The importance of social media during a tragedy.

The idea for this post has come to my mind too many times recently. I'm not sure if this era has caused more tragedies or if it is publicising them more but modern journalism seems to rely heavily on tragic events. One of my teachers was talking about some information she had learned from a seminar on how to act during a school shooting. She said that we should stay off all social media and resist posting what is going on to twitter and to not try to contact any of your loved ones in order to keep the phone lines clear. And I agree with that...to a point. I agree that it probably smarter to resist calling people/the police in order to keep the radio towers clear. But if you have taken a picture or feel your life is in danger or have vital information regarding the incident I believe it is important to post it or share it somewhere. It is always important to stay safe and protect yourself before using social media. Social media connects us and allows people to share their vantage points on whatever they are doing and this is never more important than when people are killed or are in immediate danger. The internet holds so much information that could be really important to the officials trying to solve this crime. I believe that using social media to share info about a tragedy is a good thing

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The Impact Of Twitter on Journalism

So I don't think this qualifies as an infographic. Honestly what visuals it does have are pretty annoying. Nevertheless this video holds a deep impact full meaning. Journalists cannot devalue the Internet, or more specifically, social media as a way to distribute news. Everyone can be a journalist everyone voice matters everyone has a story that can and should be shared.

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Ted Talk: Beware online filter bubbles.

So I watched another Ted talk today, I didn't have my chrome book so I just took notes the old fashioned way. If I have time I will retype type this all.

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Ted Talk: Crowdsourcing the news.

Today in class I watched this Ted talk entitled Crowd sourcing the news. In this talk, Paul Lewis, discusses the benefits that are achieved by using social medias like twitter, and facebook to create a complete version of events. He discusses two events where police reports are incorrect and using the power of the Internet he completes the story of two men's deaths.

Here are my semi-coherent notes that I took while watching the video.
strangers help in teaching and co-producing news
different perspectives added together to complete the story
the top officials can mislead people with their stories
newspapers accounts can change with edition
eyewitnesses collaborate and tell the real version of events
find people with the same information to prove
skeptical articles draw peoples own questions
someone somewhere has the proof
when people see the proof the other stories fall
the Internet can connect eyewitnesses who are very far away
information travels randomly through Internet but often gets to the correct place
people want to tell the truth and seek to get it off their chest
citizen journalism may be less respected so it needs exact verification
verify against other accounts to remove misinformation
people document significant events and share their stories
examples include the political unrest in middle east, Japanese earthquake
utilize the technologies that allow you to see individual stories in order to complete the story

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Journalism Analysis Project: Beginning

In this post I am going to explain this mythical journalism project I have been hinting at and have made a page for. So far this year I have explored some of the characteristics of modern news. Now I plan to compare modern news sources, ways the news is presented, and whether print journalism produces news similar to all digital formats.
A common thread has been found in each article, and report I have chosen. They are all reports on the events of the Newtown shooting. I chose this topic because it has had a great impact on modern life and was reported on my many sources.
I have saved a newspaper, several online articles, infographics, and videos that have this topic. In the end I hope to have a better understanding on the quality of different publications, and the medias in which they present news; whether it is wise to still directly pay for news in the modern age; as well as which forms of media provide the most in depth, balanced, knowledgeable news.

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Where Journalists Risk Their Lives to Report

This article by the PEW really opened my eyes to the danger journalists can face and the risks they are willing to face in order to deliver the news. I am definitely not surprised that the most deaths come from the middle east. Its danger creates some of the most interesting and important news, but at what price? As conflicts run their course it seems there is constantly a new one to take place of the last.
The major conflict this year, in Syria, drew a lot of journalists from all around the world. If there wasn't such a thirst for knowledge pertaining to these conflicts the amount of deaths would certainly be much lower. The digital revolution of journalism plays an important role in the deceased peoples lives and their untimely deaths. Never before have their been more news outlets as well as more journalists needed to cover the news.
Killings are also being published much more. When a mass shooting happens many people speak out about copycat killers which can get ideas from the extensive coverage of these events. Although I believe that it is important for people to know what is happening in dangerous war zones such as the ones portrayed in this article. The coverage of these events could be encouraging more people to commit similar acts.
Regarding the design of this particular infographic, I like that there are many types of graphs but they aren't all suited to display the information well.

Where Journalists Risk Their Lives To Report

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Three Goals

These are my three (SMART) goals that I want to accomplish in the near future for my three gifted projects.

Individial: Finish the redesign of my blog, fix pictures, complete pages. Done by the end of break/first few weeks of school.

Group: Complete another chapter of the story. Done by the second or third week after school resumes.

Assessment Literacy: Finish assignment for program with Teacher. Done by end of break. Redesign of blog. Done by end of break. Begin third presentation.

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My favorite journalist?

In speaking with my instructors we talked about which journalist I liked the most. My response was Brian Williams.  I really enjoy watching him on Nightly News, Rock Center, and occasionally on 30 Rock. He is a really entertaining journalist, his personality is more pronounced than many journalists. That view into his personality is why I believe he is so popular, and well liked. When he reports on something you really get the sense that he cares about what he talks about. Brian Willams is also involved in writing some of his material which is why I believe he can be considered both a journalist and a news anchor.

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Digital Revolution

I really like these infographics....I will probably post more soon. They display information better than writing, especially for more visual learners.

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Create: Part One

I have had the creating aspect of this blog in my head for a while and as my individual deadline had grown closer I have been striving to achieve it more and more. Honestly my english skills are being suppressed a bit in the class I'm in so I am needing to almost relearn things that I was a pro at last year. I have never really been educated in the art of journalistic writing. This lack of knowlegde lead me to the "all-knowing" google. Here is what I have come across thus far.

From Writing Journalistically to Learn In Any Classroom By Jackie FolkertPortage Northern High School, Portage, MI
Writing Journalistically

"When students write journalistically, they use
higher-order thinking to learn as they demand
accuracy, pinpoint relevancy, consider audience, and
synthesize information. When teachers trade
formulaic writing and worksheets for journalism,
their students have opportunities to personalize
meaning."

I believe this means that a sucessful journalist strives to achieve the truth, write with a specific audience in mind, and summarize the important details while still thouroughly covering the topics necissary. The higher order thinking is a bit offsetting, it may or may not be a fancy way to say an order of thoughts but im not quite sure.

'News writing places the most pertinent
information in the first paragraphs of the
article. In typical inverted pyramid fashion,
the importance of information decreases as
the story continues.
News writing is specific, accurate, and
delivers concrete, factual information.
New writing displays information clearly.
Sentences are short and paragraphs contain
one element of information; paragraphs are
rarely more than three sentences long.
News writing uses direct sentences, most
often subject-verb-object sentences.
News writing does not include the writer's
Opinion.
News writing focuses on one dominant
meaning.  The reader should be able to
answer the question, "What's the single,
most important element in the story?"'

This helps with the understanding of the higherarchy. The way knowledge is to be displayed mirrors the funnel form of a conclusion in the papers that I am writing in my english class. The formatting description makes sence, but I feel as if this is less important in the electronic news that is becoming more popular today. I am aware however that people are more likely to read something if it is not just a wall of text so I will write as the article suggests. This page describes the sentence structure well. I have read this article, and it seems as if the stucture eliminates and condenses sentences well.

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The Future Of Mobile News

The Future Of Modern News

I can really relate to this article because, like the majority of americans, I am basically attached at the hip to my various moble devises. Falling into the 50% that own both a tablet and smartphone, I am hardpressed to find remember times during my day when I'm not on one or the other. The influx of technology in my life has really had almost all positive effects. I am able to take in more information, faster, than ever before. Adressing the problem of users mostly utilizing these features at home, I'm just to scared to go over the mobile data limit to use my phone constantly. But thats only attributed to verizon forcibly taking away my unlimited data.

In summary this study says:

• The advent of the new lower-priced tablets in late 2011 brought in a new crop of tablet owners. 

• Rather than replacing old technology, the introduction of new devices and formats is creating a new kind of "multi-platform" news consumer.

• There is growing evidence that mobile devices are adding to how much news people get. 

• People who get news on both a smartphone and a tablet may carry added appeal for news organizations. 

• Similarly, those who get news throughout the day on their mobile devices are more engaged news consumers

• Two distinct news audiences have emerged on tablets-new-found digital customers and customers who also remain loyal to the print product.

• People notice ads on mobile devices and may be even more likely to click on them than they are to click on other digital ads. There has been movement over the last year toward using the browser rather than apps for tablet news consumption. 

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News Anchors vs. Journalists

Most news anchors arent journalists but the most prominent ones that I have come across seem to do both. In order to become a news anchor you dont really need to posess the skills of journalist. Local anchors often times dont even know exactly what they are going to be talking about untill they are about to be on the air. One the most popular anchors of modern time, Anderson Cooper, at least makes it seem like he knows what hes's talking about. If he is completly cut off from the production of his show he hides it well. His enthusiasm for the topics he is reporting on resonates with the audience. He does seem to be a lot more connected to his work than many journalists. It seems that even if you arent a journalist being a sucessful news anchor comes with at least a little work into the creation of the what they present on the television.

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