The Armed Journalist

This is the first time that I encountered this journalist’s toolbox and I believe this comes in very handy especially for traditional media, which are, as I speak, adjusting their operational styles to computer realities and coping with competition from a growing number of new electronic information providers.
With the existence of 24-hour news providers, monitoring what is happening around the world all the more becomes a challenge so it is crucial for traditional journalists to keep themselves updated if they want to remain ahead of the news and competition, so this toolbox is very much welcome.
A journalist need not rely on it entirely for information but I think it would go a long way in keeping the newspapermen and broadcasters, abreast of what is happening around and the beautiful thing about it is, it does not end there because it provides additional reporting tools like information on phone, map and email directories and allows the journalist to take advantage of its editing and fast-checking resources links to help them improve on their reports and more importantly aid them in ensuring the accuracy of their data.
It is like a one-stop shop, because you get, more or less, the things you need to get started from trends and trailers to some of the ads, weather information, event calendars, Iraq military casualties, jobs, blog searches, to sites for funny, odd stories.

Indeed, the recent speed of news cycles has changed the ways in which daily journalism is practiced, so a journalist need to be fully equipped and armed before going to battle, and this toolbox would be a big help.

Internet addiction: A Cause for Concern?

China plagued with 2 million teen Internet addicts

BEIJING - Chinese teenagers are getting addicted to the Internet and taking to crime at a younger age than in any other country, state media reported on Wednesday.

Of China's 18.3 million teen Internet users, more than 2 million were addicts, with "good kids who impress their parents and teachers" the most vulnerable to the affliction, the China Daily said, citing a study by the Communist Youth League.

"Internet addicts in China are as many as 10 years younger than those in the West. They are more susceptible," the daily quoted Gao Wenbin, a psychology researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a top government think tank, as saying.

Most Internet addicts were male and aged between 15 and 20, Gao said, with as many as 15 percent of those in large cities needing "urgent help".

Gao blamed a lack of diversions at schools, forcing addicts into often illegal Internet cafes and exposing them to crime and violence.

"They will naturally turn to the virtual world if they cannot find an outlet for their energy either at home or school," he said.

Last week, another state newspaper said China had seen a 68 percent rise in juvenile crime in five years and that figure was going to rise.

"Earlier development and the culture of violence are to blame for an increase in harmful actions among adolescents under 14," the Beijing Morning Post said.

Pirated DVDs, including violent and adult material, are available on every street corner and computer and online gaming has exploded in China in recent years.

Amid growing concern that more and more young people are becoming hooked, China has issued a raft of regulations aimed at curbing excessive game-playing at Internet cafes and heavily fining owners that admit minors.

(Reuters, Jan 17)

'A little journalist in all of us'

Former first lady Imelda Marcos used to write for the paper (the now defunct Philippine Post) I used to work for and she used as a kicker in her column a shoe advertisement-slogan, which says "There's a little Imelda in all of us." I would like to use that slogan and change the world Imelda to journalist so it would now read as "There's a little journalist in all of us."

This is probably the reason, why blogging and moblogging have become such a hit that some even say that it would or is reshaping the way traditional journalists do journalism.

This journalist in us, stems from a innate desire to share information and acquire information or in the words of Futurist Howard Rheingold "an insatiable human thirst for new ways to learn, create, and communicate..." But we traditional journalists, know that journalism does not not end there. The journalists' role goes beyond providing information because it is they who make sense of all the available and sometimes confusing information that the public needs to make intelligent decisions.

Like I said in my previous posts, I have misgivings about "we journalism" because it is still uncertain whether this is just a fad or something that is sustainable and something that the public would be willing to bring to the next and more serious level to develop this nascent media culture.

Bloggers and mobloggers should not mistake the tool for the task. If they want to empower this medium, they should live the essential values that kept traditional journalism very much alive -- truth, accuracy, fairness and reliability.

I strong believe nonetheless, that old media should learn from new media and vice versa. Old media should learn from the best of what new new media can offer and new media should do the same.

Ethics, control, regulation and more

The unofficial mobile phone footage showing the execution of former leader Saddam Hussein has put the internet on the spot and rightfully so as Iraqi authorities fear the footage, released on the internet after the execution, could contribute to a dramatic rise in sectarian tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shia communities.

The release of the footage raises question about ethics and control and this brings to mind an important question we raised in one of our discussions about regulation and ethics.

Regulating and upholding ethics in the practice of traditional journalism has proven to be a difficult task, what more when in comes to the pratice of citizen journalism. But it is still refreshing to know that there are people like Dan Gilmor, founder of Grassroots media Inc. who underscores the importance of ethics in CJ and blogging and the pillars of journalism that citizen journalists should adhere to so they could instill trust and build credibility.

I could not agree more with what he said about honor. He could not have said it better when he said "...unless we act with honor we can't expect people's trust."

So as we traditional journalists and journalist wannabes embrace the new media, it is good to be reminded of the pillars of good journalism that is thoroughness, accuracy, fairness, transparency, and independence.

CJ - Here, There and Everywhere

AN INTERESTING READ

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=40877

Washington Post aims for closer print, Web ties
ReutersLast updated 12:26pm (Mla time) 12/30/2006
NEW YORK--The Washington Post Co. plans to have its veteran editors help shape the way stories appear on the Web in the latest example of how top US publishers are retooling news operations for the Internet.
The Washington Post's Web site, launched more than a decade ago, has been a bellwether among online news publishers because of its early success at attracting readers online and growing advertising.
While many newspapers beef up their Internet sites to meet a growing migration of readership to the Web, their print and Web production operations remain mostly separate divisions.
The Post for example produces and packages its Web news with employees who work across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Virginia.
Starting in January, print editors will "help us at the Web site and at the paper think smartly about more three-dimensional ways that you can present that news," Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. told Reuters.
Newspaper editors have traditionally focused on assigning and editing articles, as well as questions of layout, such as where a story sits on a print page, the tenor and size of its headline or its relation to a photograph.
Web news also requires expertise in updating breaking stories through the day, drawing attention to human interest or feature stories as well as ensuring reporters make it a priority to add video, audio or commentary to the page.
That integration is key to the future of newspapers, as Internet advertising is often their fastest growing segment, rising 30 to 60 percent annually, depending on the publisher, even as print ad rates and circulation declines.
"The majority of their audience is now online," said Jeff Jarvis, media consultant and publisher of the Buzzmachine blog. "They have to serve that audience where that audience is."
Some have cut hundreds of jobs, narrowed their print page width or consolidated production plants to save costs. Others face shareholder pressure to improve returns or sell assets.
New role for newsroomsIn the meantime, many newspaper stocks are sharply underperforming the wider market as the pace of Internet earnings has yet to compensate for slower print growth.
Washington Post stock has dropped 1.1 percent since the start of 2006, the New York Times has lost 10.4 percent and McClatchy Co. has shed nearly 27 percent, compared with a 14-percent rise in the benchmark S&P 500 Index.
Companies aiming to bridge the gap with their own Web operations include USA Today publisher Gannett Co. Inc., which is reshaping newsrooms at nearly 90 local papers to emphasize Web and print news editions as equally important.
More publishers anticipate similar changes to their operations, trying to push sometimes reluctant print staff to outline how they will do their jobs in the future.
Dow Jones & Co. is relying on its Dow Jones Newswires service for much of its daily coverage, focusing on exclusive stories and analysis for its Wall Street Journal newspaper. The New York Times last year said it would integrate its Web and print operations.
"All of the desks here to varying degrees are becoming much more active about ... advising their reporters to call in to the continuous news desk or file their stories to us," said Neil Chase, editor at the Times' continuous news desk that assembles breaking news throughout the day.
The Post has a similar division whose reporters and editors handle breaking stories for the Web, but that thinking has not penetrated to all levels of the print edition.
"The news section sometimes can use the continuous news desk as a crutch rather than finding ways themselves to make that news happen," said Washingtonpost.com editor Liz Spayd, former assistant managing editor of the paper's national news desk.
The ideal, she said, would be for section editors to approach their jobs as, "I'm not going to just think about news] like how it happens on the paper, but on the Web and every platform."
She said the role of newspaper editors in building Web news will not take responsibility away from current Internet staff.

Citizen reporters: Working with traditional journalists in supporting roles

Citizen journalism has a long long way to go in terms of building credibility and trust. I, for one, am not a great fan of citizen journalism, in the sense that I would not rely on citizen journalists for information although I would probably use the information they provide to complement a story or report, but not before verifying it of course.
I do not discount however, the significant contribution that citizen journalists have done in terms of giving a whole new meaning and perpsective to news reporting. Thanks to citizen journalists, the entire world, virtually witnessed the unfolding of major events through ordinary people who sent digital camera or camera phone-shot photos of tsunami, London bombings and the like to news organisations and narrated through the net, actual experiences, giving more color to a story.
However, serious journalism does not end there. More than storytelling, it must be able to truthfully report and make sense of all available and sometimes confusing information, to help educate and aid the public in their decision making process.
I think the ideal citizen journalist only exists in some bloggers' views.
In fact, many have predicted the print media’s demise with the advent of the Internet, but I am convinced that the newspaper’s essential values, such as adherence to truth, accuracy and fairness, will keep them ahead of the race.
Citizen journalism will not replace traditional journalism but I think it would be effective in playing a supporting or complementary role. I think, traditional and citizen journalists will have to coexist. More than coexist, they should look at each other as allies and not rivals.

Story 1 radio format

(VO Karen)
The House of Representatives last night removed a major obstacle to planned Constitutional amendments.
In a marathon session, congressmen loyal to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo voted 164-25 to change the rules to allow them to proceed with Charter change even without the participation of the Senate.
Their stated goal is to shift to a parliamentary form of government with a prime minister at the helm.
In reaction, senators crossed party lines and immediately vowed to challenge the move before the Supreme Court.
According to pro-administration Senator Richard Gordon...
(play taped audio interview)
"I think the whole nation is chagrined at the brazenness in the manner that they try to railroad and cheat their own rules."
"If they really want to amend the constitution, if they really respect the constitution, they should allow for adequate discussion."
(VO Karen)
President Arroyo says she wants to switch to a parliamentary form of government to speed up policy-making and facilitate stronger economic growth.
This plan is opposed by leaders of the church, business, civil society, and the academe like UP political science professor Benito Lim who is wary lawmakers’ motives...
(play taped interview)
"It is a desperate attempt on the part of congressmen for they already anticipate that they do not have a chance of winning in next year's elections."
(VO Karen)
Administration lawmakers are unfazed, however, with House Speaker Jose de Venecia expressing his confidence this morning that Congress would be convened into a Constituent Assembly to amend the Constitution by next week.
This is Karen Lema reporting...
(END)