Digital Journalism Weekly Reports Blog

My name is Ashley Carter. I am currently a student at Saginaw Valley State University. My major is Professional Technical Writing with a minor in Psychology. The purpose of this blog is to discuss different topics that my professor posts regarding digital journalism.

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Weekly Report #2: Citizen/Open Source Journalism vs. News Producing Professionalism

  Using citizen journalism/open source journalism as an effective tool to establish the public’s perception on professionally produced news or other news outlets is beneficial. The reason why is because general news, publications, or broadcasts can present citizen journalism/open source journalism is convenient by getting in certain areas that most news sources can’t get into. Citizen journalism allows a sense of personalization that adds more to the story. This makes the audience relate more to the news outlet as source they can trust. Of course the audience will obviously trust the journalist who is reporting the news. The professionalism comes in play to depending on what source you would use. Both outlets allow individuals to shoot videos off a phone, Ipod, or a digital camera that can be sent to the source where it’s intended to go. But citizen journalism can not only be videos, but also blogs as well. If a person writes a personal blog on a particular topic, they would have to establish a sense of professionalism so that the audience can be engaged to read it. The blog may be a positive or negative outlet in terms of news publications. In contrast, if a person shoots a video that displays their own take on major current events going on (Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Irene, Iraq, Iran, Haiti, etc.) the professionalism is lowered a little bit. Shooting live viral videos as the action happens, citizen journalists don’t have the time to edit so it can presentable to the intended news source. I believe citizen journalism/open source journalism adds spontaneity and realism that some news sources lack of.

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Weekly Report #1: Troy Davis' Execution

 The recent execution of Troy Davis became a newsworthy story because so many people supported in granting this man his freedom. Mr. Davis was charged with murder in Georgia for the 1989 shooting of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail. He stated his innocence repeatedly. On September 22, 2011, Mr. Davis was execution was scheduled at 7:00pm, but it was delayed. The execution was delayed for four hours in a last minute effort to request the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse their decision of executing Mr. Davis. His request denied. At 11:08pm he was executed by lethal injection. Mr. Davis was 42 years-old. In the ABC News.com article entitled, “Troy Davis Executed after Stay Denied by the Supreme Court” gives a back story to refresh the events that took place before the main story was told. The article gave insight leading to the last moments before Troy Davis was executed. They also provided quotes to share their views on people who supported him or not. Mr. Davis words were also quoted as his final words. CBS.com had a different approach. In their article, “Michelle Macklin, Alec Baldwin spar on Twitter over Troy Davis” shows a heated debate between actor Alec Baldwin and conservative blogger Michelle Macklin over the execution of Mr. Davis. On one side, you have Alec Baldwin who felt that Mr. Davis’ being a true injustice. On the other side Michelle Macklin supported the execution. The article includes part of the tweet debate. The CBS article different the ABC article in terms of coverage because ABC is giving a more journalistic sense of what happened, while the CBS article displayed opinion the reaction after the execution.     ABC News Link: “Troy Davis Executed after Stay Denied by the Supreme Court” http://abcnews.go.com/US/troy-davis-executed-stay-denied-supreme-court/story?id=14571862   CBS News Celebrity Circuit Link: “Michelle Macklin, Alec Baldwin spar on Twitter over Troy Davis” http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20110349-10391698.html?tag=pop;stories  

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Weekly Report #3: The Difference Between Print and Video Journalism

 The print and video news stories I have decided to highlight deals with the NBA lockout. Both media sources discuss the same topic, but their approach is different. Video news stories allow the audience to view what’s going on in a fast way.  The news video I watched on the Cable News Network website, CNN.com was entitled, “NBA Dispute Affects More Than the Players.” Reporter Casey Wian, presented how the NBA lockout is affecting certain businesses and stadium workers who depend on the revenue from basketball games to make a living.  Video news stories are not long winded. They give a visual sense of the issue through images and live interviews which news articles can’t do.   News articles give the audience a more detailed account of certain topics. Michael Wibon, who wrote the article, “NBA Lockout Risk: Public Ridicule” on the Entertainment and Sports Programming network website, ESPN.com takes a different approach. He first gives an economic backdrop to serve as the start of the article. Wilbon presented various topics in the article from how the lockout is discrediting the league with not coming to an agreement to how the fans are going to be affected without an NBA season. With news articles, words actually paint a picture for the audience to think about.  As video news stories are on a limited time frame to present a story, news articles have a little bit of breathing room. I think it’s more effective to present video news stories because you have to be really careful of saying what you need to say in a little amount of time. I feel the audience will embrace your credibility by taking your time producing a quality news story. If I used a story/media cluster it would kill two birds in one stone.  They would complement each other greatly. It’s important to have media and story elements together to provide a stronger connection to the audience. Retro TV Image:http://www.caribemedianetwork.com/archives/220 Old Man Reading Newspaper: http://free.clipartof.com/details/67-Free-Retro-Clipart-Of-A-Man-Reading-Interesting-News-From-A-Newspaper

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Weekly Report #4: News Interest Story Q &A, Steve Jobs' Legacy

 Do you think various news sources handle in sharing information to the general audience respectively when a well-loved public figure dies? I think news sources handle the death of public figures in a respectable manner to a certain extent. Not credible sources such as tabloids or gossip columns shed a negative light on revolutionary public figures. The falseness of a story can make audiences highly offended depending on the public figure that is presented. Credible news outlets take on a different approach.  For example, The New York Times, which is a very trusted news source, reported the story of Apple Inc., co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs’ death from pancreatic cancer with the utmost respect. They noted that Mr. Jobs’ contribution to technology changed the whole world.  As I read about Mr. Job under the “Times Topics” section of The New York Times website, helped me gain more insight into his life and how Apple Inc. became to be.  Mr. Jobs not only revolutionized technology, but he also wanted to do the same for medical science as well.  This story presents an important lesson to the audience.  If you follow your dreams, you can too be a revolutionary in your own right just like Steve Jobs.  Reporting deaths of public figures shouldn’t be about glamorizing disrespecting the dead, but to make clear to the audience that their legacy will still live on in each of us. Steve Jobs’ Image: http://zedimi.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-died/