Best Practices in Blogging
Download as PPT, PDF
1 like625 views
What are some of the best practices that aspiring citizen journalists should consider when creating Web content? This presentation reviews some of the basics.
Best Practices in Blogging
- 1. Best Practices in Blogging Presentation courtesy of
- 2. Are Bloggers Journalists? 52% of bloggers consider themselves to be journalists 20% of bloggers derive the majority of their income from their blog work But are bloggers the same as journalists? Source: 2010 PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey
- 3. Is It Journalism? Most have not trained to be journalists 57% of bloggers include links to original sources either sometimes or often. 56% of bloggers spend extra time trying to verify facts they want to include in a post either sometimes or often. SOURCE: PEW INSTITUTE 2006 SURVEY
- 4. Opinion & Ideology Blogging is often personal in nature and told from a definite point of view Traditional journalism is different
- 5. Traditional Journalism Fair and balanced reporting is the goal Despite limitations of time and resources, we strive to gather and present facts in an unbiased way
- 6. Its not about You Challenge your own assumptions and those of your readers Logic, intellect and research should prevail over emotion, gut instinct and personal belief systems
- 7. Bias Bias in the news and blogging can take many forms Word choices Image choices Omission of information Selection of sources Story framing & context
- 8. Word Choices Whether intentional or not, the words you choose may reveal your personal views Stay neutral and stick to the facts Interactive Exercise: Word Choices Headline Choices
- 9. Image Choices What graphic or image should accompany your story? Can you think of examples where the image captures something different than the physical reality of the event? Interactive Exercise: Image Choices
- 10. Omission of Information Who sets the mainstream media news agenda? What gets covered or ignored? Interactive Exercise: Omissions
- 11. Selection of Sources Should you exclude a viewpoint to reinforce your own agenda or belief? Interactive Exercise: Sources
- 12. Story Framing & Context On the Web, the earliest reports are often amplified by others Stories are framed and contextualized by the journalist (but also by others) Interactive Exercise: Story Framing
- 13. Examples: The Aggregators Drudge Report Conservative in nature Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton Scandal Huffington Post Liberal response to Drudge Report
- 14. The Aggregators Beyond news, there are several popular aggregate blog sites for specific areas of interest Examples: Technorati.com BoingBoing.net
- 15. Crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing is a new trend in online journalism that has many supporters and skeptics
- 16. What is Crowdsourcing? A collaborative form of reporting Each contributor researches and contributes a component to the overall piece The actual story may or may not be written by a collaborator Content is usually overseen by a centralized editor
- 17. Pro-Am Journalism Crowdsourcing is often referred to as pro-am journalism A combination of both professional and amateur contributions
- 18. More Resources University of Michigans News Bias Explored Pew Researchs State of the News Media Report PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey