Archive
23 Apr

From open data to open code: The Guardian launches Miso project

<p>New for your reporter toolkit is code that will allow you to make data visualizations just like <em>The Guardian</em>.</p>

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20 Apr

‘We’re all journalists now’…but are we, really?

<p>Anyone who came to last night’s forum on participatory journalism looking to be told definitively how blogging, commenting, social media and engagement have changed the craft of journalism surely left disappointed. While the panelists agreed that engaging with audiences is both beneficial and absolutely essential in a new media landscape, there were differences of opinion among them when it came to what that means for journalism. </p>

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19 Apr

Rob Ford goes to KFC, Toronto Star runs video: Is it a story?

<p>As <em>Toronto Life</em> so eloquently put it: “<a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informer/ford-focus/2012/04/19/rob-ford-kfc-video/">Rob Ford goes to KFC. That is all</a>.”</p><p>Sure, the mayor is on a diet. But did a grainy, context-free citizen-submitted video really warrant being run by a newspaper? (Especially one that has an open feud with Mayor Ford?)</p>

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19 Apr

Time to offer guidance on courtroom tweeting: McGuire and Harada

<p>Courtroom-tweeting journalists are not stenographers, at some critics say. Rather, they are thoughtful, applying journalistic standards to what they tweet and how they craft each 140-character publication. But despite this, there is little consistency in courts as to when tweeting is permissible.</p>

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19 Apr

Infographic: Social media and the news

<p>The suggestion that social media has changed the way people consume news isn't a new or revolutionary idea. But this infographic from <a href="http://www.schools.com/visuals/social-media-news.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Schools.com</a> certainly points out some general trends in social media news consumption that can be monitored. Also interesting is the assertion that online news revenue has surpassed print revenue.

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18 Apr

In publishing letters to the editor, the line between censorship and standard civil discourse

<p><em>When it comes to letters to the editor, most are fit to be printed. The odd one is not. <strong>David Swick</strong> looks at a recent instance where a letter was published saying a victim of sexual abuse could have "walked away," the ensuing reaction and the line between censorship and standard civil discourse.</em></p><p> </p><p>A letter to the editor arrives, signed by a local citizen, saying that children who are sexually assaulted could have stopped the abuse, could have walked away. What should the editor do?</p>

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18 Apr

Journalism, humanized: Remembering Randy Starkman

<p>In my first year of journalism school, I'm sure I was instructed that you don't go into this profession if you want to make friends; that good reporting depends on being ruthless, neutral and aloof.  Of course, that creed is pretentious claptrap: the relationship between a journalist and sources is between humans and has to be humane.

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17 Apr

Why the anniversary of the Charter—and with it, press freedom—is important

<p>Along with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canadians' right to freedom of the press turned 30 years old today.</p><p>But as Ivor Shapiro asked in <a href="http://j-source.ca/article/press-freedom-who-gives-damn-anyway" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a column</a> here in February: does anyone really care?</p>

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16 Apr

TechRaking highlights: ‘News is constant, and journalism should be too’

<p><em>There is technology out there that can help reporters change their practices to reflect the reality of a need for constant news coverage. This was among the themes explored at </em><em>TechRaking, a conference put on by </em><em>Google and Centre for Investigative Reporting last week. <strong>Dana Lacey</strong>, a digital journalism specialist for Canadian start-up ScribbleLive, was in California for the conference, and explains how reporters can better utilize technology to produce quality journalism. </em></p><p> </p>

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15 Apr

The impact of technology on Titanic coverage

<p>New ways of transmitting information that results in reports being spread at unprecedented speeds invariably leads to issues in verification: Sounds like a statement about 21<sup>st</sup> century social media and journalism, right?</p><p>Wrong. Well, at least in in this case. Here, I’m talking about how the story of the Titanic’s iceberg-striking ultimate fate broke, developed and spread.</p>

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