01 Thursday Sep 2011
Posted in Journalism
David Flies The Coop from Ted Regencia on Vimeo.
David Boucard, 17, freshman Engineering student at Columbia University, bids goodbye to his mother, Rolande Jean-Louis as he moves into Furnald Hall dormitory.
31 Wednesday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
1. Three trends that have significantly changed economic models for news organizations in the digital age.
Over the past decade, economic models for news organizations have been turned upside-down because of many revolutionary technological advancements. This new reality has altered the established social norms on news consumption. And while they brought about the demise of some legacy news institutions, these transformations can only be seen overall as progress for the public, whether in Timbuktu or Tallahassee.
Among those significant changes are the breakneck expansion of the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter; the sharp increase in the use tablets and highly-wired smartphones such as iPad and Android-powered phones; and the emergence of online news aggregators such as Google News, Huffington Post and Drudge Report.
A recent Washington Post report points to a steady increase of social media users in the U.S. Quoting the Pew Research Center, the Post said half of American adults are social media users. Worldwide, Facebook has about 743 million users, with the U.S. accounting for 155 million members. New entrant Google+ already had 25 million users at the start of August 2011. These numbers present a large potential audience for news organizations, although they also have to compete for attention with other online entities such as gaming and instant video messaging.
Furthermore, according to Scout Analytics, time spent reading online increased by 28 percent, while print plunged 12 percent. As of 2010, online ad revenue for news was $3 billion. Still, the fact remains that readers spend less time browsing “news” online. The same study pointed out that in 2006, the average time spent reading a newspaper was 29 minutes per day, translating to $287 average revenue per user. On the other hand, in 2010, the average time spent reading online news was only 1.2 minutes with an equivalent ad revenue of roughly $29 per user. This new reality truly defies old economic models.
Recognizing this new reality, Internet giants like Google continue to sharpen their ability to reach new markets. Most recently, it has acquired Motorola Mobility upping the ante in the war to corner new mobile phone customers, whose appetite for online access including news and entertainment, have shifted significantly by the emergence of smart personal devices. Google is also competing with Facebook and Skype in offering new features such as instant video messaging. Apple is also set to launch the highly-anticipated iPhone 5. In this cut-throat atmosphere, the old economic models are no longer effective.
Add to that the aggregators that have effectively cornered a big slice of Internet traffic for news. Websites like the Huffington Post and Drudge Report have relied on sensational headlines to promote news and drive up online traffic. The propriety of the practice might be debatable, but the fact remains that they are reaping profit from it, to the detriment of the more established and objective news institutions such as The New York Times or the Washington Post.
But new opportunities are also there for the taking for New York Times and other media institutions, who can offer high quality journalism, to compete. The emergence of iPad, for instance, spawned the NYTimes applications for iPad and iPhone. To achieve that level of competitiveness, companies need to alter its economic model to fit to the reality of the business.
2. Three advantages that a new, digitally based news company has over a traditional print or broadcast organization
One of the most distinct advantages an online news company has over traditional print organizations is immediacy. As soon as news breaks, it can be reported and published within a few minutes. That might be true as well in broadcast, but online news is more enduring and can be constantly updated whenever new developments arise. At any given time, the reader can also review the article without having to keep a hard-copy, or a video recording of the report.
Another is cost. Media experts can debate about the relationship between the quality of journalism produced and the cost to produce it, but overall it is cheaper to run an online-only media organization. As the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) pointed out in an article published on May 10, 2011, online news organizations “provide ways for audiences to build quickly with lower marketing costs than in traditional media.” That doesn’t necessarily translate into higher revenue. But given the lower cost of production and almost zero cost for distribution, the risk is also lower compared to operating in print or broadcast.
By going digital, news organizations do not have to rely on readers to actually buy their content to ensure wider readership. With less cost, they can use social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to spread the news exponentially. And according to the same CJR story, publishers and advertisers “can track precisely how people share content.” Pass-on readership for print can only go so much, but online news can bounce from one continent to another in an instant, with the potential of reaching an unlimited audience if the stories are compelling.
3. Three advantages that a traditional print or broadcast organization has over a new, digitally based news company
Despite many challenges, traditional print and broadcast organizations have some built-in advantages. For one, they have better name recognition, and depending on their brand, more credibility. With name and credibility comes more access to stories that viewers seek. Certainly brands like the Chicago Tribune or WGN would have been diminished or totally gone by now without those advantages over online brands. Despite being under bankruptcy protection and dwindling circulation, the Tribune remains the number one source of news in the country’s third largest media market.
Secondly, legacy news organizations still retain the majority of the most talented editors and reporters, commanding respect from both the audience and the decision-makers. In turn, these journalists can provide quality content to the readers. At the same time, readers still spend more time reading print publications because there’s less distraction than the Internet.
Thirdly, even with its size and lesser flexibility, it has financial capability to add on a digital platform to its organization. With the built-in credibility of its print brand, print and broadcast organizations can then spin-off the websites into a profitable medium given the right economic model.
30 Tuesday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
1. Name some effective ways for journalists to use social media.
Less than 24 hours after a powerful tornado struck Joplin last May 22, I found myself reporting for a Filipino television station from the southern Missouri town of 50,000 people. I did not know anyone from there. And given the situation, it was almost impossible to scour the devastated town for sources for my stories. But thanks to social media, I found specific Filipino sources and filed exclusive stories in the U.S. and the Philippines.
Using YouTube, I reached a Toronto-based Filipino and former Joplin resident. That source then connected me to Filipino residents. These Filipinos not only drove me around town so I can take footage of the destruction, but also accommodated me at their homes for days. This, even as they scrambled to help compatriots who were left homeless, or who lost family members (Full disclosure: The subjects of my stories were separate from those who gave me accommodation). Of the 159 people killed, 3 were Filipinos.
While gathering for materials for my news stories, I relied heavily on Facebook to reach survivors, collect photos of the survivors and the fatalities, as well as arrange exclusive interviews. Even as I operated as a one-man band taking stills and videos, and writing my own script, the social media tools available to me at that time made my work more manageable.
More than anything else, however, I realized that being able to connect with the people I interviewed was crucial in delivering the news. But finding them would have been impossible without YouTube and Facebook.
2. Over a one-week period, you might send out dozens of tweets. Please cut and paste a representative sample of 10 tweets you actually sent out any time after Thursday, Aug. 4. These should reflect the kind of tweets you send on a regular basis.
3. Please identify five journalists’ Twitter accounts that you have started following after Thursday, Aug. 4. List each handle and describe, in a sentence why you are following that person.
Nic Robertson is a CNN foreign affairs journalist who reports on the Middle East. Most recently, he landed an exclusive story on the convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi.
4. Name some ways your use of Facebook might change now that you are in J-school.
Even before I entered the J-school, I have been made aware of the pitfalls of Facebook through personal experience. While I mostly refrain from posting personal updates, I am guilty of making somewhat provocative political and religious commentaries that led to tense exchanges with casual friends and blood relations. For the past few months, however, I have learned to pull my punches. And in the area of instant status updates, I’m training myself to think and rethink my words before I make them public. That will have to continue now that I am in J-school. I have also been known to obsess about privacy settings and that will also continue. I believe I can make the most improvement on my Facebook account by providing a more complete information in my profile. As a journalist, I also foresee myself utilizing Facebook to contact sources and verify information. I also want to use Facebook’s video capability in reaching and talking to my interviewees.
29 Monday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
1. What are the elements of a defamation claim, whether it is libel (written) or slander (oral)?
According to Prof. Stuart Karle, libel or slander can be proven if it contains the following elements:
Karle, a lawyer and expert in libel laws, said defamation can occur not just in the publication of the story, but at any point when the author engages in the act of communication. For instance, when a reporter calls someone to verify if X person is “a thief,” that’s “potentially a slander” since it has been “published” in the course of the interview, Karle added.
2. If someone gives you her name and password to access her employer’s website, should you use that information to access the site?
No. Not only it is unethical to use that information to access the site and misrepresent yourself, it is also illegal. There are also hacking and wire-tap laws governing use of the Internet and access of private information. But even with the absence of those, it is WITHOUT ETHICAL BASIS to use other people’s information for private access.
3. How much time should you give the subject of an article or video to comment before publication?
A fair journalist must extend “reasonable” time for a person or entity to answer questions, whose answers are not readily available. However, the journalist must never cede to the subject the power to control the time of publication. The journalist must never promise to hold the publication of a story to the subject.
4. What is the rule on reading back quotes to sources?
There’s no legal requirement to read back notes. Based on personal experience as a journalist, I have never read back notes to my interviewees. According to Prof. Karle, however, if you are placed in a position that you must read back the quotes to your subject, it is best to read them back immediately after the interview, that way you maintain fairness but also avoid revisionism by your subject.
28 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
Hurricane Irene packed a much weaker punch when it hit New York early Sunday morning of August 28, prompting Mayor Mike Bloomberg to declare that the city “certainly dodged a bullet.” But it still left some scattered scenes of destruction in the Bronx, uprooting trees and destroying properties around the Parkchester district.
Along Metropolitan Avenue, a downed tree fell on top of a Toyota RAV4 smashing its windows and crushing the roof. A Mercedes Benz SUV parked right in front of the Toyota was also damaged.
At the Parkchester Apartment Complex, a partially-uprooted tree was seen leaning against one the buildings, while another was completely toppled by strong winds blocking the courtyard path.
Despite the residual rain and strong winds, Sunday masses went on at the Church of St. Raymond along Castle Hill Avenue. The church is celebrating its feast day today, but Monsignor John Graham was forced to cancel the annual lunch reception and cultural presentation due to the storm.
“We don’t want to put anybody at risk,” Graham told this reporter. Although New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan did not issue an official church dispensation for parishioners who miss Sunday obligation, Graham said churchgoers were advised to use “common sense” in making a decision to attend mass.
At the 12 p.m. mass, an estimated 100 people attended the service officiated by Graham. ”I think I won,” the parish pastor quipped noting the large church attendance. Only five people showed up at the 8 a.m. mass, while 10 and 15 people attended the 9 a.m. Spanish and 10:30 am family masses, according to Graham.
Juan Ramos, 65, of Parkchester has been a parishioner at St. Raymond for 30 years. ”I feel my obligation to come to mass,” Ramos said. Besides the storm “wasn’t that bad,” he added.
Iris Soochang, who lives near the 166-year old church, said she was not afraid to attend mass, because “God is beside me.”
Please check back for more news updates and photos from the Bronx.
28 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
List of evacuation centers in the Bronx (Source: New York City Government NYC.gov)
28 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
A shopper inspects an almost empty shelf at C-Town grocery shop at Parkchester in The Bronx, a few hours before Hurricane Irene made landfall in New York City.14 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
It’s been almost six years since the Fulton Fish Market moved to The Bronx from lower Manhattan. The vast complex houses more than 30 seafood distributors, bringing over a billion dollars in revenue every year. But recently, one of its long-time distributors filed for bankruptcy leaving the warehouse 15% empty. Critics contend, it’s lacking the character of the old market by the Brooklyn Bridge, and its remote location is contributing to the slump in sales. Others say the city-owned Hunts Point warehouse has modern amenities that keep the produce fresh and in high demand. Last Sunday, August 14, I visited the market for the first time and I filed this audio postcard.
14 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
A short radio profile of Georgia native Robert Robinson, 69, who works as a shoe shiner in Manhattan on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.
“The main objective is to shine shoes. Not to be a psychologist you know,” Robinson said.
06 Saturday Aug 2011
Posted in Journalism
An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery.
