon training and at work TAFE assessment, she still payed all of her own educational fees which amounts to thousands of dollars.


"I was lucky because my mum said she'd pay for any of that stuff,” She said.


“Which was lucky because honestly, if I had to pay for it, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it, with only being paid six dollars an hour."


The 20-year-old Brisbane woman believes a pay later option should be available to apprentices to cover mandatory training costs.


"I know we get tool bonuses, you may get eight-hundred dollars (from the government) but that's solely to buy (expensive) tools, you can't really use that money to pay for other things."


She said the comments made by Mr Salt were stupid and many apprentices work hard to qualify.


"I think it's more the fact you get paid next to nothing, I don't think it has anything to do with our generation."

Queensland apprentices Trent Langmaid and Jeri-Lee Ludwig.

Garth Thefs, small business owner and qualified plumber of more than 30 years says he employed a 20-year-old apprentice when he struggled to find a qualified plumber to join his team.


He said he doesn't think apprenticeships have changed much from when he joined the workforce but believes more in school education needs to be available for up and coming tradespeople.


“One of the issues that I always think about, is that there’s no sort of aptitude test or something done in schools when kids are going through, for those that lean towards doing a trade,” he said.


“A lot of kids aren’t guided towards where they’d be better suited to.


“They think, oh yeah that’s a good idea ,let’s be a one of these, without actually looking into what it entails.”


The seasoned tradie says throughout his career, he has never experienced any problems with generation Y’s attitude.


"The guys I’ve trained and the other apprentices I know around my area working for other employers, all of them have been excellent because they want to be tradesman.


“They’ve actually gone and got their apprenticeships because that’s what they’ve wanted to do.”

Gen Y’er and adult apprentice, Trent Langmaid is due to finish his electrical apprenticeship in the upcoming months and he too doesn’t think dropout rates are a result of young people’s bad outlook.

“I knew when I started my apprenticeship (what I was getting into), he says

“I knew if you want to get somewhere in life you need something behind you, you need something concrete, that guarantees you a certain pay rate or guarantees you continuous work.

“I knew that I needed something like that to give myself a good start.”

Mr Langmaid says apprentices who left before completion usually do so because they find the educational side too difficult or aren’t suited to the industry, not because of money.

The Brisbane man chose to move back home when he started his apprenticeship to better cope financially and says most tradie’s know what to expect when starting out.

“Most people don’t do an apprenticeship because they think they’re going to get good money to start off with.

“Most people that start an apprenticeship know that they’re not going to get good money but they know once you get through your time that’s when you get the benefits.”

The Private Lives of Public People

OJ1#8

Many of the world’s most famous blog sites are celebrity centred. They are entertainment news, creating stories out of the private lives of public people. Some news junkies argue entertainment doesn’t constitute as ‘real’ news. It’s often dismissed as fluff or spoof yet it makes up a large proportion of the online news cycle.

In Media and Journalism: New Theory and Practice, Jason Bainbridge writes why celebrities are important. Bainbridge says that while they, “may seem incredibly superficial and undeserving of much attention they are culturally significant because: They offer their audiences a wide variety of identities and different ways of being… the celebrity shows an ability to function as a ‘counterfeit person’- to move between different roles, which reflects a perceived need of people to transform… the celebrity indicates a shift in the media sphere as a whole, from the dissemination of information towards the dissemination of identities…”

Eager punters use online updates to follow every move of their favourite star. They follow their twitter accounts, their Facebook pages and gossip sites. It is clear the want for celebrity information exists in online journalism and journalists have a duty to report for their public. Media outlets report on what the stars say on their own pages and even serious publications, such as the Huffington Post, have an entertainment section(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entertainment/  ).

Gossip sites like http://www.perezhilton.com/ have become famous for making attention seeking comments and lewd statements about stars. The site has a massive following and has risen to rule the online celebrity gossip sites since its 2004 beginning.

Gossip site Perez Hilton, is one of the world’s most popular celebrity news sources.

A happy medium must be kept in online journalism. While celebrity news should never dominate over informing the public of key events and hard news, celebrity reporting will continue to hold a worthy, permanent position on multiple news sites.

Many of the most popular blogs are celebrity focused, follow this like to see a list of popular blogs, as reported by The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/blog s

Online Journalism in Times of Disaster

OJ1#7

Online Journalism is never more important than when it is used to inform people all over the world of disasters. Live streaming allows for concerned citizens to be kept updated on crucial and critical information. Floods, tsunamis, cyclones and fires. Terrorist attacks, protests and killings. When tragedies occur, people turn to the internet for the most up-to-date and immediate information.

In Australia, the January floods were a testing time for Queensland and northern New South Wales, with the area inundated and lives lost. Reporters in the region were suddenly overwhelmed by not only the need to deliver up to date information and important facts, but many experienced the flooding first hand.

Melbourne ABC journalist, Will Ockenden , was flown in to help cover the Queensland floods in rural Queensland and was unexpectedly caught up in the middle of the Toowoomba flash flood disaster. His story here: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/01/11/3110327.htm

The ABC radio building in the Brisbane suburb of Toowong, was surrounded by floodwaters and much of the important flood information for the region was broadcast from their Gold coast studio. ABC online In Milton, Brisbane, was also very affected by flooding, with their main building inundated by water and with some reporters being unable to leave their homes.

Read ABC reporters full account here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/newseditors/2011/01/from-newsroom-to-lounge-room.html


Social media updates by government organisations also play a key role in disaster management in Australia. Journalists refer the public to the Bureau of meteorology for precise local weather information, quote the relevant police media social networking updates and add vital emergency information media releases elements to their stories.

The Price of Free Online Journalism

OJ1#6

Mr and Mrs. Newspaper aren’t happy at the moment. They’re being less read by the community, meaning their advertising space is worth less and they’re competing with the 24hour news cycle, meaning their stories can easily become out-dated. Their loyal readers seem to be a minority, with most switching to online. The newspaper family are trying their hardest to capture online readers. They’re giving promotional access to ipad apps and mobile phones, and posting their stories online on their organisations web page. Most news sites are free to view. So why would anyone pay to read the stories they print when they appear at no cost to the reader online? And not to mention, it is impossible for a printed newspaper to be as up to date as its online counterpart….is that really feasible in a reporting environment where breaking stories and reporting first seem crucial?

No, says global media moguls, who want online readers to start paying to view content. They argue good quality journalism must come at a cost. This seems understandable; the journalist needs to eat so therefore needs to be paid. The organisation they work for need money to pay them. Quality journalism and hard work should be financially rewarded but here’s what no one seems to say. Members of the public don’t care about journalists pay cheques, some do care about quality news but to the masses, news is news. And why would you pay for something you can get for free?

Online Journalism can too financially benefit from advertising, which is how many new media outlets have funded their establishment…but according to Rupert Murdoch, this simply isn’t enough.  He believes good journalism must be paid for and by offering exclusive and competitive content, online news consumers will be happy to pay. In this 2009 story, http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/06/rupert-murdoch-website-charges   it was reported the Murdoch would roll out internet news charges, but two years later, his rollout has been minimal.

The Murdoch owned Wall St Journal, is one of the few online news publications to charge for content.

 

Murdoch speaking about paying for journalism content

For now, let’s enjoy what’s free but appreciate quality work provided by dedicated journalists.

Put Up or Shut Up

OJ1#5

Online in 2011 It's a race against time (and other news organisations) and online journalists are out to win. Who can provide the most accurate and ethically sourced news the fastest? If you can't compete... don't play the game. Who dares to win? With freelancers and emerging publications competing against the giants.

Some news organisations have been criticized for their poor online presence, with channel 7 news Australia currently unable to provide an online platform to watch news broadcasts, already shown on television. This error is a source of frustration for 7 news loyalists who want to watch their favourite news program but due to not being able to settle down in front of the TV at the required time, miss out.

News organisations need to better accommodate the busy , modern consumer if they want to remain viable and competitive. News needs to go online as soon as possible and it’s important for people to enjoy their news program at their own convenience. The ABC IView as an example of good online viewing service. The platform allows viewers to catch up on any program they are interested in and ABC news 24 is streamed live. Live streaming ensures people who don’t have access to a tv can watch the news from their computer or mobile phone, regardless of where they are. People at work or overseas, can finally enjoy TV online and the organisations that provide the best and most continue to dominate in online popularity.

Comments Please

OJ1#4

Once upon a time impassioned citizens wrote letters to their newspapers Letter to the Editor section. They wrote in about stories and local issues that stirred their emotions, made their blood boil and tugged at their heart strings. The newspaper would publish a select number of the many letters they received and only those would be published in the following day’s news. Letters to the editor still exist but online news allows unlimited comments and news organisations readily encourage news consumers to comment online. News organisations and media bloggers want to know what the public think, or at least appear to.

Opening news stories up for direct commentary and criticism online leads to a range of new issues. One of those issues is who will monitor comments posted online. Some news websites publish only approved comments, which are screened before they are posted. Others, allow for comments to be added immediately and later checked. Nearly all news websites require the person commenting to submit some personal details before submitting, such as their location and email address.

People are often less accountable for their actions online, as some feel it’s not as ‘real’. Posting online allows people to anonymously share their opinions and encourages them to communicate with fellow commentators. The positive side of this is that the platform means more people than ever are sharing their views, thus widening the range of backgrounds and peoples represented within commentaries. The negative side, is people are more likely to be rude or outlandish when there is little accountability. While debate, is useful and necessary in democracy, people tend to find with each other via online commentary, which takes away from the essential and important elements of the story being reported.

Online commentary should continue to be encouraged, but news organisations worried about fighting users and crude remarks need to create a system which creates more individual user accountability if they wish to address this issue. It is also vital News organisations allow a wide range of comments, without much censoring of opinions, as it’s the media asking for comments, the media should be able to handle them, regardless of political and personal beliefs.

The News and it’s Friend Social Media.

OJ1#3


Here’s the scenario: You’re a full-time, busy journalist, working in a competitive and hurried online news room. You’re writing a news story on a local teenager who has been killed in a car accident. You need some more information for the story and a photo of the teenager but you’re running out of time and have so much to do. You log on to Facebook and search for the teenager. Profile, found. You see his display picture. He’s only 17 but is holding a can of bourbon and smiling cheekily. That look’s alright, you think. You don’t take into consideration that alcohol may be a cause of the accident and that by using this picture you are placing an emphasis on the deceased youths underage drinking, which may mislead some readers.

You want a comment from his friends, you don’t have time to go out and speak to them directly. Not to mention, they may not want to speak to you. You find a public memorial site, recently created for friends to pay their respects to the deceased. You find some good quotes….friends write, “ Brendan you were such a good mate, always there for everyone. Miss you forever man.” and “Brendy, I just can’t believe it. We are supposed to be going to Thailand together in a few months. This just can’t be real. “. You pop them into your story. Your piece is finished. Job done. You move onto your next story.

What the journalist doesn’t know is that the parents of the dead 17-year-old are devastated a photo of their son drinking alcohol as appeared on the front page of the local paper. They are upset people will think badly of him; think that alcohol caused the crash when it was a faulty traffic light. They wanted to use a photo of him at his year 12 formal. The same one they’ve picked out for his funeral. The boys friends, quoted in the story are upset no one asked their permission. They are grieving and angry the person who wrote the story didn’t ask them for a proper comment. They would have loved to talk about their friend Brendan.

This story is completely made up, but based on situations that occur around the world in busy news rooms every day. Not every journalist has acted this way, but those who do MUST put more thought into their use of social media. They must never forget no matter how busy they are, or how tight their deadline is, they are writing about a human being.

*The author of this blog has chosen not to include screen shots of a deceased persons Facebook tribute page as she considers it inappropriate.

INFORMATION FOR JOURNALISTS. Read more here about journalists using Facebook to find sources: http://journalism.about.com/od/trends/a/facebook.htm

Internet JOURNALISM Hero’s

OJ1#2


With web based news emerging as the number one media source in the modern world, prominent online journalists are being more recognised for their work than ever. With a heavy focus and criticism from mainstream media, online competitions and awards for outstanding online contributions, web heroes have emerged. Julian Assange, Arianna Huffington and the Young Turks Cenk Uygur, have all used the internet to accelerate their career and are well known globally. The internet allows budding media personalities to spread their reach internationally and gives independent journalists a platform to compete against larger organisations.

Many debate over whether or not Julia Assange is a journalist. He calls himself one but many in the global media disagree with his self-title, but whatever he is technically called, his contribution to modern journalism has been massive. He heads Wikileaks, an organisation dedicated to releasing important and sensitive government information to news organisations and the public. While Assange has been criticised for what some say is the release of inappropriate information, others argue Assange is aiding the world by smashing up secrecy and overcoming government power. He is a controversial figure, charged in Europe for sex crimes related to non-consensual unprotected sex, a claim he continues to deny and an accusation many say is a conspiracy, with powerful people desperate to imprison him. His organisations leaks have contributed to many important news stories breaking and investigations into serious crimes and misconduct. For that he should be commended.

Assange speaking on 'Alternative/Citizen Journalism' 

Arianna Huffington is the editor-in-chief of the world’s largest online newspaper, the Huffington Post. Huffington launched her newspaper in 2005, and the blog and news site quickly become one of the most widely read sites on the web. The Huffington Post has won multiple acclaim and is one of the most successful new media outlets in the world. Huffington has been acclaimed by Time magazine and has authored a number of bestselling books. Her founding of Huffington Post has encouraged numerous other small media outlets to form and thrive and the Post’s site is continuing its enormous global growth.

Cenk Uygur is not a name widely known in Australia. Nor for that matter is his online news program, The Young Turks. He is co-founder and presenter of the program, which according to the Huffington Post and Uygur’s Young Turks Bio, is the world’s first ever live, daily web television talk show. The Young Turks is the largest online news show in the world. The show is one of the Top 50 You Tube Partners, with over 23 million views a month on the The Young Turks You Tube Channel. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur) Uygur‘s has helped expand his award winning show into a network, with a variety of additional shows being broadcast under TYT’s brand.

Uygur presenting 'The Young Turks Hour'

Good Bye Breakfast TV, Hello Facebook.

FACEBOOK OWNS ME

OJ1#1
This week, I begin my discussion on online news. I am the first to wave the online news flag. I love www.news.com.au, consume copious ABC news 24 online live streams, adore the Huffington post and watch The Young Turks YouTube videos. But I have a deep, dark secret. A truth I rarely tell. A dirty habit that possesses me. It haunts my daily life and as a wannabe Journo, is shameful and naughty.


I get my news first and fore mostly from Facebook and Twitter. It’s not the broad sheet I open up first thing in the morning, it’s my social networking pages. I know there are many like me out there, those of us who Googled Mossman after it trended on twitter, heard Penny Wong was expecting from a Facebook news feed, learnt Amy Winehouse was dead via a status update and re-tweeted a prayer for Norway, before checking any official reports.


It is a daunting phenomenon but when properly considered, not unusual. The original form of storytelling was word of mouth, neighbours and friends spreading everything from vital facts to local gossip, casually throughout the day. Facebook and Twitter are giant online, global communities. While they lack the human touch and often tell you more then you need (or want) to know about your third cousins, boyfriends, sisters personal life, they are valuable tools, capable of spreading a message in seconds.


It is a message we sometimes need to be cautious of. Numerous celebrities have been falsely proclaimed dead, rumours of political takeovers and fabricated quotations regularly appear online via social media. It is then I turn to the traditional sources of news. When it comes down to it, I still rely on the big players and their hacks. Constantly, I come crawling back in search of clarity and accuracy. But they aren’t my first port of call. Australian news broadcaster, ABC recognises people like me, with a dedicated political tweeter. Members of the media, the public and interested parties learn of political developments via reporter Latika Bourke’s Twitter feed. Updates from a trusted source keep everyone informed and provide a safe place, with reliable material readily available.

And for now, it's working.