RonRossToday.com

An iPhone or a Smartphone can be a wonderful thing. You can do…well, darn near anything with it…including record for posterity any event within eye-range or should I say, I-range.

Unless you want to become famous (or infamous), don’t lose your temper at the check-out stand or yell at your kid in the WalMart parking lot. If you do, soon 145,329 (more or less) people could view it on the Internet because some guy caught it on his Smartphone, uploaded it to YouTube, then tweeted and Facebooked it even before you got to your car.

From this day forward, politicians at every level, classroom professors, town cops, TSA agents, and even FedEx delivery folks must be on their best behavior at all times. If not, their misadventures will be caught on tape and published for posterity.

We used to complain that Big Brother was watching us. Well, he is – security cameras are now ubiquitous, but your little brother and his anonymous film crew of thousands are also pointing and shooting their Smartphones at our every act of clumsiness, stupidity or illegality. This makes it very difficult to “spin” our faux pas once our wife or boss or principal or constituents or friends or enemies see it in living color. No one can get away with even a little prank without the whole world finding out.

Smartphones are good, I suppose, for citizen journalists. It allows them to break news before the mainstream media get back to their vans to edit their tape for broadcast.

But the problem is context. A properly prepared and delivered news story takes time and work. The reader/listener/viewer needs context to fully understand what they are viewing, not just raw footage. A serious journalist always tells the whole story of who, what, where, why, when and how, not just the slip-and-fall part.

In our book, “Handbook for Citizen Journalists” my co-author Susan Carson Cormier and I write that those who make intermittent or perhaps only once-in-a-lifetime Smartphone postings should not be referred to as citizen journalists. We call them “accidental citizen journalists” because that’s what they are. They are citizens who just happened to be somewhere when something interesting transpired and they pointed their Smartphone at it.

Filming something doesn’t make you a journalist any more than using your microwave oven makes you a gourmet chef.

Besides that, accidental citizen journalists have no training in legitimate journalism and no editor to demand they report the whole story. Historically, these kinds of people were referred to as eye-witnesses. They would be interviewed by a reporter then have their comments placed within the full context of a story.

A serious citizen journalist knows that no 44-second clip of someone’s violation of accepted social norms is the whole story. A serous citizen journalist knows how to put their stories in context.

Besides mowing lawns and shoveling snow, my very first job as a lad was an Omaha World-Herald newspaper route.  I delivered the paper every day to about 40 customers in the south end of Council Bluffs, Iowa. That’s why the headline that Warren Buffett has purchased the OWH attracted my attention.

The price, reportedly, is $150 million plus the assumption of $50 million of debt. Two-hundred-thousand bucks for a business that Buffett once told his shareholders has a “potential for unending losses.”

The biggest problems newspapers face are 24-hour cable news outlets and Internet news websites. They have drawn readers away from newspapers causing many of them to close or to operate at a deficit.

It is my hope that Buffett’s bet on the future of the newspaper is a winner. Not because he needs any more money, but because citizens in a free society need good journalism.

Buffett said there are many things newspapers can do “better than any other media.” He’s right about that. Here are two things newspapers do better: reach a local audience and explain the news with context and gravity.

Newspapers reach people where they live. Your local paper is, well, local, and that’s good. Local government, business, education, sports, non-profits, etc. all need the newspaper to tell their stories and to be held accountable for their actions.

Newspapers give news stories context and appropriate significance. Newspapers are more than three-sentence sound-bites. Watch any TV newscast, even the 24-hour cable news stations, and most of their stories are fewer than a few sentences long. It’s simply not possible to explain the complexities of a 2000-page bill in congress or a bombing in New Delhi or a natural disaster in the Pacific with five sentences and a 13-second video shot from a helicopter.

Of course, in depth reporting is expensive – hence the $50-million World-Herald debt. And that’s the problem I hope Warren Buffett can solve – not with the constant infusion of new investor money, but with an entrepreneurial  solution. A solution that will make print news profitable once again – profitable for both news producers and news consumers.

. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-30/buffett-s-berkshire-agrees-to-buy-hometown-newspaper-omaha-world-herald.html

A Montana Blogger was sued for defamation by an attorney and an Oregon federal judge ruled that she was not a journalist and therefore not protected by the same laws afforded to mainstream reporters, according to a story by the AP published this week.

According to the story, Eureka, Mont. blogger Crystal L. Cox (www.crystallcox.com) posted a story on her blog claiming that that Oregon lawyer Kevin Padrick was a thug and a thief who acted criminally during bankruptcy proceedings.  Padrick sued Cox for defamation and U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez found that Cox was not a journalist and therefore did not have the same protections mainstream journalists enjoy.

The article by Jeff Barnard said that though “…the ruling would have little effect on the definition of journalism, it casts a shadow on those who work in nontraditional media since it highlights the lack of case law that could protect them and the fact that current state shield laws for journalists are not covering recent developments in online media.”

So what should bloggers do? Six things -

Number one: don’t defame anyone. Write your story in a way that does not include defamatory language, insults or slander. Use unambiguous language to tell the story. Leave conclusions to your readers.

Number two: Find out what the shield laws are in your state. That advice was part of the AP story with a quote by Lucy Dalglish, executive director of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: “My advice to bloggers operating in the state of Oregon is lobby to get your shield law improved so bloggers are covered, but do not expect the shield law to provide you a defense in a libel case where you want to rely on an anonymous source for that information.”

Number three: Get some kind of official affiliation with a legitimate news entity. According to the story, “The judge ruled that Cox was not protected by Oregon’s shield law from having to produce sources, saying even though Cox defines herself as media, she was not affiliated with any mainstream outlet.” The problem here is defining what is legitimate. I wonder if Cox would have been covered if she had posted her blogs on YourNews.com or Examiner.com, neither of which have editorial staffs that fact check articles or assign journalists, yet are significant disseminators of news.

Number four: Get some kind of professional qualification. The judge also claimed that Cox was not a journalist because she offered “no professional qualifications as a journalist…” At least take a journalism 101 course at your local community college or better yet, join the National Association of Citizen Journalists. However, even an education or certification will not protect you against acts of slander and libel.

Number five: Tell the whole story. The judge also claimed that Cox was not a journalist because she offered no proof of adhering to journalistic standards such as editing or checking her facts, evidence she produced an independent product or evidence she ever tried to get both sides of the story.” Most bloggers are advocacy journalists rather than straight-news journalists. My view is that a good advocacy journalist is not afraid to tell both sides of a story even if it discomforts what or for whom they advocate.

Number six: Write good stuff; quantity does not trump quality. Cox is no once-in-a-blue-moon blogger. She calls herself an investigative blogger and has produced more than 400 blogs over the years. She argued to the judge that she was a part of the mainstream media because her blog gets noticed by search engines. It’s true, her blog does get noticed. I Googled her name and it came up first! But just because you write a lot of blogs and get noticed by Google and Bing does not make you a journalist, and it certainly does not mean you can say anything you want about anybody and not suffer the consequences.

In the end this one decision probably will not have much impact on citizen journalists in the USA, though it does point out that citizen journalists need to follow the long accepted ethics and standards of journalism if they want to be respected by readers and protected by shield laws.

My co-author, Susan Carson Cormier, and I have a whole chapter in our book, “Handbook for Citizen Journalists,” on core values to deal with this very issue.

Every movement in history experiences challenges that cause it to morph from the purpose and design of its founders, usually in an effort to stay alive.

The incredible world-wide movement of citizen journalism is no different. In chapter one of our* book titled “Handbook for Citizen Journalists,” I point out that the movement is happening with no organized structure, no inspirational luminary, no headquarters, no power center, little or no funding, usually no government help and often government interference, no mass marketing strategy, no fixed standards, and most significant, wild innovation.

The result is that many expressions of citizen journalism have been seen – some unexpected successes and some well-funded failures. As time passes and more entrepreneurial journalists find ways to take advantage of the gap left by understaffed newspapers and developing technologies, more changes are sure to come.

Blogger Tom Grugisich gives a good review of citizen journalism in his Oct. 27, 2011 posting on STREETFIGHT. Though his review focuses mostly on citizen journalism in large US cities, it does give a snapshot of citizen journalism today. It is titled, “How is Citizen Journalism Playing Out Today?”

It’s a good read. CLICK HERE to read it.

PS: If you are an entrepreneurial journalist with an interest in citizen journalism, please contact me.

*My co-author is Susan Carson Cormier. ”Handbook for Citizen Journalists” is the only book written FOR aspiring and active citizen journalists and has been distributed worldwide.

care

When a citizen journalist trainer in Malaysia inquired about presenting a copy of our book, “Handbook for Citizen Journalists,” to each person attending their training session, my co-author and I wanted to make it happen.

Their event was imminent so shipping the books from the USA to Malaysia was not possible. I Googled “digital printers Malaysia” and contacted the one that looked best and sent in a request for a bid with information about the deadline. The printer responded immediately and after several exchanges of emails, the deal was done.

The printer printed and packed 200 books for Maran Perianen, a trainer of Malaysian citizen journalists, just in time for his weekend conference.

“The citizen journalists were impressed with the book,” Perianen, told us by e-mail.

Malaysian Citizen Journalists show off their copy of Handbook for Citizen Journalists

“I also plan to give the book in my future training for their reference,” said Perianen, who also is the program director for an online news agency, Malaysiakini.

Malaysiakini, with the assistance of Washington, D.C.-based International Center for Journalists, has successfully conducted almost 70 workshops across Malaysian and has trained more than 350 citizen journalists, according to Perianen.

As the result of this training, Perianen said, the citizen journalists have successfully produced more than 1,500 news videos and almost 1,000 news articles.

“These stories have triggered significant reactions from many individuaorganizations and the government itself.”

My co-author, Susan Carson Cormier, and I are pleased the citizen journalists will be using the “Handbook for Citizen Journalists” as a resource guide. We truly believe that the information, motivation and training they will receive from the handbook will help them in their future endeavors.

And, of course, Susan and I both want to congratulate the Malaysian journalists for their work and wish them continued success.

You can visit the Malaysian website at www.cj.my.

The Madison, Wisconsin police recently cited a protestor for disorderly

Greg Palast

conduct when he poured beer over the head of Wisconsin State Representative Robin Vos at a hotel bar.  CLICK HERE for the complete story.

Later, Greg Palast, a self-described investigative journalist, blurted out his left-wing opinion, “This is Wisconsin, this is the place where you had some guy pour a beer on the head of a Republican State Senator? No, no, no, that’s all wrong. You can’t do that. That’s just wrong. I’m from New York. If you’re going to pour beer on a Republican you have to drink it first.”

Evidently unable to engage in a critical, intelligent debate about unionism in Wisconsin, Palast’s contribution comes in the form of suggesting a crude, asinine stunt – pour urine on someone’s head.

Who is this guy?

According to his website – you should know. He brags that once he entered the field of journalism he was quickly recognized as “The most important investigative reporter of our time” by UK’s Tribune Magazine. (He may also be the dumbest.)

He also is the author of “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy” and claims to be well known for reporting how Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, purged thousands of black Florida citizens from voter rolls before the 2000 election “thereby handing the White House to his brother George.”

Have you ever heard of that? I haven’t, here’s why – he claims to have won a record six “Project Censored” awards for reporting the news American media doesn’t want you to hear.

Oh, so that’s it. The media doesn’t want us to know about Jeb Bush’s stealing of an election from Al Gore for his brother George. That’s why you’ve never heard of Greg what’s-his-name.

The guy is nothing more than a repugnant progressive pundit who wears the title of “investigative journalist” in hopes it gives his silly ideas some credibility. It doesn’t.

BTW, if you like his stuff there’s a button on his website where you can donate. I’ll pass, thank you.

To hear Palast’s remark and the attendant cheers, CLICK HERE.

Ron Ross is the co-author of “Handbook for Citizen Journalists”.

It is possible that you can be a citizen sports reporter in your town. 

KHQA-TV, an ABC affiliate in the Keokuk, Iowa, Qunicy, Illinois, and  Hannibal, Missouri area, actively recruits citizen journalists as sports reporters. Here’s the ad from their website:

Are you interested in being a sports reporter?  

If you are a high school senior in the Tri-States, then here’s your chance to be on the side lines with KHQA Sports Reporters and help report the best local sports on “Overtime with Chris Duerr”.

To see the KHQU-TV web page, CLICK HERE.

Many local broadcast and print news operations would gladly use the services of citizen journalists to cover local sports. The difficulty is finding volunteers who will be reliable, write like a trained journalist and meet deadlines.

If you are interested, here’s what you do: Call the sports editor at the media outlet you think might want your services. Tell the editor what you can do, ask who you should talk to and set an appointment.

Before you go in for your interview, study the ways your target media company covers sports. Prepare some writing samples to take to your interview.

Be bold.  Remember, “Fortune favors the bold.” – Virgil

Ron Ross is the co-author of the only book written FOR citizen journalists, “Handbook for Citizen Journalists.”

Newsweek magazine has brought the subject of media bias to the forefront with this week’s cover photo and headline.  It features a photo of Republican congresswoman and presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann with a crazed look behind the intentionally nasty headline, “Queen of Rage.” Even the most naïve reader could not believe the article would be anything close to an evenhanded look at who Ms. Bachmann is and what she stands for.

This might surprise some journalists, but readers/ viewers are much smarter than most of them think they are. They can spot media bias a mile off even when members of the media think they are getting away with it. Here are seven transparent ways media bias is detected by readers/ viewers and what journalists can do about it.

Context: A journalist might edit down a 25-word comment into 5 words to make someone they don’t like look foolish. What to do about it: Be honest and keep quotes and themes in context.

Facts: Recently MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow played a quote by radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh which she said was “made earlier this week.”  It wasn’t. It was made over a year earlier, and it is highly likely the host knew it when she played it. What to do about it: Report the facts even if they are not as you want them to be.

Freaks and fringers: Media bias is spotted immediately when a journalist seeks out the most ridiculous representation of a subject or group they are covering. It happened many times with the media coverage of the tea party rallies as well as the Wisconsin state legislature’s battle over union issues earlier this year. What to do about it: Get your information from serious representatives and not freaks and fringers.

Lead or bury: Your bias will be established by what you lead with and what you bury or fail to report. It’s not always about what you say but what you don’t say that reveals your bias. What to do about it: Tell the whole story, not just the part you want told.

Bogus spokesman: Just because someone says they are conservative or liberal does not make them so. The con usually comes from people who claim to be conservative when they are not. Meghan McCain, Ron Reagan and journalist David Frum come to mind. What to do about it: Don’t be naïve and check credentials before assigning labels.

Headlines: Newsweek’s “Queen of Rage” headline is a glaring example of media bias but there are many, many more. The front page of The Washington Post on August 3, 2010 reads, “Va. Driver had Record of DUIs Before Fatal Crash.” The story was about a drunken illegal alien who killed a nun but the headline writer did not like the sound of that headline. What to do about it: Write honest headlines.

Photos: You can tell the bias of an editor by looking at the kinds of photos he/she selects. Newsweek’s choice of the stern Bachman photo displayed their bias. A pro-Obama editor will use a charming picture of him while an anti-Obama editor will use an unattractive photo. Once again, they may think the readers/viewers don’t know what’s happening but they do. What to do about it: Use photos that tell  the true story.

Don’t think you can sneak your bias into a story unnoticed. Your readers/viewers are smarter than you think and may even be smarter than you. Treat them with honest news coverage and recognize their intelligence. They will reward you with their loyalty and read your stuff with confidence.

If you can’t do that, admit your bias up front. Your candor will be refreshing to your readers.

Clark Kent, the mild-mannered crime reporter for the Daily Planet who often appeared as Superman, spent his career avoiding kryptonite, the radio-active element from Superman’s home planet, Krypton. Even the slightest exposure to kryptonite would drain Superman of his strength and leave him as vulnerable as any normal human being.

If you want to be a super citizen journalist and “leap tall buildings with a single bound” in your career, you too must beware of kryptonite. In your career as a citizen journalist, kryptonite can come in many dangerous and nearly invisible forms.

Beware the kryptonite of instant gratification.

Citizen journalists want to make a difference. They want to see the world informed and even changed because of their reporting – and they are impatient! They expect their feature article in a magazine, their news item picked up by a widely-read news website or their video posted on YouTube to be seen by millions to launch their career from an unknown citizen journalist to the latest version of Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein.

Problem is there is little instant gratification in being a citizen journalist. The antidote to the kryptonite of instant gratification is steady reporting, constant interviewing and ample writing. A super citizen journalist knows that it’s not what you do once in a while, but what you do every day that makes you successful.

Beware the kryptonite of fleeting innovation.

New ideas can kill you. One writer called it “the idea avalanche.” There’s no easier way to get me off track than to start brainstorming some problem or ask me to chase after some beguiling idea. I love new things, new ideas and novel techniques, but they can easily be the kryptonite that takes you away from the fundamentals of your writing career.

Anything that relentlessly distracts you from creative and productive activity must be avoided. Just today someone tweeted, “10 Ways to Get More Re-Tweets.” I almost clicked on it, but I knew it would be one more kryptonite moment that would weaken my writing agenda for the day.

Beware the kryptonite of perpetual procrastination.

“I’ll finish it tomorrow” are the words of a procrastinator. We put off things because we don’t want to do them or because we have other projects or assignments that are more pressing or more fun to do.

Writing takes time. You can’t finish a 500-word story without investing significant, uninterrupted time seated in front of your computer actually composing meaningful sentences into complete and well-ordered paragraphs resulting in a useful and readable story. Write when the words are hot. If they are not hot, write until they become hot, but don’t put it off until tomorrow. Someone once said, “Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.”

Beware the kryptonite of habitual accommodation.

Citizen journalists can suffer from the kryptonite of always saying YES when they should say no. Super-achievers and super-reporters know their limitations and when they must say “no.” You know what is important to your writing career, but you must work to keep the main thing, in fact, the main thing.

When someone asks you to do something, don’t be afraid to say, “Thank you for the opportunity, but my writing agenda for this week will not allow me to accept your offer.” Or in much simpler terms, “No.”

Beware the kryptonite of unreasonable interruption.

Things happen throughout a day to compete for your immediate attention. I used to have my email client set so whenever a new email came in a little screen would pop-up on my computer. It seemed like it always happened right in the middle of a creative moment.  Finally I shut it off and my focus improved dramatically.

When things distract you, always ask:  “Is this urgent or important?” Just because it’s urgent does not mean it is important. Think about all the totally unimportant, useless and even stupid emails, texts, telephone calls and drop-by interruptions that yank you away from doing what you do best. Those unimportant, yet seemingly urgent, interruptions are kryptonite to your high-value priorities. Resist them.

Being Superman is an important role to play in society. Being a super-reporter is also important. Clark Kent, crime reporter for the Daily Planet, knew enough to avoid kryptonite. So must you.

 SPECIAL DISCOUNT OFFER for “Handbook for Citizen Journalists” CLICK HERE, then when you click on the ADD TO CART button use the coupon code: summer2011   You will be given a $7.49 discount. Good only until August 15, 2011.

MSNBC news anchor Contessa Brewer is a trained broadcast journalist who has provided both professional and citizen journalists with a lesson on how NOT to conduct an on-air interview.

It all happened in a recent live conversation about the debt ceiling debate she had with US Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL). Instead of persisting with serious journalistic questions she mistakenly entered into an argument with Rep. Brooks that ended up embarrassing her in front of whatever tiny audience her cable network had. The most humiliating part of the interview went like this:

“Journalist” Brewer:  “You’re simplifying the issues that were on the plate of the nation at that point. I mean we were looking at going – averting a Depression at that point, everyone the Fed chairman . . .”

Rep. Brooks:  “Well I disagree that we were going into a Depression, but go ahead.”

“Journalist” Brewer:  “Do you have a degree in economics?”

Rep. Brooks:  “Yes Ma’am I do, highest honors.”

She made two mistakes: First of all she did not do her background research to effectively know her guest before the lights were on and the microphones hot. Second, she debated Rep. Brooks rather than query him.

Had she done her background study she would have known that Rep. Brooks graduated from Duke University in three years with a double major in political science and economics, with highest honors in economics. Had she known that do you think she would have asked in incredulous tone, “Do you have a degree in economics?”

Me either.

Her journalism degree should have prepared her to ask good questions and do proper background research. For sure, it did not prepare her to debate someone who earned a degree in economics “with highest honors.”

“Oooops” is the kindest thing I have to say about journalist Brewer, and thanks for the lesson on how not to conduct an interview.