Results matching “citizens journa”

As world leaders plan the future of the global economy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, journalists are using social media and other innovative ways to bring the discussion closer to the people.

Much of the transformation in the newspaper industry is led by the big western players: The New York Times has announced it will charge for content, The Guardian has launched a paid news app for the iPhone, and the Apple tablet is eagerly anticipated.

But these changes affect other parts of the world, as the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reminds us. "In Egypt, we are also experiencing a seismic media evolution," Tarek Atia writes, in a considered op-ed on the state of the newspaper industry in Egypt and the future of media.

Trinity Mirror has clearly decided that the new year is the right time for a shake- up, making significant changes to its west London titles: As of the 15th of January, weekly Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle will no longer carry its 60p price tag and The London Informer is set to shut up shop altogether. As a result, circulation of the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle, which currently stands at 1,257, will increase to a considerable 72,000.

Trinity Mirror employees can breathe a sigh or relief, as the publisher has underlined that the restructuring of its operations will not result in job cuts.

The Telegraaf Media Groep has the advantage of already having a significant presence in the news landscape of the Netherlands, and Brouwers hopes that his new network can collaborate with Telegraaf's more traditional properties. He realises, however, that his platform is going to be very different, and also that the Telegraaf newspapers will be careful about how much of their content they give away. 

A recent post on Alan Mutter's Reflections of a Newsosaur blog has rasied concerns over the potentially devasting impact the current financial crisis in the newspaper industry could have on the willingness of students to choose journalism as a profession.

Mutter argues that in a time where employment opportunities are shrinking and those who do manage to secure jobs are paid a pittance, a 'substantial percentage of the next generation of professional journalists' could be wiped out in a movement he dubs 'journicide'.

Arcadi Espada, a Catalan journalist who has frequently questioned the future of print journalism, is preparing to launch a new online only, paid for news website under the name of Factual.

The daily news site, which kicks off with a starting budget of 250, 000€ will charge its customers an annual fee of 50€ for access to unlimited content and is expected to officially go live on November 30, according to El Mundo.

YouTube is releasing a new open-source interface called YouTube Direct that aims to make it easier for news organisations to have access to relevant clips from citizen journalists, it was widely reported. The application, to be unveiled today, will allow media outlets to integrate a video upload tool into their sites, where they can accept and screen user footage, described TechCrunch. All content uploaded will also appear on the YouTube site.

As more and more of the public are equipped to record video on cameras or mobile phones, and it becomes easier to upload, citizen contributions are being welcomed at more and more news outlets, particularly as financial difficulties are cau. So many videos are uploaded to YouTube each minute, however, that it is hard to find news-worthy content and very difficult to ascertain its reliability.

The news industry is being forced to navigate some rough weather with numbers of cutbacks and closures seeming to increase each week amidst growing financial pressure. In the dismal climate, one thing many publications have made cuts on it the budget for interns, reports Editor & Publisher, reducing the numbers they take on and in some cases removing programs altogether.

"It was either staff or interns," said Julie Engebrecht, The Cincinnati Enquirer's director of news. Her paper has  not to take on any interns for the past five years, previously hiring up to twelve paid interns per year. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram also cut its four to five paid intern slots this year, a move that executive editor Jim Witt blames on budget cutbacks.

American journalist and professor at the City University of New York, Jeff Jarvis, has voiced his opinions on the future of journalism at the 'Is World Journalism in Crisis?' event at Coventry University on Wednesday. Supporting progress and development within the industry, Jarvis implored journalists to "support the means for entrepreneurial journalism," as opposed to trying to protect old models, warning that in doing so, journalists risk "hurting new sprouts that grow".

The New York Times plans to use a nonprofit public news service, the Chicago News Cooperative, to provide commentary and news stories for the NYT's two pages of Chicago local news to launch as a 'Chicago Edition' on November 20th. 

Citizenside, a Paris-based citizen photojournalism agency, has launched an Android application that allows its members to upload images to its site directly from the scene of the action.

Citizenside invites its amateur photographer members to send in any images they think are newsworthy and the pictures and videos are made available for sale to mainstream media outlets once they have passed a reliability check. The company is part-owned by Agence France-Presse, and Citizenside's amateur photos are included in AFP's image forum. 

Ezio Mauro, the Italian editor whose newspaper is being sued for defamation by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi likens the situation to attacks on the American press during the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon.
 
"Like the American journalists, our journalists were doing their work and were publishing information that had to be published," said Mr Mauro, Editor-in-chief of La Repubblica, speaking at a World Editors Forum conference in Prague, Czech Republic.
 
 "We are a democratic country, where citizens have the right to be informed, and it is the obligation and role of media to provide information," he said.
 
La Repubblica is being sued for defamation by Mr Berlusconi for repeatedly publishing 10 questions asking the Prime Minister to explain his extra-marital relationships and behaviour, the subjects of widely reported public scandals this year.  Several other newspapers and journalists have also come under attack by Mr Berlusconi and his supporters.
 
 "It is not only an attack on La Repubblica but on freedom of the press", said Mr Mauro.
 
"Is it right that, in Italy, you're a journalist and you criticise Mr Berlusconi even a little bit and you actually have to worry about your position and your future? That is a big problem in our every day life as journalists because that can make you self-censor information that you're going to write about."
 
Mr Mauro said repeatedly publishing the 10 questions was a legitimate journalistic action because Mr Berlusconi refused to answer them.
 
He also said Mr Berlusconi's private life was a legitimate subject of journalistic investigation because of its political implications, because Mr Berlusconi raised the subject himself, and because of questions that have been raised - by Mr Belusconi's wife among others - about his behaviour and his health.
 
"It could be said that Mr Berlusconi has an enormous talent for dismantling the wall between private and public life," said Mr Mauro. "Mr Berlusconi published a book with private photos and public photos included. He has turned attention to his private life corresponding with his public life, and its basis for the success of his career."
 
"But this has turned against him," Mr Mauro said. Mr Berlusconi has "become a prisoner of the macho personality he has built with his own hands."
 
Mr Mauro was the keynote speaker at the World Editor Forum's 2015 Newsroom Conference. Xavier Vidal-Folch, President of WEF and Deputy Director of El Pais in Spain, said: "It is not often that press freedom is under threat in the heart of Europe, where a government has forbidden the publication of information of public interest, even if it relates to the private life of a prime minister. This is the case of Italy."
 
La Repubblica has posted the 10 questions on its website, along with a petition in support of a free press.

More comments from Mr Mauro can be found here.
 

The Washington Post is the lastest in a series of publications to release a set of guidelines for its journalists to follow in their use of social networking websites. The move comes after a managing editor of the Post, Raju Narisetti, tweeted two messages which questioned his impartiality as a journalist.

Andrew Alexander, ombudsman for the Post, revealed the two messages raising eyebrows in his Omblog:

"We can incur all sorts of federal deficits for wars and what not," read one message. "But we have to promise not to increase it by $1 for healthcare reform? Sad."

Then another from last week: "Sen Byrd (91) in hospital after he falls from 'standing up too quickly." How about term limits. Or retirement age. Or commonsense to prevail."

Alexander writes : 'In today's hyper-sensitive political environment, Narisetti's tweets could be seen as one of the Post's top editors taking sides on the question of whether a health-care reform plan must be budget neutral. On Byrd, his comments could be construed as favoring term limits or mandatory retirement for aging lawmakers. Many readers already view The Post with suspicion and believe that the personal views of its reporters and editors influence the coverage. The tweets could provide ammunition.'

Though Narisetti was using his private Twitter account, and stressed the messages were 'personal observations' intended to be read by some 90 friends and associates, he said he now realises that his tweets were 'unwise' and that his opinions reflected on his position as managing editor of the Post.  

He has since closed his Twitter account.

Italian newspaper La Repubblica has been sued by the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, for asking questions about his conduct which, the premier's lawyers claim, implicitly defame Berlusconi. The left-leaning daily started its campaign for answers to ten questions from the prime minister in May, when discrepancies started to emerge over his account of his relations with the now well-known 18 year-old Noemi Letizia, and the questions have evolved as rumours of scandals surrounding Berlusconi have developed.

La Repubblica editor Ezio Mauro declared in an editorial that "This is the first time that, in the memory of a free country, a politician takes a lawsuit because of questions that were asked of him." The paper is promoting a petition to protest the lawsuit, which it believes "can only be interpreted as an attempt to silence the free press." It has been signed by the FT's Lionel Barber, the Guardian's Alan Rusbridger, the Sunday Times' John Witherow and the Independent's Roger Alton, as well as Liberation's Laurent Joffrin, Javier Moreno at El Pais and Sueddeutsche Zeitung's Hans Werner Kilz. It has been reported, however, that no Italian editor is on the list.

In advance of his appearance at the WEF conference The 2015 Newsroom in Prague next week where he will be giving the keynote speech, Mauro gave the Editors Weblog an insight into his thoughts on the situation.

Editors Weblog: Berlusconi's well-known dominance of the broadcast sector of the media could undoubtedly be seen as a threat to press freedom. But until recent events, have newspapers managed to stay relatively free of his influence?

Ezio Mauro: The real anomaly is the control of the entire television universe, which is completely in the hands of the leader of a party and of the government, who controls three channels by ownership, and three by his political position. This allows for a continual adaption of the editorial landscape - eliminating inconvenient topics, or rendering them incomprehensible. For newspapers it is different, though the influence of the power of the government on the economic and financial establishment (which owns the newspapers) is very still strong. Whoever criticises the government is by definition isolated. Television channels do not launch investigations or questions. In this context, it is difficult for a type of true public opinion to form and grow that is both informed and aware.

EW: Do you think that there are more fundamental press freedom problems than Berlusconi himself in Italy?

EM: I am not talking about press freedom. I am talking about the right of citizens to know and understand, therefore to be informed: and of the duty of newspapers to inform. It is regarding this right and this duty that there are problems today.

EW: To a foreigner, Italian newspapers appear more ostensibly partisan than their Anglo-Saxon counterparts. Do you think that is true, and if so do you think this could be one of the reasons they become vulnerable to political attack?

EM: Was the Washington Post partisan during the Watergate investigation? I believe that the lies and contradictions of those in power open a space that journalism must fill. My objectives are not political, but journalistic, even if we are a newspaper with a clear centre-left leaning. As there is now also a right-wing press, the pluralism of newspapers is wide. Then there are dailies and weeklies that by ownership are part of the Berlusconi world, that is, a system that puts together government, party, agenda and media. Again, something that is unheard of elsewhere in the Western world.

EW: With regards to the Feltri/Fini case: do you think the stance that Il Giornale is taking with regards to house speaker Fini's actions is appropriate for a newspaper?

EM: It is a case of character assassination, as everybody has said... This attack is a punishment and a warning, making us understand the risks we should not take. Journalism, as is evident, is nothing to do with it.

EW: Is there a fear that a type of self-censorship amongst journalists could arise as a result of the threat of prosecution?

The threat of multi-million euro lawsuits brought by the richest, most powerful man in the country certainly is a form of intimidation. But attention: much more intimidating is blackmail and threats of the political-journalistic 'kombinat' using 'dossiers', invented on anonymous pieces of paper (the Boffo case) maybe even the use of secret service bombs. A frightened power wants to spread the fear, and for this he uses his newspapers. But a question arises: can you govern a democracy in the heart of Europe in 2009 by substituting policy with 'dossiers', authoritativeness with intimidation, leadership with threats and blackmail?

EW: As well as the petition on your paper's website, what action does La Repubblica intend to take in the coming weeks to raise awareness of the situation?

EM: We will inform. Report the news. Ask questions. What journalists in 'normal' countries do.

EW: Have you come across or do you expect expressions of solidarity from other Italian or European newspapers?

EM: I have read expressions of solidarity and awareness of the Italian case on the part of editors of European newspapers, all the most important, even if I have not spoken with any of them (except the editors of El Pais and Liberation during a forum in Lyon last week). Nothing else.

EW: How has the conflict with the prime minister affected La Repubblica's readership?

EM: The number of readers has grown considerably in the last three or four months. Emails and letters have also been flooding in.

EW: Assuming that there is a press freedom problem in Italy, what steps do you think must be taken to resolve it?

EM: It is necessary to resolve the conflict of interest of the head of state, to free the television system from the influence of all parties, and to ask the government to respond to public opinion. He might be able to get away with not replying to a single newspaper, but to the problems that he raises, and to the questions, he must answer.

EW: Your paper is being sued by the prime minister. Do you think he will be successful?

EM: No, I don't believe so.  

According to the Evening Standard columnist Andrew Gilligan, the situation for London local media is becoming more and more like that in former East Germany: the only newspapers that can survive are state-run rags, which can offer taxpayer-subsidized ad rates and free delivery to every household. In addition to completely positive coverage of local government affairs, these publications give readers everything else they might expect in a newspaper - property listings, features, puzzles - rendering the independently-run competition virtually obsolete.

Nine London boroughs currently produce council-run newspapers far flashier and on a far more frequent basis than the informative publications of yesteryear. Three in particular draw Gilligan's ire, for the amount of taxpayer money spent, the effect on independent local papers, and even blatant bias and misrepresentation of facts.

If a journalist is a master of communication, can a great communicator simply pass his or herself of as a journalist? This is question that web professional, Sandra Ordonez poses in the introduction to a rounding up piece on the project conducted by OurBook.com concerning the future of journalism.

The proliferation of social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook as circulators and generators of the news, and the popular trend of citizen journalism, which has been encouraged by mainstream publications, as well as designated start-ups, have all served to somewhat blur the definitions of a reporter and a communicator, professional or amateur. Or have they?           

Recent changes to media laws, which have given accredited journalists permission to observe family court proceedings, are causing much confusion within the courts. That there is much uncertainty surrounding the meaning of the laws was demonstrated last week at the family courts at London's Royal Courts of Justice. Journalists were refused entry into the courts as court staff were apparently unaware of the changes to the law, while lawyers and other parties came out as explicitly adverse to press presence.

The Guardian reported that its editor Alan Rusbridger has thrown his support behind a plan to give public funding to the Press Association, Britain's national press agency. The funding would allow the PA to carry out public service reporting, providing news from public authorities and courts to compensate for the reduction in coverage of such local institutions by local and regional papers.

Rusbridger was speaking at a seminar on the future of journalism at the Media Standards Trust in London. He expressed concern at the gradual disappearance of local journalism, according to the Guardian. "It makes me worry about all of those public authorities and courts which will in future operate without any kind of systematic public scrutiny. I don't think our legislators have begun to wake up to this imminent problem as we face the collapse of the infrastructure of local news in the press and broadcasting," he said.

A new investigative journalism project, InvestigateWest, has been set up by a group of journalists who worked at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which went online-only and shed many of its staff earlier this year. The new site aims to provide "high-quality investigative journalism about environmental, health and social justice issues across the West," according to a press release.

InvestigateWest is nonprofit and will produce work for online, print and radio and TV stations. It will distribute its multimedia content through individual partnerships with media organisations and through its own syndicated service. A core group of six journalists, who between them "have won or been finalists for every significant national journalism award for investigative and narrative work," will be supplemented by a network of correspondents throughout the West.

The New York Times has removed a slide show from its website after a reader discovered that one of the pictures of an unfinished housing construction project had been digitally altered. An editors' note on the site explained that editors then discovered that many of the pictures had be altered. The photo essay had also appeared in the Times Magazine on Sunday.

"Had the editors known that the photographs had been digitally manipulated, they would not have published the picture essay," said the note. The essay was entitled "Ruins of the Second Gilded Age" and showed large housing construction projects across the US that had come to a halt when the housing market collapsed. Its introduction specified that the photographer, Edgar Martins, creates his images "without digital manipulation."

A campaign has been launched to improve "news literacy" levels amongst America's citizens. The Lovejoy Journalism and News Literacy Blog aims to counteract spreading "news illiteracy", which is considered as the "real" and "hidden" threat to journalism and ultimately democracy in the current climate of proliferating news sources.  

The blog intends to foster online dialogue between print journalists, bloggers, website operators and news consumers about how one can "work to promote journalism and civic engagement on the highest level". One of the project's initiators, David Shribman, executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette made the first contribution to the site, explaining the pressing need for journalists and educators to launch a "counter-offensive" against the worrying trend of "news illiteracy". This collective deficiency  is fertile ground for the breeding of "lies and distortion" in the news world.