Week 10 Articles

It’s the Audience, Stupid!

What is the new approach to storytelling and how is it being used to broaden audiences?
The new approach to storytelling in journalism is to incorporate an international aspect. Something not done before, journalists are beginning to incorporate global experiences and influences to add to their writing. For example, the heated debate of health care in U.S. is still raging on. Wouldn't be interesting and wise to look at other nations that have successful programs to model after? Wouldn't it be beneficial to see how other countries who had this problem tackle and achiever. Wouldn't it be influential to hear other world leaders speak, weighing their thoughts on the issue? Adding an international flare to writing brings a fresh perspective to journalism. 

How is digital media being used to engage audiences?
One way this article discusses digital media engaging with the audience was truly going out onto the street and asking for their opinions. With this data, BBC radio created a segment based on what the audience wanted to hear. It turned out to be a huge success because they had given people what they wanted to hear. Sometimes it take communications professionals such a journalists to go back to the people to see what they want to read and listen to. News is meant to be spread to the people, thus give the people the content that they want!

Give three specific examples of how you can incorporate storytelling into an article you write?
A few ways to improve storytelling would be adding a personal experience or vignette, to make the story more relatable to the audience. Another way to incorporate storytelling is taking resources from other content to show multiple sides in an argument or taking interviews to show diversity and variety in an article. Incorporating storytelling into communicational style of writing or journalism is not difficult, we are so used to telling just the facts, no fluff. However, storytelling is a creative way to add in details without using the "fluff".

All the Aggregation That’s Fit to Aggregate

What does aggregation mean?

According to this article, aggregation is defined as taking and sharing content from other people and media forms and making it your own. It is "taking words written by other people, packaging them on your own Web site and harvesting revenue that might otherwise be directed to the originators of the material." To others, this would be considered plagiarism but, in the media world this is a standard business model. 

Why does the author describe Arianna Huffington as “the queen of aggregation?”  Go to the Huffington Post and provide an example.

Arianna Huffington is known as "the queen of aggregation" because she has intelligently created a news corporations that targets and attracts various kinds of people with a diverse topics, subjects, and categories of what is considered news. Looking at the Huffington Post website, there are videos of kittens, how-to tutorials and articles for the latest hairstyles and fashion trends, posts from bloggers, and news reports. 

Is aggregation a threat to professional journalism – why or why not?

Personally I do not think aggregation is a threat to professional journalism. Some maybe argue it's copying, plagiarizing, and cheating by using other's work. However, in the field of communications and media sharing content is what we do. Our job is to to take a message and share with the community and the public. So would you consider sharing an article that is someone else's work with a group a threat or promotion and publicity? 

Photojournalism in the Age of New Media

A professional journalist receives a photo captured by a citizen journalist….

What are the positives?

-The positives is that the everyday citizen is getting involved in media and the communication process along with the importance of being involved with our world. The average person has the ability to be even more apart of our changing world, now having the ability to be their own content creators. 

Why does the professional journalist need to be careful?

-Professional journalists need to be careful in who they are receiving content from... Doing research on certain citizen journalists and content is beneficial. 

Why might the content of the photo be called into question?

-The content of the photo may be called into question in regards to what it is, where it came, who sent the image, and the purpose or the intention for sending or creating the image/ content.

How does citizen photojournalist impact the job of the professional photojournalist?

-Citizen photojournalists impact the jobs of professionals because now they are in competition for resource and content. Citizens photojournalists have the ability to be everywhere and right in the middle of the next story whereas professionals may not.