Taylor Mall at ASU

This week, I take a look at Taylor Mall, the central hub of ASU’s Downtown campus.

 

Journalism Help: Interviews

Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication

This is a little slideshow I’ve made about the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU.  For any of those future journalism students out there, check out what this school has to offer.  For any present journalists, try to not to be too jealous your journalism school wasn’t as awesome as this one.

 

Reporters Without Borders drops U.S. ranking in press freedom

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Reporters Without Borders is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to not only teach a global audience about press freedom in the world, but also to fight government censorship in all forms.

The newest annual report that ranks press freedom by country found that the United States fell from 32 to 46.  Compared to other countries, the U.S. now is nestled between Romania and Haiti in terms of press freedom.

Ranked at number 1 as the most free nation for the press is Finland and last is Eritrea, a small country found on the Horn of Africa.

RWB offers a number of reasons as to why the United States is ranked so poorly in their findings.  For example, they cite a post-9/11 consciousness, where journalists are “harassed and even imprisoned for refusing to reveal their sources or surrender their files to federal judicial officials.”

The report continues to argue that improvements have not been made under the Obama administration.  In fact, “No fewer that eight individuals have been charged under the Espionage Act since Obama became president, compared with three during Bush’s two terms.”

In addition to chasing down journalists with sensitive information  the U.S. government has had a string of whistleblowers that revealed controversial information about their actions

Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley) and Edward Snowden are some recent examples.  Manning was recently sentenced to 35 years for leaking information about U.S. military actions to Wikileaks.

Snowden is still in Russia, unwilling to return to the States without assurance that he would not be immediately arrested for his leaks to The Guardian about NSA spying.

As much as Americans like to believe we have the greatest freedoms in the world, it’s hard to argue with hard evidence that shows the contrary.  Perhaps this report will lead  trends to greater freedoms for journalists in the country, doubtful as it seems.

If all else fails, maybe we can all move to Finland.  I hear their Karelian pasties are the best in the world.

Social Media at the Sochi Olympics

Before the first athletes even laced up their skates or strapped on their helmets, the Sochi Olympics were already making news on social media.  While traditional news outlets reported on growing terrorism fears in the country, reporters sent to Russia to cover the Games focused on a more light-hearted topic troubling the Olympics.

Since Russia has opened its borders to intrepid journalists from all over the world, most have been fixated on the generally disgusting and damaged conditions of their hotel rooms.  In case you missed it, here are some of the best:

 

Clearly, there are legitimate problems that the Russian government needs to address.  However, the larger issue at stake here is the role that social media has on journalism and international relations as a whole.  As these tweets gained popularity on the Internet, Olympic officials felt the need to respond.

International Olympic Committee Spokesman Mark Adams defended Russian efforts to accommodate its tourists in a press conference on Wednesday.

“Surely there have been some issues, but we are really doing our best,” he said.

This type of reaction from officials is one of multiple that took place because of information shared on social media.  Without this medium where pictures can be released instantly to the world, I find it unlikely that these stories would have much weight on the minds of the international public.

According to NBC News, more than 26,000 tweets have been sent within a 24-hour period that use the hashtag #SochiProblems.  By making the story more interactive and allowing the public to share and distribute their own media on the issue, what could have brushed aside as a mild management problem has transformed into a source of both humor and outrage for a global audience.

Reporters have the capacity to change national and international conversation.  Social media can streamline that process.  However, there are genuine repercussions from this kind of reporting that can harm the integrity of other stories.

One of the most significant concerns surrounding the 2014 Olympics is not the condition of hotel rooms, but rather the growing intensity of terrorism threats.

Russia suffered two suicide bombings in December 2013.  Terror groups have since continued to openly threaten similar attacks during the Games.  Though this has received heavy coverage by traditional news outlets, social media appears to be more interested in light-hearted conversation, such as the hotels or Shaun White dropping an event.

The challenge for journalists on social media then is to hold the attention of their audience while also reporting on the most important issues of the day.

If followers are more captivated by funny pictures of two toilets side-by-side in a Russian bathroom stall, does the journalist have a duty to his or her audience to tweet more about that topic and less about terror threats in the country?

Next week, I will be speaking to two local journalists well-versed in social media to discuss these issues.

Friendly Resources to Support Your Writing

Every good reporter needs a stack of resources to fall back on whenever they run into difficulties with their writing.  I’ve compiled a list of good websites to visit if you ever get stuck with a source, are unsure where to move with your story, or need to know the journalism laws in your area.

SPJ Code of Ethics: This is a simple document that most journalists refer to when dealing with an ethical issue.  Whether it be a question of one’s relationship with a source, the method by which to cover a controversial topic, or any other dilemma that may arise while on the job, this guide serves as an essential tool to make appropriate decisions as a journalist.

AP Stylebook Online: Yes, you have to pay for it to access content.  However, if you have the funds, you’ll no longer have to remember to bring your Stylebook with you wherever you go.  Every entry is on this website, and it even has a nifty search feature so you don’t have to leaf through virtual pages.

CJR’s Who Owns What: The Columbia Journalism Review offers a complete list of what news networks (both print and television) major media companies own.  When covering any media story, it’s crucial to know who owns what and to disclose any business connections that may exist in your story.

Libel Laws: About.com offers general information about a variety of topics, but to get a simple overview of libel laws and how to avoid getting in trouble with the law in your writing, visit this site.

How to Get Public Records : Because reporters will often need to take advantage of  public records to complete a story, truth-out.org compiled a helpful list of resources for gaining this information.  Freedom of Information Acts requests, politicians’ campaign financing records and other useful resources are linked to this site.