Ideas for blog posts

Respond to the Wikileaks dump
of secret U.S. State Department cables

Obama weighs criminal action
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/29/1949134/obama-weighs-criminal-action-against.html

Role of free press examined
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-11-30-insidewiki30_ST_N.htm

Times left off Wikileaks' list
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45706.html

Online journalism at a glance

Advantages of online journalism

• Audience control: Allows people more power to choose the information they want.
• Nonlinearity: Allows stories that do not have a predetermined order.
• Storage and retrieval: Vast amount of information at your fingertips.
• Unlimited space: Overcomes spatial and temporal limitations.
• Multimedia: Tell stories with text, sound, video and interactive presentations.
• Interactivity and user generated content: News becomes a conversation, not a lecture.

Source: Online Journalism By James Foust, Holcomb Hathaway, 2009

Online news examples

News-Leader main page (Victor)
• Headlines and blurbs helpful

Wichita Eagle main page (Bryant)
• Stories ordered in layers like a traditional paper

Daily Beast
• Intriguing, but a shortcut for lazy readers?
• Also: Newsweek

Women’s Wear Daily (Anne)
• Online version can be overwhelming
• In contrast, the print version seems so lacking

St. Louis Post on Facebook (Brent and Kayla)
• Easy and interesting
PD’s standard online presence

ESPN World Series final (Aaron)
• So many options
• Huge volume of information, including lots of TEXT!

New York Times budget puzzle (me)
• Interactivity and citizenship


Challenge: Making online news pay

Pay wall + value added – Springfield Business Journal
• You don't know what you're missing unless you subscribe

Advertising – News-Leader
• Supported by corporate Gannett contracts
• Local advertising

Keith Olbermann's ethics: Conflict of interest, opinion v. news

Shockingly condensed outline for ethical decision making
From the point of view of the decision maker (reporter, editor, other)

Identify the problem

List the stakeholders
Decision maker’s employer (the news organization)
Colleagues
The profession (journalism)
Advertisers
Readers
Sources
Individuals / groups / the community at large
Me
Others as you see them …

Consider the values in play
Fairness
Balance
Privacy
Obligation to society
Public interest
Personal interest
(others not listed here)

List the options and consider them

Decide


Relevant excerpts from the SPJ code

Seek the truth and report it. Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information. Journalists should:

• Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.
• Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.

Act independently. Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know. Journalists should:

• Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
• Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.
• Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity.
• Disclose unavoidable conflicts.

Be Accountable. Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other. Journalists should:

• Clarify and explain news coverage and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.
• Encourage the public to voice grievances against the news media.
• Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
• Expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media.
• Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

MSNBC's statement on Olbermann's suspension

MSNBC TV host Keith Olbermann was suspended indefinitely on Friday for making campaign donations to three Democratic congressional candidates, apparently in violation of NBC News ethics policy.

The announcement came in a one-sentence statement from MSNBC TV President Phil Griffin: “I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”

The donations were first reported by the Politico website earlier in the day.

Olbermann acknowledged the donations in a statement to Politico, saying he gave the maximum legal donation of $2,400 to Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords and Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate against Tea Party standard-bearer Rand Paul.

Like most news organizations, NBC News, parent of MSNBC TV, prohibits political contributions by its journalists without prior approval of the president. (msnbc.com, a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft, also has a policy against its journalists contributing to political campaigns.)

"Anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest,” the NBC News policy reads. “Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions. You should report any such potential conflicts in advance to, and obtain prior approval of, the president of NBC News or his designee."

Politico noted that the donations to Grijalva and Giffords were made on Oct. 28, the same day that Grijalva appeared on Olbermann’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” show. Grijalva won re-election on Tuesday, while Giffords on Friday was clinging to a narrow lead over Republican Jesse Kelly in a race that the Associated Press has not yet called.

In his statement to Politico, Olbermann said he did not encourage his viewers or other staff members to donate to the candidates.

“I did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns, nor to any others in this election or any previous ones, nor have I previously donated to any political campaign at any level,” he was quoted as saying.

Olbermann's response upon his return from suspension:
What is Olbermann's ethical position?
Do you agree with it or not, and why?



Questions about Olbermann's response

• He got support from friends (300,000 petition signatures) and rivals (conservatives upholding individual rights). Does this support matter in the context of ethical decision making?
• Jay Leno calls Olbermann a "news anchor." He may be an anchor, but does he deliver news? Is he a journalist?
• What do you think of John Stewart's position: "It's a stupid rule, but at least it was enforced poorly"?
• Consider Olbermann's position: "The rule must be debated, and it must be adapted to the realities of 21st century journalism." What realities? How adapted?
• In closing, Olbermann defends his donations because they are transparent, a matter of public record. In contrast, a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allows large organizations, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to back candidates using money from individuals whose names would not be known. Does this transparency make Olbermann more ethical?
  

Other views
Rachel Maddow: No political contribution policy at Fox
Toronto Sun columnist: Rules different in Canada

So, what's the problem (if any), and how will you solve it?
Go back to the beginning and run through the shockingly condensed outline for ethical decision making.

Sports-team names: singular or plural?

This question, from a quiz on agreement, was a subject of disagreement:

The Wizards are terrible this year, but the Magic is having another great season.

AP style calls for Magic is. However, grammar books, along with some editors and many students, prefer Magic are.

Even the pros do not follow AP style on this point. Consider this phrase from a story by David Hyde, sports reporter for the Orlando Sentinel (10/30/10):
The Magic were (not was) coming off an easy win at home ...

Or this story with no byline from Miami Herald (10/31/10):
The Heat have (not has) won [six of their last seven games] at New Jersey.


I polled some of my sports-oriented friends in journalism. Their responses:

From former sports editor Steve Koehler:
I’m pretty sure that team nicknames are considered plural i.e. The Jazz are crap, the Heat are awful, etc. The Magic are terrific. I'm pretty sure that’s AP’s rule. Whatever AP says is the rule media should be following...

From former sports editor Jeff Majeske:
I've approached teams like that as a ''they.'' The Jazz are going for their third straight win. The Heat were led by Dwyane Wade’s 29 points. From a grammatical standpoint, Heat, Jazz, etc., are collectives. My reasoning for not following this convention is that newspapers should reflect how people talk (within certain boundaries, of course). When in doubt, I rely on what sounds correct.

From MSU Jack Dimond, MSU journalism instructor:

Ed: The online AP Stylebook says the singular nicknames that plural verbs. Here's the full entry (I can't really think of why there is a logical difference between the Orlando Magic and the Stanford Cardinal):

collective nouns -- Nouns that ...denote a unit take singular verbs and pronouns: class, committee, crowd, family, group, herd, jury, orchestra, team.

However, team names such as the Jazz, the Magic, the Avalanche and the Thunder take plural verbs.

Many singular names take singular verbs: Boston is favored in the playoffs. The Cardinal is in the NCAA tournament.

If you want my personal opinion, it should be ''Magic are.'' It’s singular in form but plural in meaning, in the sense that it refers to the players on the team rather than the team as a single entity. OK, so this doesn't really make any sense, but I think one of the reasons we have style rules is that you just have to pick something and go with it.

Here’s my thought: Consider using team names as singular or plural, as the case suggests, in the same way that "jury" and "couple" are handled.

Blog posts: Online observations

Questions to consider

• What does this online presentation offer that ordinary print journalism can’t provide?
• Do you like what you see, nor not? Why?
• Could anything be improved?

These links may inspire blog posts. Or find your own:

Springfield News-Leader's Data Leader

Springfield News-Leader's Metromix

Springfield News-Leader's Creative Minds series

Wichita Eagle: Ron Sylvester

Wilmington (Delaware) News-Journal: Political report

The Daily Beast: Cheat Sheet

St. Louis Post Dispatch on Facebook

Nut graf analysis: basic news story

Earl threatens East Coast with weekend pounding

The Associated Press
(Picked up by the LA Times)

BEAUFORT, N.C. —Hurricane Earl packed winds near 125 mph as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard all the way to Canada on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.

A hurricane warning was issued for the tip of Massachusetts, including Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. New hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches were issued for parts of Canada, adding to those already in effect from North Carolina to near the Canadian border.

[Here's the nut graf:] With winds expected to whip up in North Carolina's Outer Banks by the evening, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said residents and tourists could no longer afford to wait on the next forecast to see how close the eye of the storm might get.

Analysis

One of the important functions of a nut graf is to put the story in a context so we know what we should care. I think the FEMA warning makes it clear why we should care — especially with the language "... could no longer afford to wait on the next forecast ... " The story goes on to say that the hurricane may not score a direct hit on the barrier islands off off North Carolina nor on areas farther up the coast. But these details are secondary to the overall threat of the hurricane, which, according to one meteorologist quoted, "is the strongest hurricane to threaten the northeast and New England since Hurricane Bob in 1991." If anything, the nut graf could be stronger if the essence of this quote could be worked into it.

Nut graf analysis: story with alternative lead

An Oasis Off London’s Beaten Path

By Oliver Strand
New York Times

With its picnic tables and chipped folding chairs, Towpath feels as if it should be in a shack on the beach, not on the ground floor of a converted factory in East London.

Regent’s Canal has a narrow walkway shared by pedestrians and cyclists.

Wine is served in juice glasses, and food is limited to bar snacks like almonds or radishes served with anchovies. During a recent visit, a young, chatty crowd filled the seats and benches Towpath sets up on the narrow walkway that runs along Regent’s Canal, a thin band of water that slices through the city’s aging industrial zones. The afternoon light bounced off the canal, making this corner of the capital feel languid, like a village waking up from a siesta.

This is London?

[This is the nut graf:] Not exactly. This is East London, a sprawling area known for its artists, anarchists and immigrants. Neighborhoods like Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and Hackney Wick have long been where a creative class could afford to live and work. Now it’s also where they play, shop and eat.

Analysis

This story is one of those typical top-heavy New York Times stories with a long but engaging lead-in. While an inverted pyramid story gets to the point quickly, this approach gives the reader an incentive to read until the essential facts appear. If you don't find the incentive appealing, you may check out of the story before you know what it's about. It's a calculated risk by the writer.

In this story, the "where" is established quickly, and the nut graf provides the remaining W's. I think it mostly succeeds because it flows from the conversational, scene-setting opening with the "Not exactly" fragment. Then it delivers the remaining essentials. The most important aspect of this nut graf is the analytical part in the last sentence, which explains where the story is headed.

I have one problem with this nut graf. From my limited knowledge of London, I believe East London is a huge area of the city. Is the story really trying to embrace half of one of the biggest cities in the world? The story starts with a small area called Towpath. In the nut graf, the scope enlarges to Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and Hackney Wick — and to East London in general. In the very spot where (as Harrower puts it) the story should be condensed into a nutshell, I'm a little confused.