So you wanna be a rock 'n' roll star journalist ...
As we continue to change our online presence from lecture to conversation, and as more of you prepare to become, for lack of a better term, citizen journalists, Tim Porter, a journalist and blogger who has the wherewithal to ponder Big Questions, raises some of them on Morph, a blog hosted by the American Press Institute. He directs them at newsrooms, and our newsroom certainly needs to think about them. But I think anyone who sees him- or herself contributing to news-as-conversation probably needs to be thinking about them as well. Some examples:
What is a "story"? What information should it contain? Which is the most important? How long must it be? How can it be presented in a form that is most useful to readers? What elements besides words are essential?What is a "beat"? How, for example, should "education" be covered? How can we minimize institutional coverage in favor of stories about people and their concerns without abrogating our responsibility to, as one reporter once told me, "keep an eye on these scoundrels?" What skills are needed for good beat coverage? How do we ensure that our reporters have them and our editors permit the reporters to use them?
What is our role as a "watchdog"? How do we move from "gotcha" to context so the community believes we are on their side? How transparent should our reporting be? How much documentation can we provide that so we can not only underwrite our findings but also demystify our process?
Go read the whole thing. Then do some thinking about answers to the questions he raises ... and hit the comment link.
Comments (3)
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Lex: I have an idea for your next blog, or one down the road. It's a hyper-local, super-global blog. New way to do international coverage. You find the places where a "global" story intersects with life in the Triad and environs. And you run with it.
This is from Doug McGill's concept essay on it: Glocal Journalism in America.
Sounds dreamy, right? Well, Doug can tell you about the way frantic phone calling back to Africa among immigrants in his town of Rochester, Minnesota were a sign of an actual genocide going on, uncovered by the major media. See the Anuak Genocide. So that's one example of it working.
Next blog: go glocal in a slow-cooked Greensboro way.
Posted on February 2, 2005 12:32 AM
That's a great idea, Jay. Greensboro is full of people with ties to other parts of the country and the world -- Latin American, Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian, etc. We'd never lack for stories.
Posted on February 2, 2005 5:49 AM
Lex, Drew here. Thanks again for the help with the "glocalization" question. You've got a new reader; talk about perfrect timing! The worldplace journalist, "slow-cooked" GSO way of illustrating the intersection of local interest and global news IS the future. With the new-school heavyweights (Rosen, et. al.) you're connected to currently, you guys will remain the tip of the spear. Here's too encouraging the citizen journalist with a worldplace flava'.
peace,
drew
Posted on February 2, 2005 3:45 PM