The human need to connect

   Reading the article about "the great rebel journalist" I.F. Stone took me back to the days when our only social networking tools were snail mail, rotary telephones and the printed word. How did we survive?
   My kids, 9 and 11, couldn't imagine life without computers, cell phones, large screen televisions, Bluetooth and satellite dishes. They both have AOL accounts, and the oldest has her own Facebook page. Whether I like it or not, social networking is a part of their young lives.
   Yes, I could shield them from being "connected," but that's not realistic. They need to be taught responsibility with the media tools available to them. They are very much aware about stranger danger, cyberbullying, identity theft and spam on the Internet.  We, as parents, need to teach our youth these issues now, because that's our job as caregivers.
   I have that same philosophy for my collegiate photojournalism students. They, too, need to be aware of the dangers of social media, like anonymous sources, public relations flacks masquerading as journalists and wrong information, not to mention the many ethical and legal concerns.
   But social networking can be positive, as well. In the NPR segment, The Point of Twitter, Bob Garfield stated that "people simply like to share, not only what they think is cool that you should check out but the reality of what they're doing or seeing or just thinking right this second."
   It's through social sites like Wordpress, Twitter and Facebook that people connect. It's a "primal human need for keeping in touch, even virtual touch, with other humans," Garfield said.
   Because of this need to be connected, journalists must adapt to the social tools of the day in order to verify and synthesis the information they receive and distribute on the Internet.

Saliency and Social Responsibility

   My Intro to Photojournalism students took their 20-point law and ethics test yesterday. I'm proud to announce that every student got a A!
   Here's one of the questions and a sampling of their answers:
Name two reasons it's important for photojournalists to be accurate and truthful when covering assignments:

• as a social responsibility -  the people want true facts; 
• to show truth so society can make a judgement from our own presumed level of truth; 
• our credibility as journalists is important, so we must keep ourselves at a higher standard.

   To appreciate these answers, know that none of them, at this point, have a desire to be in the news business. The class is a requirement for commercial art majors -  so here they are, learning how to Photoshop out blemishes in one class and being told they absolutely can't do that in mine. 

   Are they being taught to be schizo? Not at all. My goal is to teach them the difference between commercial photography and photojournalism. We, as journalism educators, must understand that our future news makers are products of this social media phenomenon that grows faster than we can keep up with it. 

   So, while journalism majors learn how to write stories that are salient, others, like my commercial photography majors, are learning that journalism is a social responsibility. 

   This point is made by Michael Gartner, Pulitzer laureate, former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and of NBC News, who proposed journalism education not for prospective journalists but for citizens, so they can arm themselves against shoddy work. 

   My point, exactly.

  

Sometimes news ain't pretty

   It would be tempting to disregard controversial content at the scholastic journalism level. Journalism teachers wouldn't fear getting fired, and students wouldn't worry about making their subjects angry. I'm sure the administration wouldn't mind, either.
   But we educators know that if we take the controversy out of journalism, then we'd be teaching public relations. It's a necessary evil to teach scholastic journalists that sometimes news ain't pretty.
    Covering controversy is not easy for anyone, not even the experienced investigative reporter or war photographer. It takes a lot of research, guts, time and sometimes a hard shell. It also takes cultivating sources and contacts (with cops, the school system, the local government), and maintaining a reputation of being fair and trustworthy.
   What is considered controversial content? According to Merriam-Webster, controversy is a discussion marked especially by the expression of opposing views, a dispute. But it's more than that. Controversy is bad decisions, tragic accidents and simple mistakes.
   Whatever the topic or subject, journalists need to be prepared to cover it, to shed a light on it, rather than ignore or run from it, because it's our social responsibility as news reporters. It's sometimes easier said than done, and easier taught than applied. Sure, most student journalists might not ever cover controversy throughout their scholastic careers, but they all should be taught to do so.
  

Verification is what separates us

   My photojournalism students are struggling with the concept of citizen journalism. What's the difference between a journalist, a citizen journalist and a blogger?
   One student defined her new role as a collegiate journalist/blogger this way: 
   "The point I keep coming back to is 'using the press tools they have.' If you do not have press tools (or knowledge of them) then you cannot use it (the title of citizen journalist).  In this class, we are learning the tools of the press - editing, ethics, establishing facts and writing skills.  Once we have them, then we can employ them to become citizen journalists.  Those bloggers that do not employ even the smallest bit of press tools are just citizens participating in the social media via blogging.  This issue is not about one being bad and the other good.  They both have their place in society but we do need to recognize which category they fit into."
    Yes, I think Kathie gets it. Press tools make the difference, and one of those tools is verification. According to The Elements of Journalism authors: The essence of journalism is a discipline of verification. That's a pretty simplistic statement, considering they compare verifying information to the science of reporting. Science? Yikes.
    They then break down the intellectual principles of a science of reporting to these core concepts:
1. Never added anything that was not there.
2. Never deceive the audience.
3. Be as transparent as possible about your methods and motives.
4. Rely on your own original reporting.
5. Exercise humility.
   These are easy enough to understand. But, of course, there is more to verifying information than these five concepts. But it's a start.