BENJAMIN A. DAVIS
A LOOK INSIDE
In chapter 4 "The Perils of Plagiarism" Jayson Blair explains that trust in journalism is so important that once it is breached (as in his case) there should not be a second chance.
Chapter 2, Ads Appearing Next to Stories
Advertisers routinely rely on automated software to scour Web sites and blogs for stories that may fit the target audience of the advertisers. Often, little human interaction is involved with this selection and therefore, mistakes in ad placement can be made without the discerning editorial input of a human.
It is the responsibility of individual journalists to ensure that each ad appearing near their story does not cause a conflict of interest. The Digital Media Pyramid urges journalists to always go online to view a story after it is posted and to inspect the ads that appear next to their story. If an ad appears next to your story and it could compromise its objectivity, then it is again your responsibility to contact the editor, or sales team about the conflict.
There are also situations when the reader must ask whether the publisher intentionally placed an ad next to a story in order to satisfy an advertiser. An example appeared on Mediatakeout.com in a feature story about Kanye West allegedly giving a diamond ring to Kim Kardashian. Just above the story appeared a photo of West and Kardashian kissing. Immediately above that photo was an ad for Sylvie Diamonds.
Chapter 2, the 5W Lead
At the top of the Digital Media Pyramid, the information should be a breakdown of the Who, What, Where, When and Why – the 5W’s. The 5W’s should be written in bold text. The boldness serves to clearly separate the immediate news from all the supporting digital information to follow. This 5W lead is meant to be a quick briefing. It also takes into account the multi-tasking nature of today’s journalists and reporters who may be pulled in many directions at once and may not always be as focused as they could be. It is also a quick briefer for the readers who likely may be multi-tasking as they are reading the content.
The Digital Media Pyramid acknowledges that bloggers and reporters will engage in the cutting & pasting of information from other Web-based sources. Therefore, the Digital Media Pyramid encourages the proper use of cutting & pasting & copyright rules. These appear as the “Cut & Paste & Copyright Body.”
There is a fairly recent school of thought that tries to define how to properly cut & paste content gathered from another source. “Media curation” and “curation” are terms used to describe what is typically referred to as content aggregation.
Chapter 6, Who is a Journalist?
With the advent of digital bloggers, the question has arisen numerous times as to who is a journalist. In 2011 Nicholas Lemann, the former dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, provided a definition that includes bloggers under an umbrella of journalism entitling them to First Amendment protections.
Nicholas Lemann, Columbia.edu
Lemann supports the notion that America's founders, no doubt with Franklin’s insistence, sought to protect opinion journalism through the First Amendment.
At Columbia, Lemann acknowledges that opinion journalism is taught to students, but he adds that, "the basic construct here is that students come here because they want to be actually employed full time as journalists and the primary way to do that is by learning how to be a reporter."
Lemann said that a reporter "is someone who actively goes out and seeks information often through face-to-face interviewing."
In chapter 6 "Who is a Journalist?" original rapper Christopher Martin of "Kid N Play" explains how his friend, rapper Chuck D used rap to convey a message of hardship and injustice to the world. The chapter explains how Founding Father Benjamin Franklin also conveyed to the world a message of hardship and injustice on behalf of the colonies. Franklin and the original rappers are both opinion journalists as explained in the chapter.
Benjamin A. Davis
Assoc Prof Broadcast, Digital Journalism, Calif State Univ Northridge
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