2. Old New
Had to own printing
press/TV station to
publish content.
Media decides what’s
heard.
No other outlet.
Much more
information being
published.
Somebody still has to
aggregate it/make
sense of it.
Push it out to the
masses at times.
History
6. What to report
Report what you know on topical websites.
It has to be accurate.
It has to be your content. You have to have the right
to distribute it!
Reporting tips:
How do you know something? (Good question to ask)
Are you sure?
Ask questions if you are unsure. (Car accident, example)
Remember: Content has your name or organization’s
name attached to it!
7. Why?
Products may pick bits and pieces.
May contact you for more.
Topical communities
might be interested.
Reporters may grab your
content for a larger story.
Most importantly:
Share your expertise/
knowledge/commentary/analysis with the
community!
8. A good rule
If you observe it, report it. But don’t assume you can
interpret everything you see correctly.
Let’s do an exercise to put this into context.
Try to apply the exercise to something that you
might file.
9. An exercise
What to report
A person calls the station to say that there were threats of a shooting at the
local high school. The caller says he’s confirmed this through several tweets
back and forth with his friends. (You do not know the caller.)
An intern across the room just reported that police were talking about
something similar earlier.
A journalist heads to the school.
Once there, he hears a loud bang. Kids are starting to run out of the school.
Lots of screaming. An adult, possibly a teacher, steps out of an entry way
and loudly calls out to the kids: “Everyone huddle behind the dumpsters by
Wal-Mart.”
One kid stops near you and screams: “I’m scared.”
You ask: “What happened?”
Kid: “Somebody was shot. Didn’t you hear the gunshot?”
Kid runs off.
Police are getting to the scene. A SWAT team arrives.
A voice over the police scanner says: “Two students dead inside. Backup
needed NOW NOW NOW.”
