Understanding and Using the Internet. Chapter 16

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Donna Alice Hodges
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1 Understanding and Using the Internet Chapter 16

2 Wanted: Web Savvy Reporters Editors in most news organizations today require reporters to know how to use the Internet to gather information for stories Reporters are expected to use e to interview potential sources and use the Internet to find background information on issues, events, officials and experts

3 A recent study found that: Reporters gather 40 percent of the information for their stories from the field Another 40 percent is gathered via the telephone And 20 percent (and growing) amount from the Internet

4 Journalists and the Internet Journalists use the Internet daily as a tool for reporting events and issues comprehensively to viewers and readers Reporters go to the Internet to find story topics, identify experts and monitor subjects Editors use it to check names, addresses and other facts

5 A Time-Saving Tool The Internet saves journalists time and saves news organizations money Only a few years ago, journalists found information by driving to libraries and other places in the community Even with the telephone, journalists might have to make many calls, leave messages and wait for return calls before finding the information they needed With the Internet, reporters can find up-to to-date information and diverse voices quickly The Internet allows reporters to write more stories and better stories

6 Internet Disadvantages Journalists may have a hard time sifting through the mountains of knowledge on the Internet And much of the information is questionable- up to 90 percent according to some Internet experts Many important documents are not online so journalists should not depend on the Internet entirely for sources and material

7 How Journalists use the Internet Web sites Search Engines and Subject Directories Mailing Lists and Newsgroups Blogs

8 and Reporting Just as the telephone revolutionized newsgathering back in the 191 th and 20 th centuries, electronic mail is doing the same now in the 21 st century Reporters can use e to contact hard-to to-reach or reluctant sources Even people who travel alot make time to check their e Sometimes sources who dodge phone calls or hesitate to return phone messages will answer a reporter s s e A reporter who is trying to contact several sources for similar information can use e to send the same message to each of them Reporters can easily save their e as a record of an interview in case a source disputes what was said Just as when contacting a source face-to to-face or by phone, reporters using should clearly identify themselves and the news organization n they represent They should also review for the source the background of an event t or issue before they ask their questions Reporters should also tell the sources their deadlines and thank the sources for their time and expertise

9 Interviews E-interviews should not always replace personal interviews By phone or in person, a reporter can learn a lot of about sources through their voice tone, pauses, body language, and facial expressions In e interviews, sources have time to carefully prepare and check answers, whereas personal interviews consist of spontaneous responses For the efficiency of ed e responses to questions, a reporter may lose additional insights and information gained by quickly following up on a source s s offhand comment

10 Websites and Reporters Today, company and organization websites are like storefronts They need to be clean, inviting and clear as to what can be found inside Reporters often go to such websites to find background information, key personnel and data, news postings, basic facts and figures, images, logos and photos

11 Search Engines Search engines such as Yahoo, Google and MSN can be very helpful to reporters But reporters should be as specific as possible in selecting search words Search engines don t t have a way to determine your keywords context or definition Using a relevancy ranking system the search engine will find websites that have the keyword(s) ) you entered in the website s s title and/or matching keywords that appear near the top of the Web page such as in the headline or in the first few paragraphs Reporters should be willing to look beyond the top findings in a search because some search engines list websites higher because of money being paid to do so!

12 Discussion Groups and Newsgroups As the interactive nature of the Internet flourishes, more and more journalists are citing in articles comments culled from chat rooms and discussion/comment groups Editorial judgment and discretion comes into play in deciding comments that are valid and worthwhile to share with a wider audience and which less valid and plausible or may only be posted by people for shock value

13 Ethical Considerations Remember that the Internet is still only a tool for reporters supplementing the traditional skills that make great journalists Reporters still need to exercise good news judgment, write well, interview sources successfully, do research and acquire background information to give a story meaning and context The Internet is not regulated and has no guarantees or obligations of accuracy or fairness Reporters have and will be duped by pranksters and manipulators using the Internet for improper purposes The journalist s s code of ethics applies to this new information behemoth For example, journalists should not join online conversations under false pretenses they should identify themselves and request their information carefully

14 More Ethical Considerations If reporters want to quote a participant in an online conversation not from an interview then reporters should use e to ask sources if they may be quoted, and they follow-up with a phone call to verify the source When journalists use information from the Internet, they attribute it to the author of the Web site, or ask the administrators for permission to use the material Web sites are electronic publications, and copying someone s s else s s work and material is unethical, illegal and is plagiarism ###

Interview Data: Jim Edwards

Interview Data: Jim Edwards Publication / Project Name: I Gotta Tell You Podcast Alan Reed Target Audience (SINGULAR): Entrepreneur Target Audience (PLURAL): Entrepreneurs Keyword Theme of the interview: