Most Recent Articles
Recruiting the right kid: skills, attitudes
include accuracy, credibility, handling stress
by Candace Bowen, MJE
Each semester, when I ask my freshman newswriting students at Kent State University why they chose a journalism/media major, the answers are often a little frightening. They say, for instance, “I like to write,” “I have always done well in English class” or “I want to meet important people and report from the red carpet.”
Well….maybe those are the basis for their choice, but some of these might be detrimental or at the very least misguided. Are we as teachers sometimes missing those with other skills and attitudes that would make them great journalists – on our student media and in the future? Are we recruiting the right kid
What do you need to be a journalist in today’s world of fake news, reduced reporting staffs and downright hostility towards the profession? What should you look for in your students when they ask your opinion about their future as journalists?
A few years ago, The Poynter Institute produced a research report titled “Core Skills for the 21st Century Journalist,” and, to do this, surveyed 2,000 media professionals and educators about 37 attributes or skills journalists should have.
Although some changes have occurred in the profession during the last three years – fewer copyeditors in many newsrooms comes to mind, perhaps calling for stronger grammar skills for reporters – much of this list is probably still accurate.
Co-author of the study, Howard Finberg, analyzed the results in an article on the Poynter website, noting, among other things, striking differences between media professionals and educators when it comes to specific multimedia skills such as recording and editing audio. (They said they would rather teach them the hands-on types of skills if they have the other abilities.)
“Storytelling,” too, didn’t even make the top 10 for the pros.
But “handle stress and deadlines well” was missing from the educators’ list. That’s one I find so vital in my “newbie” reporters. When they have several assignments overlapping, even though they know the deadlines, they complain they should only be expected to handle stories one at a time. (Sorry, that’s not how it happens in the real world.)
According to Professionals:
- Accuracy (99%)
- Curiosity (93%)
- Write using correct grammar (93%)
- Handle stress and deadlines well (93%)
- Have good news judgment (92%)
- Select information based on reliability (92%)
- Network, make contacts and develop sources (91%)
- Be acquainted with journalism ethics (90%)
- Write in fluent style (89%)
- Have knowledge of current events (88%)
According to Educators:
- Accuracy (99%)
- Curiosity (98%)
- Select information based on reliability (96%)
- Write using correct grammar (96%)
- Be acquainted with journalism ethics (96%)
- Have knowledge of current events (95%)
- Master interview techniques (95%)
- Have good news judgment (95%)
- Network, make contacts and develop sources (94%)
- Storytelling (93%)
Are there jobs for those we recruit? Reports say yes, though not always in the traditional legacy media of the past. Poynter’s Al Tompkins published an article in January 2017 that shared new graduates’ views of their futures – and why they wanted to be journalists. In “Why new journalism grads are optimistic about 2017,” Tompkins said, “Every student I spoke with said their main motivation for being a journalist is ‘to make a difference.’”
Let’s try to do what we can to steer the right potential journalists into the field – the ones who know what they will be doing matters, the ones who are concerned with accuracy and credibility and who can handle stress and deadlines well.
Yes, there is room for young journalists in the field.
And we certainly need them now perhaps more than ever.
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Respecting privacy and public space
important for photographers, too QT47
Student journalists should never invade the privacy of others while accessing information or photos for a story.
However. it is their journalistic duty to know what constitutes invasion of privacy or what spaces they are legally allowed to access and what spaces they are not legally allowed to access.
Student journalists should check the legal and ethical parameters of public space and the latest recommendations for journalistic activity from the Student Press Law Center.
Bottom line: Student photographers should familiarize themselves with where they can, and cannot, legally take pictures in order to avoid legal consequences and/or stand up for themselves when legally taking pictures
Guideline
Student journalists should check the legal and ethical parameters of public space and the latest recommendations for journalistic activity from the Student Press Law Center. 
Question:
What (and where) can student photographers legally photograph?
Stance:
Student journalists should never invade the privacy of others while accessing information or photos for a story, however it is their journalistic duty to know what constitutes invasion of privacy or what spaces they are legally allowed to access and what spaces they are not legally allowed to access.
Key points/action:
- Public space = Any space that is deemed “public” in nature. For example, the sidewalk, street, hallways in public schools or government owned buildings, etc. Journalists can take pictures of whatever they want as long as they are standing in a public place. If they can see something from that public space there is no expectation of privacy. (I.e. It is not an “invasion of privacy” for a student journalist to take a picture of a couple kissing in the hallway of a public school because there is no “reasonable expectation of privacy.”
- Semi-public space = this is public space in a privately owned space (such as the food court at the mall). In this space, journalists can take photos because there is no “reasonable expectation of privacy.” In this situation, they do not have to stop taking pictures if a customer asks them to stop. However, they DO have to stop taking pictures in this situation if the owner of the space asks them to do so (or if authorities ask them to do so).
- Private space = these are places where there is a “reasonable expectation of privacy” and journalists should gain permission before taking pictures. Note, these places are not always “privately” owned, but they always have a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” A locker room, for example, may be a public space but there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. Homes, offices, etc. all have expectations of privacy and journalists cannot invade that privacy.
- Scenarios:
- A classroom in a public high school – if the journalist is taking pictures from an established public place (such as the hallway) and the door is open, they can then take pictures as there is no “reasonable expectation of privacy” and they are standing in a public place. If the door of the classroom is closed, they issue becomes more of a legal grey area and, depending on the nature of the photographs, it may best to let everyone know pictures are being taken.
- An open window to a house – if the journalistic is taking pictures of someone’s house and then shades are open, they can take pictures of the inside of the house as long as they do not trespass and stay on the “public space.” Because the shades are open, there can no longer be a claim for a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”
Student journalists have a legal right to photograph public spaces, regardless of what administrators may tell them.
Reasoning/suggestions:
Students should know their legal rights when it comes to accessing public and private spaces for information.
Bottom line: Student photographers should familiarize themselves with where they can, and cannot, legally take pictures in order to avoid legal consequences and/or stand up for themselves when legally taking pictures. Resources:
- Missouri protest video
- Video captures Missouri protesters’ clash with media
- SPLC – Taking photos and shooting video at protests, demonstrations and crime scenes
Related: Transparency
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Make it matter: Verification essential
as journalists seek truth QT46
by Kristin Taylor
One key component of every journalist’s ethical code is truth. Given that Oxford Dictionaries named “post-truth” their 2016 word of the year and the president has called venerable traditional news sources “fake news,” getting the facts right is more crucial than ever.
Verifying information is an essential part of the reporting process. Looking at real life examples such as the process NYT reporter Suzanne Craig used to verify Trump’s tax records will help to see the steps responsible reporters take to ensure accuracy.
Being accurate means verifying information gathering in the reporting process. Whether it’s how to spell a name or if the percentages the treasurer is giving you add up to 100, always question and check the facts.
One good method to corroborate “facts” you receive is to make sure others agree. Ask the same question to several sources and make sure you get the same answers. If you don’t, dig deeper.
You should practice identifying verifiable facts in article drafts and create strategies you can use to verify those facts, such as how to check quotes for accuracy without sharing the entire article draft with the source, how to use secondary sources to verify facts, how to check information with multiple sources to provide more context and how to verify images and information on social networks.
Some suggestions:
- Set up multiple deadlines for stories so editors can watch reporters’ progress. This helps cut down on the last-minute rush to deadline when reporters run out of time to verify.
- Be sure all reporters know what to say if a source – particularly a school administrator or an intimidating adult – asks to read a complete story ahead of time. Create a process wh
- ere students can check quotes for accuracy without showing the source the whole piece.Ask multiple sources the same question to make sure their answers line up.
Guideline: Journalists should approach their reporting and interviewing with a healthy dose of skepticism. This doesn’t mean they should trust no one, but it means they should be aware of potential conflicts of interest or barriers to receiving accurate information. Reporters should always verify, even if the information seems incredibly obvious and simplistic. Verifying information is much like fact-checking. Students should seek multiple forms of evidence to confirm information.
Social Media Post/Question: Why is it important for students to verify information as part of the reporting process?
Reasoning/suggestions: One key component of every journalist’s ethical code is truth. That means being accurate, and accuracy means verifying. Whether it’s how to spell a name or if the percentages the treasurer is giving you add up to 100, always question and check the facts.
One good method to corroborate “facts” you receive is to make sure others agree. Ask the same question to several sources and make sure you get the same answers. If you don’t, dig deeper.
Verifying information is an essential part of the reporting process. Looking at real life examples such as the process NYT reporter Suzanne Craig used to verify Trump’s tax records will help students to see the steps responsible reporters take to ensure accuracy.
Students should practice identifying facts that can be verified in article drafts and create strategies reporters can use to verify those facts, such as how to check quotes for accuracy without sharing the entire article draft with the source, how to use secondary sources to verify facts, how to check information with multiple sources to provide more context and how to verify images and information on social networks.
Suggestions include:
- Set up multiple deadlines for stories so editors can watch reporters’ progress. This helps cut down on the last-minute rush to deadline when reporters run out of time to verify.
- Be sure all reporters know what to say if a source – particularly a school administrator or an intimidating adult – asks to read a complete story ahead of time. Create a process where students can check quotes for accuracy without showing the source the whole piece.
- Ask multiple sources the same question to make sure their answers line up.
Resources:
“The Time I Found Donald Trump’s Tax Records in My Mailbox” – Susanne Craig
American Press Institute’s guidelines for verification and accuracy
- Journalism as a discipline of verification
- The Hierarchy of Accuracy
- The Hierarchy of Information and concentric circles of sources
- The Protess Method of verification
New research details how journalists verify information – Craig Silverman, Poynter
Tools for verifying and assessing the validity of social media and user-generated content – Josh Stearns and Leighton Walter Kille, Journalist’s Resource
FactChecking Day – Poynter
Fact-checking resources – SchoolJournalism.org
Are you a journalist? Download this free guide for verifying photos and videos – Alastair Reid
Should journalists outsource fact-checking to academics? – Alexios Mantzarlis
Journalists and their sources – Thomas Patterson (talk at Carnegie)
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Make it matter: Scholastic journalism
must do more than give facts QT45
by Kristin Taylor
How can student journalists keep their publications relevant when information spreads faster than they can report it?
Professional journalists have struggled with this problem for years. Before the advent of the internet and social media, news producers — whether newspaper, radio or broadcast — were citizens’ primary source of information. News consumers found out about terrorists attacks and new government policies when they opened the morning paper or turned on the evening news.
In modern times, however, those gatekeepers have lost control. Now people have more information than they know what to do with. This flood of data creates a number of problems — especially in terms of helping people separate fact from fiction — but I want to focus today on the issue it creates in terms of engagement.
If news consumers have the facts about an event — or at least think they do — why should they care when the paper publishes a story about it? We hope they care because they trust traditional news sources to have a vetting process for their stories; unlike Tweets at 2 a.m., these stories have been fact-checked and include a variety of primary and expert sources to ensure truthfulness in a holistic sense. News literate consumers know the value of good journalism, we hope, and will therefore seek it out.
Beyond getting the facts right, good journalism has a larger responsibility to serve as sense-maker. “When most readers say they expect journalists to tell them what’s happening — whether that’s the latest outrages reported out of Kharkiv or city council in Kalamazoo — they mean connect the dots,” Ken Doctor writes. “No, they don’t want opinion — they want to know how the facts fit together to make an understandable whole.”
This is what sets major news sources such as the New York Times apart from local news sources, Doctor argues. “It’s authority,” he writes. “You read the Times to understand. Sometimes it does a better job of that than others, but its great success in reader revenue shows us its audience gets that part of the value equation. Yes, readers can get the facts of the Gaza War free in so many places, but they can’t get a volume of rich, contextual stories from both sides of the conflict elsewhere every day.”
In his essay “Journalism’s Moral Responsibility: Three Questions,” Bill Mitchell argues journalism has a moral obligation to cover important stories and help readers understand their importance. He poses three crucial questions:
- Do news organizations help citizens and communities, including political leaders, identify and respond to the most significant threats to well-being?
- Do news organizations pursue a well-grounded definition of what constitutes substantive coverage?
- Do news organizations take responsibility for how their work is pursued and how it is received?
The key, he argues, is to make important news salient. “In moral journalism, salient is more than important, interesting, or relevant. It’s more than selling a story that no one would otherwise read, or dumping it on an ignorant world with the righteous justification that it ought to be read. For journalists, Salient is a moral term, not a marketing one,” he writes. “Our moral responsibility is to cover significant threats to well-being, substantively, in such a way that our coverage leaps out, protrudes, and is strikingly and conspicuously prominent. So that it sears the conscience of our fellow citizens.”
He points to Laurel Leff’s research on the Times’ coverage of the Holocaust during 1939-1945. Leff found the Times did cover the Holocaust, but coverage tended to be on inside pages and was missing in editorial commentary and summaries of important news. In her report,
Leff writes, “Despite the detailed, credible information that was available, the American public actually did not know about the Holocaust while it was happening because mainstream American newspapers never presented the story of the extermination of the Jews in a way that highlighted its importance.” In other words, Mitchell concludes, “the Times had the story. It just didn’t make it salient.”
Mitchell’s essay aims at national and global news sources and news events on a much larger scale than those typical at a high school, clearly, but I believe this raises important questions for the moral responsibilities of scholastic journalists. If they want their reporting to matter — if they want their peers to read more than the humor columns or resta
Here are my suggestions for reworking Mitchell’s three questions for a scholastic journalism staff:
- Do you help members of the school community, including school and local leaders, identify and respond to the most significant problems affecting the community?
- Do you pursue a well-grounded definition of what constitutes substantive coverage, going beyond the who, what and where to explore how and why?
- Do you take responsibility for how your work is pursued
Although these questions are not a complete solution, they are a starting point for creating greater engagement without abandoning the most important stories.
Guideline:
Journalists should present relevant information in context so the audience has adequate information on which to base decisions. Context is just as important as factual accuracy and can help readers fully understand an issue and its relevance to their daily lives.
Social Media Post/Topic:
How can student journalists keep their publications relevant when information spreads faster than they can report it? Make it salient.
Reasoning/suggestions:
Staff members should not only fact-check their information but should also ask themselves questions such as “What does this story mean to my readers?” and “What do I want my readers to take away from this information?” This means gathering not only the 5Ws and H but also connecting dots for readers by helping them see related ideas, important relationships or significant background information. By assuming a topic is new to readers, editors can revise from the perspective of the audience and look for any holes that might be present.
Suggestions
- Reporters should address all 5Ws and H. Training materials and checklists in the staff manual also should address helping readers understand what the information means and why it’s significant.
- Part of the process may including asking members with no prior knowledge of a story to give feedback before publication or airing on whether the information provided is clear and paints a full picture of what is happening.
- The staff manual should include material about how to solicit feedback from readers about what kinds of stories, details or information they need in order to better understand current events and make content salient.
- Student media staffs should label analysis and opinion content so readers understand these are not objective news pieces.
Resources:
Good stories provide context, American Press Institute
Informing the news: The need for knowledge-based reporting, Journalists’ Resource
The newsonomics of how and why, Nieman Lab
Journalism’s Moral Responsibility: Three Questions, Poynter
10 essential principles from The Elements of Journalism, American Press Institute
“Context” is the new flavor for journalism, The Pomo Blog
Fast-Paced Journalism’s Neglect of Nuance and Context, Nieman Report
Read MoreStudent should ask permission to record
before interviews begin QT 44
As school begins, advisers often find now is the time for some legal and ethical reminders about interviewing.
One of those areas easily overlooked is asking for permission to record interviews. Ethically — and in some states legally — students should always ask permission to record an interview.
A good practice is to start recording — not only does this clarify the source being on the record, it also allows the journalist to review what the source said to ensure accuracy in quotes and context.
Recording the interview may allow for nontraditional coverage as well. For example, the journalist may opt to have a side “In their own voice” podcast to accompany a web story.
Additionally, now is a great time to review the following terms: on the record, off the record, on background and unnamed sources. Additional resources may be found here.
The use of unnamed sources can be found here.
Guideline
Whenever possible, reporters should record their interviews. It may be legal in some states to record sources during an interview without their permission, but ethically, journalists should identify themselves as journalists and ask permission to record. Best practice for the journalist is to thank the source for allowing the recording for the student media program.
Social media post/question:
What’s the first question you should ask when you want to record an interview? (HINT: You should do it before you even turn on the recording device.)
Stance:
Students should record interviews whenever the source gives permission — but only after permission is granted.
Reasoning/suggestions:
Ethically — and in some states legally — students should always ask permission to record an interview. Not only does this clarify the source being on the record, it also allows the journalist to review what the source said to ensure accuracy in quotes and context. Additionally, recording may allow for nontraditional coverage as well. Students should be reminded that a recording device is not a substitute for notetaking. Reporters should still take notes as if they did not have a recorder in case of technical problems.
Resources:
https://journalistsresource.org/tip-sheets/reporting/interviewing-a-source
https://www.spj.org/ethics-papers-anonymity.asp :
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