- Ethics for Bloggers - A Workshop Archive
Here at Access, we're always excited to find an online archive of a conference or workshop. We think it's the next best thing to attending the live event, and you can view the archive on your schedule.
“Whose Rules?” a Poynter/Kent State Media Ethics Workshop, is no exception. This September 2008 workshop focuses on the ethics of blogging and how the need to publish quickly and frequently squares with traditional journalistic values.
Key topics include the protections bloggers deserve, the responsibilities they carry and the models for successful, ethical blogging. Breakout sessions dig deeper on such issues as the ethics of handling user comments, how individual bloggers fit into the blogosphere and how “truth” plays out online compared with print and broadcast channels. Jay Rosen provides the keynote, titled, “If Blogging Had No Ethics, Blogging Would Have Failed.”
The archive offers on-demand videos from all the talks – the main sessions, the keynote, breakouts and the wrap-up. You can also browse the Twitter feed and participate in the online ethics wiki. Bios for all the speakers are also posted.
Watch the full archive at http://jmc.kent.edu/ethicsworkshop08.
And while you're at it, don't miss NewsU's course on media law for bloggers, “Online Media Law: The Basics for Bloggers and Other Online Publishers.” This course shows bloggers their rights and responsibilities when it comes to defamation, privacy and copyright.
- Covering the Olympics, Covering China
Whether you're one of the 20,000 journalists traveling to China for the Olympics, covering the games from home or just interested in the challenges and opportunities facing foreign journalists in China, be sure to check out "Reporting in China: The Olympics & Beyond."
This informative conversation with an expert panel is brought to us free of charge by the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA). Topics include the current reporting climate in China, how to protect sources and how to report aggressively but sensibly beyond the Olympics. The conversation includes many practical tips, including how to work with embassies, equipment considerations and translation and interpretation issues.
CNN Headline News anchor Richard Lui moderates the conversation. He's joined by:
- Philip P. Pan, former Beijing bureau chief for The Washington Post and author of the newly published book, "Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China"
- Mary Kay Magistad, Beijing-based Northeast Asia correspondent for Public Radio International
- Ching-Ching Ni, Beijing correspondent for the Los Angeles Times
- Steve Wade, sports reporter for The Associated Press in Beijing
The recording runs 67 minutes; Lui moderates an open-ended discussion in the first half and participants dial-in and e-mail questions in the second half. The audio runs in Flash, so make sure you've updated your player to version 8 or higher.
Looking for more resources? The Foreign Correspondents Club of China has produced a reporters' guide for journalists traveling to China for the first time. It's available for free at www.fccchina.org/reportersguide.html. The guide covers the items you don't want to leave home without, sensitive topics to be mindful of, tips on covering the games and 10 other topics.
When you're ready to dig even deeper, check out International Reporting Basics: What You Need to Know Before You Go, a free e-learning course available on NewsU. International Reporting Basics covers how to plan and pack for your trip, and how to gather information and stay safe once you arrive.
- Grammar School with Style
Newsroom
101 can help you master the basics of grammar and AP style with more than 1,900 easy-to-use exercises.
The site is great for reporters, editors, students and others who want to write with accuracy and clarity. In fact, the examples are so simple that
parents might even use them to help school-age children with their homework.
Stumped by the difference between who and whom? Do you know when to use hyphens? What about those
darned apostrophes? Newsroom 101 has the answers.
While the site is free, there is a place to donate $2 for its continued
online existence.
Thank Ron Hartung (of the Tallahassee Democrat) and Gerald Grow
(a journalism professor at Florida A&M) for this easy-to-use resource.
- Video Training for Business Editors and Writers
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) have posted a series of short (2-5 minute) video clips covering a range of issues that affect business section journalists. The clips were captured at the society's 45th annual conference, April 27-29 in Baltimore.
Highlights from six sessions are covered:
- Entrepreneurship: The Most Uncovered Business Story?
- Health Insurance: Is it Enough?
- Using Social Networking in Business Reporting
- So You Lost Your Section: Is That So Awful?
- Search Beyond Google
- Using Campaign Finance Databases to Find Great Business Stories
Moderators include Lisa Gibbs, Gail DeGeorge and Jay Rosen.
The videos are hosted on Magnify.net, which allows for comments, tags and links to related clips.
SABEW is based out of the Missouri School of Journalism. According to its "About" page, its purpose is to "encourage comprehensive reporting of economic events without fear or favoritism and to upgrade skills and knowledge through continuous educational efforts."
Here's the link to the videos.
SABEW also offers a range of other training materials, but most are available only to members.
- Tweet Your Way to Better Journalism
A post on Twitter, the most popular "micro-blogging" service, is limited to 140 characters, so the site is far from a serious journalistic tool, right? Maybe not. Marshall Kirkpatrick at ReadWriteWeb recently explored ways you can enhance your work with Twitter. Kirkpatrick notes four ways he and his staff use Twitter for journalism:
- Breaking news
- Interviews
- Quality assurance
- Promotion of online work
He offers some interesting anecdotes to back up just how serious Twitter journalism can be:
Zoli Erdos chronicled last month how Twitter users beat government agencies and the world's (formerly) leading news organizations in reporting on March earthquakes in both China and Japan.
and
When we got to interview Mark Zuckerberg at SXSW this year, we solicited interview questions via Twitter.
If you're ready to write your first "tweet"
