The Future of Journalism: citizen journalism

What is this blog about?

"The Future Of Journalism" was created January 2010. The purpose of this blog is to focus on articles, interviews, etc. that have to deal with the future of journalism in regards to the future of print, future of shield laws, ethical dilemmas, and whatever else I may find to contribute. This blog may also feature other random articles/issues that I find relevant or amusing. I try to update twice a week. Some of my posts may be directed more toward my views on a particular article or piece of news. In this case the name "Future of Journalism" is referring to myself as being apart of the future of journalism. I was always nervous about blogging, but I hope this will be a positive addition in regards to my career as a print/web Journalist [and long term goal as a Managing Editor, I love editing. I go through articles with a fine-toothed comb and search for any comma out of place, lead not strong enough, fact unattributed].Web blog created by Nikky Raney for New England School of Communication's "Web Reporting" Class taught by Katy England, Editor of The Maine Edge.

Who is Nikky Raney?

I am currently a student at New England School of Communications with a concentration of print and web journalism. I was editor of NESCom and; Husson University's campus paper during the first semester of my freshman year. I was previously the managing editor of largest broadsheet student run newspaper in New England, The Tide. As for work non-related to school, I was a paid freelance bi-weekly columnist for Fosters Daily Democrat in 2008. I am a fan of Hunter S. Thompson, Anderson Cooper, Fareed Zakaria, and others. I want to be an investigative journalist and an editor as my future career. I read and research a lot. I always read a variety of news from a variety of sources. I do not limit myself to any specific topic, but the topics that I am most interested in would be politics, crime & controversial issues. I keep myself up-to-date with all news: international, political, health, environmental, sports, crime, education, celebrity, entertainment, technology, business, etc. My posts are done from my personal 13" 2010 Macbook Pro (early 20th birthday present).

Blogging is not Reporting

"So much for Objective Journalism. Don't bother to look for it here — not under any byline of mine; or anyone else I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms." --Hunter S. Thompson.

One of the journalists I respect the most. I hope to prove him wrong about the objectivity in articles, but for the purpose of this blog his quote helps me loosen up a bit and accept that I don't need to go out of my way to be objective when writing this blog.

COMPULSIVE SHARING

I have this habit of always letting the journalist inside me take over. Whenever I see an article/story/video/photo that really strikes my interest a little red flag in my brain goes off after I hit the "add to favorites" button. I instantly click "SHARE." Websites have made it so easy for me. I instantly share articles I read on Twitter & Facebook with a simple click! So, my Facebook & Twitter page has some interesting personal stuff, but most of the time it is filled with my constant sharing of information. I love to keep others informed & educated.

Showing posts with label citizen journalism. Show all posts

Lindsay Lohan is not dead: Rumor started from Wikipedia post By: Nikky Raney

Posted in Labels: accuracy, blogging, citizen journalism, credibility, death, earsucker, exclusive, fact checking, google, lindsay lohan, nikkyraney, rumors, rush limbaugh, twitter, wikipedia, yahoo, zennie62.com | at 10:27 AM

Lindsay Lohan has been the victim of the most recent celebrity death rumor. While there have been two recent deaths within these past few days: Lindsay Lohan is not one of them.

There have been so many blog posts, tweets, videos and e-mails sent "confirming" that Lindsay Lohan is dead and urging all bloggers to post about it. The numerous e-mails from readers asking to post about Lindsay Lohan's death was astounding, because why would readers advocate covering a story that had no evidence.

(Screenshot of Wikipedia post taken from Earsucker.com)

So why cover it if it isn't true? There are enough blogs that have actually "exclusively" reported that Lindsay Lohan is in fact dead, that maybe a couple posts stating that this is a rumor will slip in there. Rechecking from minute to minute it seems like some blogs are DELETING the "exclusive" posts about her UNTRUE death. There are over twelve questions on Yahoo answers asking if Lindsay Lohan is really dead.

Now, without any interviews directly with Lindsay Lohan there is no direct proof that these are false rumors. How do these rumors begin? Well, sources are citing WIKIPEDIA for the finding out Lindsay Lohan's death.

(Screenshot from July 14 at 10:00 am. Google search: "Lindsay Lohan dead.")

Wikipedia also claimed the Rush Limbaugh was dead a while back. Wikipedia should not be used as a source to find complete accurate information. Wikipedia is not considered a credible or reliable source, and to be honest I see more magazines using Twitter as a credible source. There are quotes in Newsweek taken from tweets, and tweets are proving to be more reliable than Wikipedia.

What's even worse? People are using tweets from a FAKE Kim Kardashian Twitter account to justify this - the account doesn't even spell "Kardashian" correctly. Fact-checking and researching before clicking that "PUBLISH POST" button is important.

Never will Wikipedia be cited within a blog post from me - except in circumstances like this where Wikipedia is being exposed for its unreliability. So many readers use Wikipedia as a source for information, and so many believe that Wikipedia is truly reliable. Although there may be studies that claim Wikipedia is just as accurate as other web encyclopedias - the celebrity death rumors and inaccuracies that Wikipedia posts are more frequently discussed and misinforming.

Looks like The Future of Journalism is going to be expecting a post about CREDIBLE SOURCES and how to do research and find credible sources. This is crucial to journalism AND blogging, because bloggers become "citizen journalists," and people actually use blogs (and even Wikipedia or Twitter) as their [only] way to obtain news on a daily basis.

Maybe this post took over an hour to write, but that's due to the fact checking, looking for other sources to confirm, and making sure to get everything straight. It doesn't matter if this isn't the FIRST post confirming Wikipedia was wrong - it matters that this post is accurate and provides the reader with the information needed from reliable sources.

x-posted from Zennie62.

Nikky Raney

E-mail with suggests, comments, and feedback.

Watch Journalism 101 on Youtube.com/NikkyRaney

Keep up with tweets at Twitter.com/NikkyRaney

Keep up with Zennie62 blog posts at Zennie62.com

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Citizen Journalism BRIEF + HST

Posted in Labels: blogging, citizen blogger, citizen journalism, hunter s thompson, journalism 101, poynter, word of the week, zennie abraham | at 4:53 PM

I was talking on the phone with Zennie last night & he thinks positively of the rise of citizen journalists. The only reason I disagree with that is the same reason I don't think that a blogger is a journalist. I would prefer the term to be "citizen blogger" if anything.

Poynter Online has an interesting read.

It's called the 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism.

Go read that.

I'll elaborate on this at a later time. I apologize for not spending as much time with The Future of Journalism. I assure you I have bigger and better things in store. I am going to put to rest the "WORD OF THE WEEK," and resurrect "JOURNALISM 101."

You'll see what I mean in a few minutes.

I'm currently reading Hey Rube by Hunter S. Thompson. I have already read this book, but I like reading it multiple times.

I would like to share with you the list of Hunter S. Thompson books I own.

The first HST book I ever read was Fear and Loathing in America, which was given to me from my Journalism advisor, Dan Singer, my senior year of high school. He told me that he picked that book for me for a specific reason. He put a bookmark in a specific place and said that the particular passage/letter where the bookmark was represented part of why that book was perfect for me. He took a lot of time to think of books for The Tide's executive staff (I was Managing Editor). I can say that today I do understand why he chose that book specifically for me. I reference and read through Fear and Loathing in America on a daily basis - I always have that book close (along with my AP STYLE GUIDEBOOK).

Anyway, the list of all HST books I own:

Hey Rube

Better Than Sex

Fear and Loathing in America

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Generation of Swine

Hell's Angels

Rum Diary

The Great Shark Hunt

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72.

Songs of the Doomed

The Proud Highway

"The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason." -- Hunter S. Thompson

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The Future of Journalism

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Lindsay Lohan is not dead: Rumor started from Wikipedia post By: Nikky Raney

Citizen Journalism BRIEF + HST

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