Tackling the Transition

Scripps faculty members discuss the benefits and challenges of the transition

Ohio University will transition from quarters to semesters in 2012. For some, that sounds like a broken record, but for others it is scary, unfamiliar, territory.  Whatever your take on the switch, have no fear, Inc. is here!  This week, Inc. spoke with E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Director Bob Stewart  and Professor Hans Meyer to set your questions to rest.

What is the purpose of creating a plan with my advisor?  Does this plan lock me in until I graduate?  And when will I be notified to create one?

Scripps School of Journalism faculty gather to discuss the logistics of the transition.

“Scripps is being required by the university to show a pathway to graduate under semesters, in essence, if the student follows the plan then they are guaranteed to graduate at that time,” Stewart said. However, it is important to keep in mind that it is difficult to plan these things because it relies on numerous factors.”

By “numerous factors,” Stewart essentially means that “life happens.”  Things come up, classes become full, and sometimes students are just not able to take on the course load they anticipated.  However, the plan is simply to show people that they can graduate on time, Stewart said.

How To: Profile Proficiently

James Roller, Reporter

The story of a single person can offer in-depth insight of a particular issue that a typical news story often cannot. Straightforward newscasts can also be difficult for the average person to relate to, but a profile allows readers access to a unique, colorful perspective of the individual.

In order to achieve this one-of-a-kind goal that profiling presents, there are important points to consider. 

1)   Determine your subject and purpose

The number one question a journalist needs to consider before profiling is who would be a compelling subject to profile and why.

“Look for universality,” Dr. Hans Meyer, online journalism and news writing and editing professor, said.  A basic conflict or aspect of the subject that is relatable to an audience such as, “man vs. man,” or “overcoming the odds,” are situations that many readers find compelling and are familiar with, said Meyer.  

2)   Gain your subjects trust

Often when a journalist is searching for a compelling and relatable story, he or she may come across a subject who is not used to being interviewed, and a subject that isn’t used to being profiled can become intimidated, stifling the interview.

Dr. Michael Sweeney, magazine journalism and news writing and editing professor, said it is often a good idea to spend the first day meeting with this sort of subject. Grilling them with questions will often turn them off. The key is not to seem like a journalist, but to come off as a person who is interested in their story. 

 3) Think of your audience

When writing a profile a journalist always needs to ask, ‘who is my audience?’ Sweeney said that this question is especially important when considering what aspect of the subject’s life to focus on.

For example, if a journalist is profiling a football coach for an audience of other football coaches, the journalist should ask more specific questions that only football coaches may understand, but if writing for fans, a journalist may want to keep the questions more broad.

4)   Dig deeper

After considering these key questions, take the profile a step further and consider what hasn’t been considered.

“Don’t ask questions that have already been asked,” Sweeney said. “Look up all articles that have been written about your subject. The database Lexus Nexus is a great resource when looking for past articles.”

Also, look for family members, friends, and even enemies of your subject to speak with. Often those who know your subject on a personal level can give a better idea of who your subject really is then the subject will, Sweeney said.

5)   Be flexible

Lastly, if the interview takes an unexpected turn, work with it. While a journalist should have at least ten solid questions they know they want to ask, the rest of the questions should come naturally while talking with a subject.

“Don’t be married to your questions,” Sweeney said. “A good profile interview sounds like a conversation.”

To tweet or not to tweet?

Casey Compernolle, Reporter

To tweet, or not to tweet?  That is the question for many journalists who are often faced with the difficult decision between tweeting what they want as opposed to what they feel they should.

Journalists have joined the Twitter world to share news and events, but what about their opinions?  Is there an unwritten rule that prevents journalists from being too opinionated on social media?

These are questions that student journalists may find themselves pondering as well.

Elizabath Krizner, a Scripps sophomore majoring in Public Relations, said  “You sacrifice certain things when you decide to become a journalist, and unfortunately you give up certain rights in order to stay professional at all times. I think if you are representing a major corporation like CNN, it is your responsibility to draw the line of appropriateness.”

With The New York Times generating a staggering 3,743,424 followers, CNN close behind with 2,627,953, Fox News with 1,002,185 and CNBC coming in with 513,835 followers, there is proof that people are embracing the fast, accurate updates Twitter has to offer.

“Twitter audiences are not given enough credit.”  Hans Meyer, a professor at the E.W Scripps School of Journalism, said.

With regard to the grey areas of tweeting journalists’, Meyer said,  “I bristle anytime someone tries to stifle another on twitter, because if you’re a major journalist generating thousands of followers you were clearly hired for a reason: because you have a personality, and that’s a virtue.”

Recently, major corporations have allowed anchormen, correspondents, and hosts to create their own Twitter with more depth, updates, and thoughts.

Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly), a host for Fox News, has over 74,000 followers on her twitter account.  Kelly uses it as a promotional tool for her network, but also gives pregnancy updates, pictures of concerts, events, and much more.

“Authenticity is one of the core reasons people are drawn to Twitter, and if lost it could take away from the likability of users,” Meyer said.

Aside from major news outlets, there are still journalists that agree with professor Meyer’s idea of free range to voice any and all opinions—and they do just that.

Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University, uses his twitter account (@jayrosen_nyu), to speak to his 67k plus followers about his take on current events.  He received backlash for tweeting that “Media bias isn’t the problem. It’s a solution.” Rosen’s tweet was in response to an article written by Jack Shafer in relation to the pros and cons of media bias.  Whether tweets such as this are controversial or not, Rosen still continues to voice his opinion on current issues through Twitter.

Some believe that if we allow journalists more free range on social media, the public will be rewarded with more depth and creativity.  Others believe appropriateness is key, and professionalism could be at risk. No one knows for certain what the future holds for Twitter, and most certainly not for the journalists that use it, but one thing remains the same: every tweet is a tweet of faith.

 

 

From traditional to technological: Journalism as we know it

Casey Compernolle, Reporter

For many journalists’, the transition from traditional to technological can significantly impact their profession.  Students across the globe are adapting to a new era in which newspapers are found online and creating a personal blog or website is only a click away.

As a result, this transition has paved a whole new way for aspiring journalism students in the classroom.  Some classic teaching methods with only pen and paper have been replaced with computer labs and online discussion boards.  However, does the pressure of keeping up with the times overshadow core principles of journalism that students once knew?  Or is the change simply a direct reflection of what the future has in store?

PROVIDED by Mike Jung

In 2004, the Missouri School of Journalism adopted an Apple friendly environment in which Mac computers and Apple products are not only encouraged, but also required throughout their curriculum.  The school claims that the integration of Apple products has become such a success that they plan to “add the iPad and iPhone devices as mobile tools for journalism.”

Apple’s website explains that, “Students use MacBook Pro for everything from recording classroom lectures to newsgathering, writing, and editing for class projects and for the school’s newspaper, TV station, and affiliated online news service.  With iMovie and GarageBand, freshman can quickly teach themselves the basics of video and audio editing before moving on to more complex projects.”

Although the Missouri School of Journalism has deemed the project a success, many may still wonder if the integration speaks more about brands and less about journalism.

Hans Meyer, a professor in the E.W Scripps School of Journalism, said he thinks that moving with the times is important, as long as journalists incorporate those core principles with the new technology offered.  Meyer teaches news writing and online journalism fundamentals; therefore his extensive use of computer labs has allowed him to integrate some of this same technology into his own courses.

Meyer, a former professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, said that he agrees Apple creates great products that can be helpful in the classroom, however he also said general skills and tools are more important to teach than simply having the ability to use Mac or Apple products.

“The problem there is single-mindedness. Therefore, we need to be teaching our students to be well-rounded critical thinkers in all areas of technology instead of simply focusing on one brand,” he said.

Meyer said he thinks that Scripps has been incorporating Macs into the Scripps curriculum for about 4 or 5 years.  While many students may  prefer Apple products to exercise their journalistic abilities, making Apple products a requirement may not be the answer they’re looking for.

Elizabeth Krizner, a sophomore studying Public Relations at the E.W Scripps School of Journalism and a Mac owner, said, , “I love my computer, but I spent all of my graduation money on it.  Apple products are extremely expensive, and I would not want to feel forced to invest in a MacBook economically.”

Overall, the recent evolution of journalism has given journalists more opportunities then ever before.  Apple, being one of the fundamental leaders of technology, is certainly changing the way journalists do their work.  However, it is ultimately up to the journalist to decide whether technology advances will change the way they think about their work.

“In my opinion,” Meyer said, “it’s the people that are using existing technology to fill a need that is not currently being met right now [that] are the people who will change the world.”

Journalists add new asset to their media toolbox

Story // April Jaynes, Reporter

Last Monday, April 25, Storify opened to public users, providing audiences with more story variety and a chance to tell their own.

“Storify”, a verb meaning, “to form or tell stories of; to narrate or describe in a story,” is an online platform that allows users to combine various types of social media, along with personal text, in a story.

The platform is simple to operate and offers a convenient approach to gathering information from social media sites.

www.storify.com

Users can input links and search Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Flickr and RSS feeds to aid in their storytelling by simply dragging and dropping the items into the story.

Co-founder and former AP reporter Burt Herman said in a New York Times article by Claire Cain Miller, “We’re really trying to put together computer science plus storytelling and journalism to think creatively about how you can blend the two worlds.”

The Storify blog said it was opening its beta to the public “so many more people have the chance to tell stories in this new form and join the future of storytelling online.”

Professor Hans Meyer said he received his private beta invitation the day before the site went public.

While Meyer says he’s not sure how many readers are aware of Storify; he said he thinks one of the reasons the platform exists is “because it recognizes the fact that a lot of people are getting their news from social media and they’re getting it in an unfiltered way.”

Prior to going public, experienced journalists have taken advantage of Storify’s user-friendly platform by providing audiences with reliable social media to aid in creating major news stories.

Andy Carvin, Senior Strategist and Social Media Desk for NPR, uses Storify to report on what’s happening in the Middle East and the crisis in North Africa.

The Storify blog also says that the day of Storify’s most views, consisting of more than half a million, came in March when the tragic earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.

Meyer said that Storify “encourages reporters to do the reporting” and allows journalists to organize information in a way that the average citizen doesn’t.

“We have to stop thinking that we’re the only ones who provide the content,” he said. “There’s lots of people tweeting. There’s lots of information out there, but journalists are the best at, and well trained for, analyzing that information, adapting it to the audience and checking it for accuracy.”

Meyer also said he hopes small news organizations that may not be experienced with social media sites will use Storify to help them integrate social media into their news coverage.

“When you’re using social media, it forces reporters to go beyond their traditional sources and to really look at members of their audience, see what they’re saying and see what value they add to the news story,” Meyer said.

Meyer encourages students to investigate Storify.

“Use it. Collect some tweets, comment on them and pull them together,” he said. “Let’s see what happens.”

Professor blog drives discussion and debate to Scripps site

Story // Raquel Harrah, Reporter

Blogs can be advantageous for many reasons, but Professor Bill Reader proves that they can serve to be an elemental form of discourse between journalists.

Back in March, Reader wrote a critique of a regional site called TBD.com. The critique was later made available through the Scripps homepage. His post was then mentioned through Jim Romenesko’s blog on the Poynter Institute’s website, which helped him gain even more views and feedback from readers.

Director of Community Engagement for TBD, Steve Buttry, reached out to Reader through email shortly after viewing this blog post regarding several facts in Reader’s community journalism blog, and later posted his response in his own blog on March 3.

“Blogs are powerful tools for public debate and serve their best purpose when used to that effect,” Reader said.

Both Reader and Buttry took advantage of their blogs as tools that allow for a public discourse with an exchange of opinions and acquirement of new information.

“We in the journalism business are about benefitting society at large, which is why we are comfortable with, even insistent upon, arguing in the public sphere,” Reader said.

Buttry’s blog allowed comments where much of the discussion took place.

“As we debated the issue, we all incorporated the opinions of the others into our own thinking,” Reader said. “All of it advanced the dialogue on the issue at hand, and all of us left the debate with new ideas and better understanding.”

As professionals, feedback, whether posing disagreement or accordance, should be taken into account when publishing anything from a blog post to a highly publicized print article.

“I got feedback, which is the goal of publishing opinions,” Reader said.

When Professor Stewart set up the current Scripps website several years ago, this idea of feedback and a connection to outside media sources was the premise of inviting professors to offer their expertise in blog posts linked through the Scripps page.

“I really feel like Scripps hired me for a purpose here, to come in and objectively look at how we can adapt better. I’m looking critically at the industry and looking for new ways and ideas, and hopefully that shows students Scripps is trying,” said Professor Hans Meyer who offers his perspective about aspects of online journalism on his blog.

While each professor proves how multidimensional blogs are, many agree that the main purpose is, in essence, to communicate.

“One of the things that scares people is that they have to be perfect. The best blogs start conversations,” Meyer said.

These blogs can often shift from the Scripps homepage to the classroom. Professor Mark Tatge makes between six to eight blogs available for his students as an exterior and ancillary form of communication.

“I view students as an audience, and you have to find one of the best vehicles to communicate with them,” Tatge said.

This can also help connect his classroom to outside sources. Tatge views blogs beneficiary for reasons including their searchable nature so people outside of Ohio University can read about what is discussed in the classroom, what research Scripps is doing and how Scripps is trying to help the industry.

While these blogs can range from editorials, personal blogs or an extension of the classroom, they must al- ways be saturated in fact. For this reason, Professor Tatge relays his greatest pet peeve about blogging: anonymity.

“Don’t let people hide behind the veil of anonymity. I have a call of action to force people to fess up on who they are. As journalists in a journalism school, we ought to be forcing people to be accountable,” Tatge said.

With accountability serving as an important aspect, it must still be remembered that as Reader has demonstrated, journalism dwindles down to communication. Without a name attached to a post, an exchange of information and opinions isn’t able to take place.