Journalism Transformed

I embraced journalism for my major in part because I like writing, but also to avoid math and business. Apparently, the joke’s on me because business now reveals the news, says
Rob Insana, senior analyst at CNBC.

Insana visited SMU, and spoke as guest lecturer at the William O’Neil lecture Monday.

In 2006, Insana left the anchor seat for “Street Signs,” and now acts as head financial analyst, so he can pursue personal interests.

At the lecture, Insana focused on how financial markets move before major events, a topic addressed in his latest book, The Message of the Markets. Journalists may pick up on stories after the fact, but business investors know about financial or political events before they occur. Bottom line: if people want news early, watch the stock market.

Insana pointed to John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the First Gulf War to prove his point and urged future journalists to keep up with business. Because our culture is so economy driven, journalists can’t afford to be in the dark about the stock market and flourishing industries because that will lead them to news.

Insana’s warning threw me for a loop.

As a journalist student, I’m told to know what’s going on in the world by consuming news, write, and write some more. I know the media industry was shrinking and journalists sometimes get bullied into stories for business reasons. I did not realize I needed to embrace the business world voluntarily.

Of course business is important and newsworthy, but I never foresaw myself analyzing the stock market or having connections with major investors. I guess I better start learning.

I could rant and rave about the state of our culture if business dominates the news, but really there is no point. The arts won’t die—niche audiences, if not the mainstream, will demand that.

If more people want business related news, that’s fair. I guess I just wasn’t prepared to turn to them for the inside scoop. Maybe if I did follow our economy I would already know that’s where journalism was headed.

The Internet Adds a Twist

There’s a hot new trend burning in the news industry. No, it’s not a gossip column on politicians or scantily clad reporters—this change is infinitely more intriguing, depending on your level on the news junkie barometer.

Multimedia packages, digital narratives, online packages—call it what you will, online news is finally pushing the industry into the present, and, dare we hope, the future. The Internet has birthed a digital medium. Hardcore print or broadcast fans might oppose, but the mellowed out morph of the two provide a pretty model of convergence journalism.

"Three Sisters," a series on The New York Times website, highlights this new breed’s capabilities. The series follows three Mexican sisters who immigrated to the U.S.: one is a legal immigrant, one illegal, and one returned to Mexico.

Published from a print platform, the package contains no conventional video clips. However, a new form of visuals takes the stage. Each sister has her own clip in which a slideshow of photographs accompanies the audio of the story. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the story is that each woman tells her story in Spanish, and subtitles appear under the photos. Reporters added facts under the stream of photos to expand on points made.

Returning to the series main page, users can read in-depth articles about the sisters along with stories addressing broader issues concerning immigration. To throw in extra elements, the package includes links to encyclopedia entries, related immigration stories, and forums, where users can discuss the package.

If the story only ran in the paper, not only would each sister have one photo to tell the story, but each story would most likely run at different times. Space determines content. Because the Internet provides limitless space and multiple media, broadcast elements join print’s in-depth coverage.

Enter emotion, the storytelling gem in broadcast journalism. Photo slideshows take users to communities and two-room homes, making a story reality. Audio deepens the piece by adding clips from a football game or a bar.

Most striking is the use of Spanish. Broadcast rarely bothers since its passive viewers might not read subtitles. Online users can pause or rewind to catch what they missed.

Users call the shots. If they need it short, they can view the slideshow. If they want more, the information is theirs for the taking. At last, the best of both worlds.

Alone, the slew of information on the Internet overwhelms users at best. Molded by reporters, information is organized and put in context. Finally, a fresh media where you call the shots.

The Blogging Revolution

http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/welcome.cgi

With the number of bloggers, both reporters and everyday people, growing exponentially, the face of journalism cannot help but transform. This new medium of communication turns everyone into a journalist. Your own grandma can now observer the world, write about it, and have a loyal following.
But how to stand out in such a monumental crowd? One possible solution: be big and outrageous enough to send shock waves through cyberspace. Why did the kid in second grade eat a worm? It got everyone’s attention. All eyes were on him. In blogs, many writers are doing the same thing. Make outrageous comments and hopefully have the brains to back them up.
Ann Coulter, a Universal Press columnist notoriously known for her biting jabs at liberals and bold, often politically incorrect statements, has fine-tuned this technique. Coulter’s blog weekly presents the news with enough wit and sarcasm to prevent the mid-story skim.
In her most recent post, “The Stripper has No Clothes,” Coulter examines Sgt. Mark Gottlieb’s questionable investigation and The New York Times’ extensive use of his report in its story, “Files From Duke Rape Case Give Details but No Answers.”
While journalists might report the fallacy from a neutral standpoint, Coulter can skew the story from any angle and unabashedly does so. Instead of stating that the accuser had lied, Coulter wrote, “The accuser made up so many stories about the incident that the Times was forced to offer her Jayson Blair's old position.” She discusses serious events with a light tone.
Yet “The Stripper” exposes another role of blogs in society. Journalists might be watchdogs of the government, but bloggers now watchdog journalists. Sources that feel wronged can post their frustrations to set the story straight and other journalists can discus different paper’s mistakes.
Coulter thoroughly points out errors in the Times’ article. “In repeatedly citing Gottlieb's after-the-fact memo as if it were the Rosetta stone of the case, the Times also neglected to mention Gottlieb's dark history with Duke students,” said Coulter.
While Coulter may not follow rules for objective reporting, she writes a column, thus has leeway to voice her opinion. Yet, blogs get tricky when hard news reporters write blogs or a random person tells the news.
There are no rules of engagement, no code of ethics, no fact checkers. Blogs satisfy entertainment needs and even keep journalists on their toes, but giving anyone the authority to write news gets dangerous. We can only hope people follow the honor code and stick to the truth. However, the sense of freedom and anonymity the Internet provides makes blogs an ethically questionable medium for telling the news.