Blogging Ethics Long Overdue May 26, 2008

Most of us are aware that the way we receive news and information has changed enormously since our parents were our age. And, since you are reading this blog, you are certainly aware that blogs have become a very popular mean of communicating ideas, stories, journalism, and just about anything else you want to post for the world to see. I personally like blogs and believe they are doing good things for the internet world. However, there is still a large amount of people who do not trust blogs and do not consider them a real form of journalism. Why? Because you really can’t trust everything you read on the internet. How many times have you read something online and wondered if it were true or not? For me, this happens too frequently. I see this as a problem. The good news is that there is a solution to this problem. And the solution is a weblog code of ethics.

 A post made on Rebecca’s Pocket back in 2002, sums up quite well what this type of code of ethics would look like. Even though it was from 6 years ago, Rebecca really hit the nail on the head and there is little I would change about her work. 

Here the 6 rules of online ethical behavior for all publishers are outlined:

1.  Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.

2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.

3. Publicly correct any misinformation.

4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not re-write or delete any entry.

5. Disclose any conflict of interest.

6. Note questionable and biased sources.

As you can see, these are not rules that are hard to follow. They are simply a way to ensure trust in the blogs that are published and help to boost the respect that blogs deserve.  Afterall, blogging is the newest form of journalism and they are required to abide by codes of ethics like the SPJ and the PRSA, so why shouldn’t bloggers?

It is becoming more and more frequent that bloggers are the ones breaking news stories. Remember the Monica Lewinsky scandal? That story was uncovered thanks to a blogger. If journalists are going to be using tips from blogs, it is important that they can be trusted. Additionally, it is becoming more popular that people receive their political information and news from blogs. Especially with this year’s election, it is very important that the information received on political blogs is accurate. Adhering to a code of ethics would increase the trust of blogs.

Simply put, if blogs are going to continue in popularity and people are going to believe what is written online, ethical guidelines need to be followed. This wouldn’t limit creativity of freedom of expression- it is just requiring that sources are cited, honest work is posted and any conflict of interest is disclosed.

Ethics isn’t hard to do, but it can make a world of difference. I urge you to spread the word about blogging ethics and if you are a blogger yourself, please take the time to cite sources and take credit for your work only. If everyone does their part, the blogosphere will gain so much more respect, in turn hopefully helping with each bloggers readership levels.

Headlines Schmedlines… May 23, 2008

What an interesting article!

A few thoughts were triggered while reading this… I definitely connect with the idea that our communication skills have been very dependent on the technology available to us. Examples that come to mind are from back in the day when cell phones didn’t exist. gasp! People weren’t as connected to each other because if you weren’t at your house to place or make a call, you just couldn’t reach someone, or be reached. Now, with the lovely invention of cell phones – people are talking ALL the time. In fact, I feel naked without my cell phone and check it far too often. It has even become my clock now… but that’s another story.

Another example is text messaging. Because we are limited to a certain number of characters in our texts, we are forced to use shortened words and a whole new text lingo. We have to completely alter how we communicate because of the form we’re using. And to take this even further, since children are texting and instant messaging online far earlier in life than any other generation, I speculate that their communication skills will some-what suffer because of this. If not suffer, they will definitely be altered because of this new form of abbreviated writing.

Now, back to the main point of the article, “How Google is changing the way newspaper headlines are written”, I definitely see the positive sides to more straight forward headlines. This makes searching for what we need far easier, however it severely limits the journalist’s creativity. In my personal opinion, I believe the style of the headline should depend on what kind of article or work it is. Obviously, if it is a satire article more creative headlines are expected. But headlines that are too obvious are going to make for a snooze-fest online. 

“The human readers of blogs are beginning to behave like bots, too: Quickly scanning for semantic meaning and ignoring everything else. So maybe optimizing for searchbots isn’t a bad idea — because you’ll also optimize for humanbots.”

I don’t want to become a humanbot… and quite honestly, with all the technology that is being developed and the number of hours we spend online per day, it is a fear that only keeps increasing. There is simply too much information online and therefore, creativity is falling by the wayside. 

1. How do you forsee creativity diminishing online? What other forms of communication rely on technology?  

2. If headlines lost creativity, what implications would that have on newspaper popularity? How might it affect the speed of the dying newspaper?

Are Newspapers dying? Or just getting a face lift? May 21, 2008

Ever since I began this class and learned more about blogs, it has become evident to me that the way we receive our news is changing. Duh. Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that fewer and fewer people are reading old school newspapers. I mean c’mon, why would you pay a subscription fee when you could just use google news, MSN, yahoo, or your local  newspaper’s website and access everything you want for free? So, I’ve been wondering what the deal is with the future of newspapers and decided to do a little investigating… 

It is true newspapers are struggling… the internet is giving traditional media a run for it’s money. However, a recent article printed by the Seattle times(which I conveniently accessed online) sheds light on the situation – why they had to recently lay off employees, the future of their newspaper and why they aren’t sweating this situation.  Executive editor, David Boardman states, “We don’t have a readership problem. But we do have a revenue problem.”

Boardman attributes some of their revenue problems to a particular Bay Area entrepreneur named Newmark and his free, online site called “craigslist”. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Craigslist has been a huge part of the reason newspapers have seen such a dramatic drop in revenue from the classified section. However, you will find that Boardman has a fairly positive outlook about the problems the Seattle Time is facing and is prepared to not only attack the problem, but reinvent newspapers and their capabilities, all the while focusing much of their efforts on their thriving website.

So, yes newspapers are struggling, but not disappearing just yet. Newspapers won’t go down without a strong, furious fight. Things will be changing, but that doesn’t mean the end is anywhere in sight. For now, newspapers will just have to try to keep up with the ever-changing and rapidly advancing blogosphere!  

REGISTER TO VOTE May 20, 2008

For those American citizens who are not registered to vote…

1st: shame on you!

2nd: Go to this link and sign up! It’s super easy!

Portland loves Obama! May 19, 2008

Record breaking numbers for Obama’s appearance in Portland… read on!

6 steps to make blogs ethical May 18, 2008

This week I was assigned to read “Weblog Ethics” by Rebecca’s pocket.  Reading this post fits in perfectly with our discussion on Blog ethics. In the beginning of her post, she poignantly deciphers the difference between the goals of the mass media versus journalists and web logs. She identified mass media as having to rely on large audiences and are concerned with high viewership and readership.  Professional journalists know the potential for abuse and abide by strict codes of conduct ensuring their integrity is always kept up. Weblogs, on the other hand are non-professional and therefore, don’t have a code of ethics. Since blogs have low expenses, no advertisers to please and they don’t have to worry endlessly about audience sizes, there are fewer incentives to upkeep ethical behavior.

One of my favorite quotes from Rebecca’s post was, ” The greatest strength of the Internet is that it is uncensored, unmediated and uncontrolled. But that is also it’s greatest weakness.”  I completely agree with this statement. Rebecca believes that until bloggers start to behave more professionally and ethically, they will not be seen as a valid or trustworthy source of information and news. She writes 6 rules for online ethical behavior for publishers of all kind.

1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.

2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.

• This empowers the consumer to be more educated and to research subject further.

3. Publicly correct any misinformation.

4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not not re-write or delete any entry.

• This ensures the writer’s integrity.

5. Disclose any conflict of interest.

6. Note questionable and biased sources.

While this appears to have a great chance of working, do you really believe this is realistic?

Discussion Questions:

1.) How do you think bloggers would respond to these rules? What implications do you think abiding by these rules would bring?

2.) Besides these 6 rules, what other ways do you believe the blogosphere needs to change in order to gain respect in the media industry?  

Videos to your cell phone in a “flash” May 4, 2008

As if technology weren’t saavy enough, tech geniuses bring even more capibilites to cell phones… enjoy!