Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Assessing a New Landscape in Journalism
A new study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism offers a detailed look at a portion of this new cohort of news providers-sites that cover state and national news.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
New AP guidelines on social media
Given our discussion in class yesterday, this new set of social media guidelines that the AP put out seems timely:
Social media guidelines for AP employees
Accounts
All AP journalists are encouraged to have accounts on social networking sites. These sites are now an integral part of everyday life for millions of people around the world. They have become an essential tool for AP reporters to gather news and share links to our published work.
We recommend having one account per site that you use both personally and professionally. Many AP journalists have had great success with this strategy, since social media is inherently a personal space. And on Facebook, for example, it’s a violation of the Terms of Service to maintain two personal profiles.
Employees must identify themselves as being from AP if they are using the accounts for work in any way. You don’t have to include AP in your username, but you should use a personal image for the profile photo (not an AP logo) and identify yourself in your profile as an AP staffer. Posting AP proprietary or confidential material is prohibited. Employees may not include
political affiliations in their profiles and should not make any postings that express political views.
It’s important to monitor your profile page to make sure material posted by others doesn’t violate AP standards; any such material should be deleted.
Privacy
Employees should be mindful that any personal information they disclose about themselves or colleagues may be linked to the AP's name. That's true even if staffers restrict their pages to viewing only by friends. It’s not just like uttering a comment over a beer with your friends: It's all too easy for someone to copy material out of restricted pages and redirect it elsewhere for
wider viewing. As multitudes of people have learned all too well, virtually nothing is truly private on the Internet.
We recommend customizing your privacy settings on Facebook, which allows you to make choices about what you share and with whom. Detailed instructions on how to do this are available on Inside AP and on Facebook.
Opinion
Everyone who works for AP must be mindful that opinions he or she expresses may damage the AP’s reputation as an unbiased source of news. AP employees must refrain from declaring their views on contentious public issues in any public forum and must not take part in demonstrations in support of causes or movements. This includes liking and following pages and groups that are associated with these causes or movements.
Sometimes AP staffers ask if they’re free to comment in social media on matters like sports and entertainment. The answer is yes, with a couple of reasonable exceptions.
First, trash-talking about anyone (or team or company or celebrity) reflects badly on staffers and the AP. Assume your tweet will be seen by the target of your comment. The person or organization you’re deriding may be one that an AP colleague is trying to develop as a source.
Second, if you or your department covers a subject -- or you supervise people who do -- you have a special obligation to be even-handed in your tweets. Whenever possible, link to AP copy, where we have the space to represent all points of view.
Friending/Following
It is acceptable to extend and accept Facebook friend requests from sources, but we should try to avoid situations that may jeopardize AP’s reputation by giving the appearance of bias. In particular, since friending and “liking” political candidates or causes may create a perception that AP staffers are truly their advocates, staffers should avoid this practice unless they have a true reporting reason for it. If we must friend or “like,” we should avoid interacting with newsmakers on their public pages – for instance, commenting on their posts.
If reporters need to friend a newsmaker who is using a personal profile on Facebook, they should limit the newsmaker's access to their own personal information using Facebook's Friend Lists and privacy settings. Instructions on how to do this can be found on Inside AP’s Social Media Toolkit.
To keep track of tweets by newsmakers, we recommend using a Twitter list that allows you to receive postings without joining the person's official list of followers. This is a good practice for all staffers.
Managers should not issue friend requests to subordinates. It’s fine if employees want to initiate the friend process with their bosses.
Publishing
AP staff are encouraged to link to AP content in all formats, as well as content from other media organizations, except if the material spreads rumors or unconfirmed information not fit for AP’s news services. Please be mindful of competitive and corporate issues as you post links.
Staffers should not directly upload or copy/paste content that has been published on an AP platform. It’s fine to link to that content in use on a member, customer or AP platform.
Don’t break news that we haven’t published, no matter the format.
If you have a piece of information, a photo or a video that is compelling, exclusive and/or urgent enough to be considered breaking news, you should file it to the wire, and photo and video points before you consider putting it out on social media. And in those cases in which you capture exclusive content, you should consult with a supervisor about how to share it on your personal social media account.
If material you have gathered meets our standards for quality and accuracy, but for a variety of reasons isn’t published on the wire, it is acceptable to share it on social networks. This includes material we commonly refer to as “cutting room floor,” or content that doesn’t make it into our services because of space limits. Sharing this type of content can help you build your personal brand, which AP encourages. You should consult with a manager before sharing photo or video outtakes.
All of AP’s social media guidelines rely on you to use your news judgment to determine if a piece of content is urgent enough that it should be filed to the wire.
If you have any hesitation about a tweet or post, you should consult with your manager, regional desk or the Nerve Center before sending it.
Sourcing
When you vet a source found using social media, you must apply the same principles used in vetting a source found any other way. But there can be additional challenges with social media sources, since it can be difficult to verify the identity of sources found online.
For those reasons, you must never simply lift quotes, photos or video from social networking sites and attribute them to the name on the profile or feed where you found the material. Most social media sites offer a way to send a message to a user - use this to establish direct contact, over email or by phone, so you can explain what you're working on and get more detailed
information about the source.
If a source claims to be an official from a company, organization or government agency, call the place of business to confirm identity, just as you would if a source called on the phone.
If you come across photos, videos or other multimedia content that you would like to use in your news report, you must verify its authenticity. You must also determine who controls the copyright of the material and get permission from that person/organization to use it.
Use particular caution if you find a social networking page or feed that appears to belong to a person who is central to a story, especially if you can't get confirmation from that person. Phony accounts are rampant in the social media world and can appear online within minutes of a new name appearing in the news. Examine the details to determine whether the page could have just as easily been created by somebody else.
Many athletes, celebrities and politicians have verified Twitter accounts, meaning that Twitter has given their individual accounts a "stamp of approval" to indicate that it really does belong to that person. Before you quote from a verified user's tweets for the first time, however, you need to confirm who is managing the account. Is it the famous person? His or her handlers? A combination? Knowing the source of the information will help you determine just how newsworthy the tweet is and how to characterize it.
Interacting with users
AP is strongly in favor of engaging with those who benefit from our content.
Most of the feedback that comes in is highly constructive. It often leads us to terrific information and imagery. But there’s another side. People may accuse us of bias in our writing or photography. They may make denigrating comments about our writers and photographers.
Any substantive criticism of our content should be taken seriously, however it may be phrased. AP’s News Values and Principles say, “Staffers must notify supervisory editors as soon as possible of errors or potential errors, whether in their work or that of a colleague.”
Beyond that, responses to our audience can largely be guided by the nature of the comments that come in. A thoughtful note from a reader or viewer that leads to a correction by us deserves an email or tweet of thanks (try to avoid repeating the original error). If someone offers a businesslike criticism of a story or image but has their facts wrong, it’s good to reply, time
permitting, to set the writer straight.
Abusive, obscene and/or racist comments posted to an AP-managed platform should be flagged to the Nerve Center immediately. As for people who send flaming, generic denunciations of our integrity or judgment, there are a couple of approaches. Many such writers will not be satisfied by any response from us, however well-reasoned. Time that could be devoted to responding can usually be better spent elsewhere. There’s no need to engage such people at all.
However, some staffers have made a stab at turning away wrath with a reasonable reply, occasionally with success.
Other things to keep in mind:
1. Any response we make to a reader or viewer could go public. Email and direct Facebook and Twitter messages may feel like private communications, but may easily find their way to blogs and political pressure groups (not to mention attorneys). In the case of a story or image that stirs significant controversy, the editor is likely the best person to reply, rather than the person who created the content. The Standards Center can also reply, saying it looked into the complaint and here’s what we found. This is particularly true if the response requires an explanation of AP policies or otherwise goes beyond the immediate content in question.
2. Any incoming message that raises the possibility of legal action should be reviewed by an AP attorney before a response is made.
3. We should not get into protracted back-and-forth exchanges with angry people that become less constructive with each new round.
4. Particularly insulting or abusive comments directed to any staffer should be reported immediately to a manager. If such comments are posted online, contact the Nerve Center and we will work to get it removed, even from non-AP platforms. Of course, any comments that are truly threatening to individuals should be brought to the immediate attention of AP Global Security (contact Danny Spriggs at DSpriggs@ap.org).
Interacting with AP accounts
Staff are welcome to retweet and share material posted by official AP-branded accounts on social networking sites (e.g. @AP, @APStylebook, etc.).
We ask that AP staff refrain from liking or commenting on official AP-branded Facebook posts. These accounts are official, public-facing channels of communication, and we want to reserve the comments and the interactions for the public, not for journalists to talk among themselves in a public-facing spot. It can be off-putting and alienating for an average Facebook user to click on a post and see conversations between colleagues or virtual insider pats on the back.
Social media guidelines for AP employees
Accounts
All AP journalists are encouraged to have accounts on social networking sites. These sites are now an integral part of everyday life for millions of people around the world. They have become an essential tool for AP reporters to gather news and share links to our published work.
We recommend having one account per site that you use both personally and professionally. Many AP journalists have had great success with this strategy, since social media is inherently a personal space. And on Facebook, for example, it’s a violation of the Terms of Service to maintain two personal profiles.
Employees must identify themselves as being from AP if they are using the accounts for work in any way. You don’t have to include AP in your username, but you should use a personal image for the profile photo (not an AP logo) and identify yourself in your profile as an AP staffer. Posting AP proprietary or confidential material is prohibited. Employees may not include
political affiliations in their profiles and should not make any postings that express political views.
It’s important to monitor your profile page to make sure material posted by others doesn’t violate AP standards; any such material should be deleted.
Privacy
Employees should be mindful that any personal information they disclose about themselves or colleagues may be linked to the AP's name. That's true even if staffers restrict their pages to viewing only by friends. It’s not just like uttering a comment over a beer with your friends: It's all too easy for someone to copy material out of restricted pages and redirect it elsewhere for
wider viewing. As multitudes of people have learned all too well, virtually nothing is truly private on the Internet.
We recommend customizing your privacy settings on Facebook, which allows you to make choices about what you share and with whom. Detailed instructions on how to do this are available on Inside AP and on Facebook.
Opinion
Everyone who works for AP must be mindful that opinions he or she expresses may damage the AP’s reputation as an unbiased source of news. AP employees must refrain from declaring their views on contentious public issues in any public forum and must not take part in demonstrations in support of causes or movements. This includes liking and following pages and groups that are associated with these causes or movements.
Sometimes AP staffers ask if they’re free to comment in social media on matters like sports and entertainment. The answer is yes, with a couple of reasonable exceptions.
First, trash-talking about anyone (or team or company or celebrity) reflects badly on staffers and the AP. Assume your tweet will be seen by the target of your comment. The person or organization you’re deriding may be one that an AP colleague is trying to develop as a source.
Second, if you or your department covers a subject -- or you supervise people who do -- you have a special obligation to be even-handed in your tweets. Whenever possible, link to AP copy, where we have the space to represent all points of view.
Friending/Following
It is acceptable to extend and accept Facebook friend requests from sources, but we should try to avoid situations that may jeopardize AP’s reputation by giving the appearance of bias. In particular, since friending and “liking” political candidates or causes may create a perception that AP staffers are truly their advocates, staffers should avoid this practice unless they have a true reporting reason for it. If we must friend or “like,” we should avoid interacting with newsmakers on their public pages – for instance, commenting on their posts.
If reporters need to friend a newsmaker who is using a personal profile on Facebook, they should limit the newsmaker's access to their own personal information using Facebook's Friend Lists and privacy settings. Instructions on how to do this can be found on Inside AP’s Social Media Toolkit.
To keep track of tweets by newsmakers, we recommend using a Twitter list that allows you to receive postings without joining the person's official list of followers. This is a good practice for all staffers.
Managers should not issue friend requests to subordinates. It’s fine if employees want to initiate the friend process with their bosses.
Publishing
AP staff are encouraged to link to AP content in all formats, as well as content from other media organizations, except if the material spreads rumors or unconfirmed information not fit for AP’s news services. Please be mindful of competitive and corporate issues as you post links.
Staffers should not directly upload or copy/paste content that has been published on an AP platform. It’s fine to link to that content in use on a member, customer or AP platform.
Don’t break news that we haven’t published, no matter the format.
If you have a piece of information, a photo or a video that is compelling, exclusive and/or urgent enough to be considered breaking news, you should file it to the wire, and photo and video points before you consider putting it out on social media. And in those cases in which you capture exclusive content, you should consult with a supervisor about how to share it on your personal social media account.
If material you have gathered meets our standards for quality and accuracy, but for a variety of reasons isn’t published on the wire, it is acceptable to share it on social networks. This includes material we commonly refer to as “cutting room floor,” or content that doesn’t make it into our services because of space limits. Sharing this type of content can help you build your personal brand, which AP encourages. You should consult with a manager before sharing photo or video outtakes.
All of AP’s social media guidelines rely on you to use your news judgment to determine if a piece of content is urgent enough that it should be filed to the wire.
If you have any hesitation about a tweet or post, you should consult with your manager, regional desk or the Nerve Center before sending it.
Sourcing
When you vet a source found using social media, you must apply the same principles used in vetting a source found any other way. But there can be additional challenges with social media sources, since it can be difficult to verify the identity of sources found online.
For those reasons, you must never simply lift quotes, photos or video from social networking sites and attribute them to the name on the profile or feed where you found the material. Most social media sites offer a way to send a message to a user - use this to establish direct contact, over email or by phone, so you can explain what you're working on and get more detailed
information about the source.
If a source claims to be an official from a company, organization or government agency, call the place of business to confirm identity, just as you would if a source called on the phone.
If you come across photos, videos or other multimedia content that you would like to use in your news report, you must verify its authenticity. You must also determine who controls the copyright of the material and get permission from that person/organization to use it.
Use particular caution if you find a social networking page or feed that appears to belong to a person who is central to a story, especially if you can't get confirmation from that person. Phony accounts are rampant in the social media world and can appear online within minutes of a new name appearing in the news. Examine the details to determine whether the page could have just as easily been created by somebody else.
Many athletes, celebrities and politicians have verified Twitter accounts, meaning that Twitter has given their individual accounts a "stamp of approval" to indicate that it really does belong to that person. Before you quote from a verified user's tweets for the first time, however, you need to confirm who is managing the account. Is it the famous person? His or her handlers? A combination? Knowing the source of the information will help you determine just how newsworthy the tweet is and how to characterize it.
Interacting with users
AP is strongly in favor of engaging with those who benefit from our content.
Most of the feedback that comes in is highly constructive. It often leads us to terrific information and imagery. But there’s another side. People may accuse us of bias in our writing or photography. They may make denigrating comments about our writers and photographers.
Any substantive criticism of our content should be taken seriously, however it may be phrased. AP’s News Values and Principles say, “Staffers must notify supervisory editors as soon as possible of errors or potential errors, whether in their work or that of a colleague.”
Beyond that, responses to our audience can largely be guided by the nature of the comments that come in. A thoughtful note from a reader or viewer that leads to a correction by us deserves an email or tweet of thanks (try to avoid repeating the original error). If someone offers a businesslike criticism of a story or image but has their facts wrong, it’s good to reply, time
permitting, to set the writer straight.
Abusive, obscene and/or racist comments posted to an AP-managed platform should be flagged to the Nerve Center immediately. As for people who send flaming, generic denunciations of our integrity or judgment, there are a couple of approaches. Many such writers will not be satisfied by any response from us, however well-reasoned. Time that could be devoted to responding can usually be better spent elsewhere. There’s no need to engage such people at all.
However, some staffers have made a stab at turning away wrath with a reasonable reply, occasionally with success.
Other things to keep in mind:
1. Any response we make to a reader or viewer could go public. Email and direct Facebook and Twitter messages may feel like private communications, but may easily find their way to blogs and political pressure groups (not to mention attorneys). In the case of a story or image that stirs significant controversy, the editor is likely the best person to reply, rather than the person who created the content. The Standards Center can also reply, saying it looked into the complaint and here’s what we found. This is particularly true if the response requires an explanation of AP policies or otherwise goes beyond the immediate content in question.
2. Any incoming message that raises the possibility of legal action should be reviewed by an AP attorney before a response is made.
3. We should not get into protracted back-and-forth exchanges with angry people that become less constructive with each new round.
4. Particularly insulting or abusive comments directed to any staffer should be reported immediately to a manager. If such comments are posted online, contact the Nerve Center and we will work to get it removed, even from non-AP platforms. Of course, any comments that are truly threatening to individuals should be brought to the immediate attention of AP Global Security (contact Danny Spriggs at DSpriggs@ap.org).
Interacting with AP accounts
Staff are welcome to retweet and share material posted by official AP-branded accounts on social networking sites (e.g. @AP, @APStylebook, etc.).
We ask that AP staff refrain from liking or commenting on official AP-branded Facebook posts. These accounts are official, public-facing channels of communication, and we want to reserve the comments and the interactions for the public, not for journalists to talk among themselves in a public-facing spot. It can be off-putting and alienating for an average Facebook user to click on a post and see conversations between colleagues or virtual insider pats on the back.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Still Photography Cheat Sheet
Over at Living in the Still's Tumblr page, you can find a image that provides a handy cheat sheet for still photography settings. A copy appears below:
Twitter: @yatcher
Monday, June 27, 2011
Setting Up Your Portfolio Web site
Several in our class have asked follow-up questions to last week’s class, so I thought I’d provide a few thoughts.
(Of course, you could enroll in Digital Journalism, which is taught every semester. :-)
(Of course, you could enroll in Digital Journalism, which is taught every semester. :-)
First of all, you absolutely can host your portfolio site through a content-management system like Wordpress. If you have skills you’re comfortable with and don’t want to upset the apple cart, that’s fine. We will only be looking at the results, not what you went through to get there.
However, if you do decide to set up a code-based portfolio site, I thought I’d provide a few tips and guidelines:
Registering Domains and Acquiring Storage Space
You’ve got to put your site into space that is accessible to Web users. If you want to buy your own Webspace, you can use a registrar (Yahoo Small Business, GoDaddy.com, FatCow, etc.).
When you acquire space, there are two components: registration (the URL that maps browsers to your content) and disk storage (the actual space your files are stored in). These can often be bought in a bundle, but can also be acquired separated.
Services like GoDaddy and Fatcow run about $5 per month for storage, plus about $10 a year registration. Yahoo is easier to use, but is about $10 per month with $10 registration. There are hundreds of choices out there, and most are good for what we’ve assigned. Let me know if you have questions about a given service or your site.
There are a couple of free options, but they are somewhat limited and difficult to use. Let me know if you want to explore those options.
Once you acquire space, you can start building pages and linking them together.
Software
If you want to start with code (to learn everything), I would recommend downloading BBedit Lite. It's a great code editor, and it's free. In it, you can write code (just like we did last week), and save it to your computer.
You will also need an FTP program to upload your pages and images when they're ready. There are dozens, but I recommend Fetch, which is free for 15 days, and if you like it, I have a student code to make the license permanent.
Coding Your Page
Once you have these pieces, then it's just a matter of writing the code, entering your text and graphics, and posting your site to your Web space.
I recommend picking up an HTML Quickstart manual.
You can get an earlier edition if you don’t plan to get too fancy, and they run as low $5 at used book stores.
If you’d prefer online tutorials, there are many, but here’s a good starting point:
Obviously, if you have access to a WYSIWYG editor (like Dreamweaver or Frontpage) you can use those interfaces to drag and drop Web page designs, and can even upload directly from that software.
Save pages in a folder on your computer or flash drive. Browse saved pages with a Web Browser (use “File>Open File” and browse to your saved pages). This way, you can go back and forth between your editor software (make changes) and your browser (see the changes) until your page looks the way you want it.
Save pages in a folder on your computer or flash drive. Browse saved pages with a Web Browser (use “File>Open File” and browse to your saved pages). This way, you can go back and forth between your editor software (make changes) and your browser (see the changes) until your page looks the way you want it.
Uploading your page
Depending on your hosting service, you will enter the required login information to an FTP client (like Fetch, mentioned above). This will allow you access to the server where your files need to go.
Most FTP clients allow you log in and then drag and drop all your files onto the server window, copying all your files up to the server. Be sure to copy any images, or else they won’t show up when people browser your page.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Portfolio Site Construction Assignment
For our next assignment, it's time to get those portfolio sites off the ground. You will have two weeks to get a basic site up and running. You may build the site from scratch, or enable your blog pages to host the required content listed below.
The personal Web page belongs to the student, but for the purposes of this class it is required that each site contains the following links:
Due by class time, Tuesday, July 5.
The personal Web page belongs to the student, but for the purposes of this class it is required that each site contains the following links:
- A link to his/her blog space
- A link to the student's email address
- A link to the SJMC Web site
- A link to the University Web site
- A link to the student's resume, and
- a copyright/disclaimer notice.
Due by class time, Tuesday, July 5.
Monday, June 20, 2011
A sportswriter on sportswriting
I know several of you in the class are interested in going into sportswriting, and even those who aren't might find this article that ran on June 10 in the Wall Street Journal interesting. I was struck by the number of parallels to political reporting -- especially the part about standing around in a pack of reporters waiting for a canned quote that you probably won't use anyway. It does make me wonder if there isn't better way to do all of this.
It's Time for the Sportswriters to Go
U.S. Media Sees Locker-Room Access as a Birthright, but It's Getting Harder to See the Point
By CRAIG WOLFF
The wait before a Knicks game earlier this season at Madison Square Garden began with me and five other reporters standing in a rough circle in the middle of the visitors' locker room (on a night where the Lakers dressed), keeping vigil for something to happen.
Our cluster multiplied in bursts, like cells morphing and crowding one another under a microscope, doubling and redoubling until it seemed the cement room could barely hold us. Trying to count the reporters was useless, but it was easy to count the number of players as the minutes went by: none. Then one. Oh wait, I see a second. But soon, none again.
Finally, Ron Artest sidled through to get to his locker stall. A small tidal force pushed me toward him where I could make out, "It's good to be back in New York… Always fun…" And, "The Knicks have themselves a good team." A bit of a disclaimer: I could only reasonably assume these were Mr. Artest's words. My head was pressed against the back of a cameraman and pitched forward by someone trying to reach a tape recorder above the fray.
Consider this my moment of clarity when I was struck by a simple question: "Is there a point to this?"
Truth be known, the same notion skitters across the minds of sportswriters and athletes, too, who wonder if this ritualized behavior is worth the trouble. Before and after games at virtually every stadium and arena, reporters dutifully trek to the locker rooms for a quote or two, a postmortem, an injury update or a sliver of insight. Later comes the dash back to the computers for the deadline assault.
It's hard to assess the dividends from all this effort. In the last few days, it was reported that Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks called his team's place in the Stanley Cup finals "a huge opportunity" while Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks star, told us, "Ultimately, we have one goal and we came together and fought through some stuff."
Linda Robertson, a columnist for the Miami Herald, says sometimes, after going through the whole tedious process, all reporters have to show for it are "predictable, utterly bland comments you don't end up using."
Let's be clear: This is not a Woe Is Us story. Access is hardly a reporter's entitlement, unless the assignment is the White House or City Hall. Even then, the willingness to wait out a story is a compulsory part of the job. Imagine, too, the view of an athlete, not yet showered and still absorbing a blown save or a missed shot, confronted by a swarm of notepads and microphones and pressed to answer the brain-numbing question: How do you feel?
"What do they expect you to say to that?" asks LaTroy Hawkins, a veteran relief pitcher. "And could they let you get your pants on?"
The relationship between athletes and the press, over generations, has been knotted by distrust. Michael Jordan tangled with reporters. So did Ted Williams. Steve Carlton boycotted them altogether. But beneath the antagonism there was an unwritten code that allowed for small accommodations. We didn't hear much about Mickey Mantle's boozing, but Leo Durocher played cards with reporters during train travel. I saw Billy Martin after road games joined by a cadre of drinking buddies among the press.
For many athletes, the terms of the code were breached in a single moment in 1998 when a reporter spied a bottle of androstenedione in Mark McGwire's locker. "Players remember this," says Hawkins, now with the Brewers. Today, athletes can't even finish a thought before someone camped by their locker posts it to Twitter.
Athletes are bound by league rules to be available to reporters, but not all comply. When they do talk, they slide easily into the abridged remark—or save their breath for Twitter. By the time he announced his retirement, Shaquille O'Neal had nearly four million followers.
There is no serious talk of booting reporters from locker rooms, but leagues are finding ways to reach the fans directly. Major League Baseball's 30 teams, for instance, have a combined 18 million followers on their Facebook pages. The Washington Redskins, like many teams, employs reporters who work for the team's website. "There's been a tremendous transformation," says Sam Smith, who has covered the Chicago Bulls for 25 years, first for the Chicago Tribune and now for Bulls.com. Whereas teams once needed traditional media, he says, "now newspapers need the teams for their circulation."
In the new sportswriting landscape, what's often missing is the sort of detail and perspective that led reporters to locker-room doors in the first place: the connective tissue that links the bones of a story. "The entire system encourages cliché," says Malcolm Moran, a professor at Penn State's College of Communications and a former sportswriter.
As a cub reporter for the New York Times in the late 1980's, covering the Mets, Yankees and Rangers, I was aware of an imbalance between athlete and reporter, not so much because of the gulf in pay (sizeable even then), but because we were doing our jobs in their workplace.
What the locker room does for a sportswriter is offer up small truths in quiet images, not necessarily in quotes: Jordan weeping on the locker-room floor after winning his first title after his father's death; Amar'e Stoudemire hobbling from the trainer's room with ice wrapped to his knees; Barry Bonds, deep in a leather recliner in the San Francisco Giants' clubhouse, blanketed to the chin and watching his own personal TV.
These scenes are increasingly harder for the press to see. Reporters don't fly on team planes anymore. Many don't stay at team hotels. Baseball writers are no longer allowed next to the batting cage during batting practice. It's not hard to imagine the day when U.S. teams mimic European soccer and cut locker-room access entirely.
Not long ago, I found myself at Yankee Stadium standing in the middle of the Yankees logo woven into the dark blue carpeting of the clubhouse. With the exception of the stray player, 30 or so reporters had no one to talk to besides themselves. The Yankee players are able to dress in an area that is off limits to the media. Turns out I was waiting in what amounts to a mannequin clubhouse.
Nevertheless, a few reporters held on, talking in hushed voices to editors on cell phones. Mark Feinsand of the (N.Y.) Daily News, who has covered the team for 11 years, says most reporters still feel compelled to "maintain a presence" in the clubhouse, not just to cement ties but to be ready in case something newsworthy happens.
In the end, no matter what becomes of this American tradition, it's probably time to start asking if all this standing around amounts to loitering and is worth the strain it puts on the relationship between press and players. It's not clear that either side derives much from the transaction.
"There's something we ought to remember," says Robertson of the Herald. "These guys are not notable for their oratory. They're notable for how beautifully they perform as athletes."
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Blog Commenting and Interactivity Assignment
For our next assignment, we're asking you to do something a little bit different.
Within the ecosystem of journalism, in which the classic wall separating producers and consumers of content appears to be eroding, it is as important for journalists to read and respond to the content of others as it is to produce original content.
This week we'd like you to practice with an interactivity exercise: visiting the class student list, select the student whose name appears above and below yours. Visit those two students' blog, and comment on at least one post featured there. A good response should engage the presented topic in some way: adding personal context, asking a question, providing additional links or resources, etc.
We will be checking for comments on Monday morning, June 20.
Within the ecosystem of journalism, in which the classic wall separating producers and consumers of content appears to be eroding, it is as important for journalists to read and respond to the content of others as it is to produce original content.
This week we'd like you to practice with an interactivity exercise: visiting the class student list, select the student whose name appears above and below yours. Visit those two students' blog, and comment on at least one post featured there. A good response should engage the presented topic in some way: adding personal context, asking a question, providing additional links or resources, etc.
We will be checking for comments on Monday morning, June 20.
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