This document discusses news curation as a form of journalism. It defines news curation and differentiates it from traditional journalism. Both arguments for and against news curation as a journalistic practice are presented. Best practices for ethical news curation are outlined, including properly attributing sources and adding original value. The role of news curators as network gatekeepers is explored through media theory. Legal issues around news curation are still developing as court cases progress. Overall, the document aims to educate on news curation while encouraging thoughtful consideration of related ethical issues.

1. News Curation as Journalism,
Ethics and New Practices

2. What to take home from this presentation
• Learn how news curation is different from traditional
journalism.
• Learn tools and skills available.
• Think about the legal and ethical issues.
• Learn the related media theory and predict.
• Think about the question if professionals need to do it.

3. What is the difference between
traditional media vs. new media?
• Print vs. Digital?
• Print vs. Multimedia?
• Mainstream media vs. Alternative media?
• Professional vs. Citizen?
• Old company vs. New company?
• Dinosaurs vs. Mammals?

4. A clip from the movie, “Page One, Inside the New York Times,”
Two journalists debate on the motion of “good riddance to the
mainstream media.”
David Carr, New York Times media
writer
Michel Wolff, Founder of Newser

6. What is news curation?
.
Different names of news curators
-information manager, news DJ,
human filter.
“We are bringing together
information from lots of different
places. We read it, edit it,
organize it and present to people,
and then give them more
information of how they can find
out more.” (Michael Randle,
Huffington post)

7. Arguments against curation journalism: Curation
was once a ‘dirty word’.
• A journalism professor said in an
interview: “Teaching news curation in
J-school is like teaching pick pocketing
in police academy.”
• Bill Keller, former editor of the New
York Times, wrote: “There’s often a thin
line between aggregation and theft…In
Somalia, this would be called piracy.”
• Patrick Pexton, Washington Post
ombudsman, wrote: “a perpetual danger
of plagiarism in curated stories.”

8. Arguments for curation journalism
Why journalists should do news curation?
1. Information overload and fragmented public (market).
2. Transcend physical barrier of time and space.
3. Ease of publication and outreach.
4. Theoretical argument: a new role of network gatekeeping
5. Legal uncertainty
6. Because objectivity and accuracy still matters.
I will give examples one by one…

9. Argument 1: Information overload and
fragmented public.
-The rise of witness journalism (Jeff
Jarvis, 2011).
-Too much information for news
organizations to handle.
-On the other hand, the public’s demand
of information has become diverse and
specific.
-Two cases of Occupy Wall Street
movement coverage. Link1 link 2

10. Argument 2: Transcend physical barrier of
time and space.
-Strength in long distance
coverage
-NPR’s Andy Carvin is
celebrated for his coverage of the
Arab Spring through Twitter.
-Washington post curated tweets
of the man who first reported the
killing of Osama bin Laden. Link

11. Argument 3: Ease of publication and outreach.
• Cover popular memes from
various angles. CBC News in
Canada curated stories about
Gangnam Style in its early stage.
Link
• Summarize a long and complex
story in a narrative style.
Globalpost’s curated story about
Edward Snowden. Link

12. Argument 4: New role of network gatekeeping
Barzilai‐Nahon, K. (2008). Toward a theory of network gatekeeping: A
framework for exploring information control. Journal of the American society for
information science and technology, 59(9), 1493-1512.
Traditional Gatekeeping Network Gatekeeping
Gatekeeper Journalists Journalists, citizens,
aggregators or bloggers.
Gatekeeping
system
Closed.
Inside media.
Open.
Outside media.
Definition of
News
Final product. Ongoing process.
Gatekeeping continues after
publishing the news.
Relationship
to the
audience
Sender and receiver are
differentiated.
No distinction between
sender and receiver.
News value Originality matters. Link matters.
Power Gatekeeper has power. Power is evenly distributed
between sender and receiver.
Credibility
source
Gatekeeper’s authority. Number of links.
Responsibility Gatekeeper is held
responsible for editing,
producing and distributing.
Gatekeeper can be
anonymous. Difficult to
claim responsibility.

13. Argument 5: Legal uncertainty, case laws are in still
developing.
Two legal grounds:
 Copyright and Fairness use
 Hot news misappropriation doctrine
Cases:
 AFP v. Google News (2002)
 AP v. All Headline News (2005)
Legal issues of curation will be continued to be fought in the courts.

14. •No news without traditional media?
•Can news curation be ethical? How?

15. Best practice of news curation (based on Berkman Center for
Internet and Society)
1. Prominently identify the source. Always link to the original source,
not only to the story, but authors’ bio and brand. Always include
clear attribution.
2. Minimalism. Reproduce only those portions of the headline or
article that are necessary to make your point or to identify the story.
3. Add value to the material.
4. Verify. Do not copy information from unknown or unreliable
sources.

16. How to add values to curated story
• Add original reporting.
• Data analysis
• Commentary/analysis
• Find and filter
• Compare and round up

17. I endorse principle of reciprocity (e.g., Martin, 2014)
• Recall what Keller said: “…we have bestowed our highest honor —
market valuation — not on those who labor over the making of
original journalism but on aggregation….harvesting revenue that
might otherwise be directed to the originators of the material.”
• We have to ask:
-“How does your curation affect the original source?”
-“Would news curation destabilize or stabilize a balanced flow of
information?”

18. •Should professional journalists do news
curation?
•Should we learn news curation in school?

19. Argument 6: Verification, it’s journalist’s job.
• Gay girl in Damascus

20. Minerva of South Korea

21. Content curation PR marketing
• Focus on target market
• Industry news and insights
• Connect interactively with
industry leaders
• Competitive monitoring
According to Curata, “enlightened” marketers use a content
marketing mix that includes 25% curated content in 2013.

22. Conclusion
• Curation can be a process of distinguishing good information from
noise.
• Old principles still matter: Objectivity and follow-up.
• Relate curation to media theories learned in other classes. Ex)
social responsibility model, opinion leader and two-step flow of
communication.
• Think about innovative ways of ethical curation. Ex) Curator’s
Code (Popova, 2012).

23. In the first stage, we explore our interest in news.
• Lifestyle (food, fashion..)
• Politics
• Sports
• Entertainment
• International
• Activism (environment, anti-poverty, LGBT…)
* In this stage, we do not do reporting, we curate stories with the
software Storify

24. How news curation project is graded
(2 stories, 50 points each, 100 points)
1. Newsworthiness 10 (Be reminded that lifestyle stories such as
restaurant reviews will also considered newsworthy).
2. Comment, headline & writing 10
3. Diversity of sources 20
-At least three tweets
-More than one video (Youtube)
-Other online source such as website, news article, facebook…
4. Overall added value 5 (see slide)
5. Focus 5