AJR in the Classroom

Discussion questions for the October / November 2007 issue, along with suggestions for further readings on newsroom transformations, using social networking sites to help with reporting, and ethical issues to consider about undercover reporting.

Story 1: "Transforming the Architecture " |  Story 2: "Found in (My) Space"  |  Story 3: "Lying to Get the Truth" |  Story 4: "Not So Pretty"

STORY 1: "Transforming the Architecture: As newspapers struggle to survive with a heavy emphasis on the Web, bulked-up local coverage and leaner staffs, they are dramatically revamping the way newsrooms operate." By Carl Sessions Stepp  

MORE INFO FROM THE STORY:  Newspapers around the country are remaking their print newsrooms into multimedia centers fighting for survival and success. Traditional news desks are being reconstituted. Some beats are being dropped or consolidated, while local beats are being heavily emphasized. "Data desks" are being created to develop reader-searchable information of all kinds. And reporters are being trained to write short, breaking news versions of their stories for the Web, along with shooting video and collecting audio to contribute to multimedia versions. Jennifer Carroll, Gannett's vice president for new-media content, told Stepp: "This is not about moving the furniture around. It is about completely rethinking the way we are going to do journalism."

CLASS RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS AND DISCUSSION:  

  • Part of the way newsrooms are changing is to incorporate more content generated by readers, or "users." In some previously uncovered rural areas, citizens have launched their own publications online to fill the news void. (See, for instance, The Forum in Deerfield, N.H., where bylined contributors generate about 37 articles a week, and iBrattleboro.com in Brattleboro, Vt., where more than 1,500 registered users have produced close to 7,500 stories since the site's launch in 2003.) Mainstream newspapers and TV stations have also gotten into the act, incorporating blogs, photos and video from readers onto their Web sites.
    screengrab of The Politico's home page
    The Politico, launched in January, is a Web-focused company with a converged staff. It solicits reader-produced stories and live chats. Some say it may hold lessons for other newsrooms.
    For this assignment, ask students to write a research paper that discusses some specific examples in which reader-generated content is being used on traditional news sites. The student papers should include an assessment of whether those efforts have been successful --from both journalistic and business standpoints. The assessment should also include any journalistic or ethical concerns the student may have about the practice. Does accuracy, for instance, take a hit on the citizen sites? Does investigative reporting? After completing this paper, studemts should be prepared to discuss it in class.

  • Another way newsrooms are transforming is to more methodically incorporate story tips or ideas from readers, utilizing the latest technologies. "Crowdsourcing" is meant to heighten reader involvement in the newsgathering process, editors say. (See "Crowded House" in related readings below.) Ask students to write a 500- to 1,000-word summary and analysis of two efforts by the Gannett-owned News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla.: Its first crowdsourcing effort, in which editors asked readers for help in exploring home utility costs, and its "Team Watchdog" formation. Team Watchdog's 20 retirees assist reporters with research and story generation.The student papers should summarize what each of these projects has yielded, in terms of news stories and community impact. And they should analyze the positive and negative repercussions of these efforts. Do the projects raise any ethical concerns?


    • RELATED STORIES AND WEB LINKS:


    STORY 2:"Found in (My) Space: "Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are valuable sources of information for journalists." By Jason Spencer  

    MORE INFO FROM THE STORY:  Reporters are using social networking sites - where young people and adults chronicle intimate details of their lives - to add color, details, depth and personal perspectives to stories. But, cautions Brant Houston, the James L. Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Journalism at the University of Illinois: "You still have to follow the same checks. People may put something exaggerated on their MySpace pages. You still have follow-up to do."

    CLASS DISCUSSION AND ASSIGNMENT:

  • Many reporters are using social networking sites as reporting aids: to quickly background slain teen-agers and soldiers, for instance, or to track gang chatter. But others caution that you can't believe everything you read: Writers can inflate their profiles, or pretend they're someone they're not to denigrate people they don't like. Engage the class in a discussion on the pros and cons of using social networking sites to report stories. The discussion should also include cautionary words about how the students' own sites - on Facebook or MySpace, for instance - should be used carefully. Potential employers reguarly search the sites during the hiring and backgrounding process.  
  • Ask students to create a user profile for career purposes on LinkedIn -- a site regularly used by professionals (see links below to columns by Sree Sreenivasan). The teacher should do the same. Then tell them to link to each other and to you, and to other journalists they know professionally. The site should soon become a career networking tool for them.

    RELATED COLUMNS AND LINKS:


    Ken Silverstein describes in Harper's how he went undercover to get the story.

    STORY 3: "Lying to Get the Truth: A powerful article in Harper’s about lobbying in Washington reignites a long-standing debate over the ethics of undercover journalism." By Mark Lisheron

    MORE INFO FROM THE REVIEW:

    When is it OK to lie to get a story? Ken Silverstein, Washington editor of Harper's Magazine, says he was justified in going undercover as a consultant in the nonexistent "Maldon Group" to get a rare inside glimpse of what Washington lobbyists will do for sometimes unsavory clients or governments. But others, including Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz, respond that "No matter how good the story, lying to get it raises as many questions about journalists as their subjects."

     

    CLASS RESEARCH / DISCUSSION:
  • What do the Society of Professional Journalists, the Online News Association, the Radio - Television News Directors Association and other professional journalism organizations and newsrooms have to say about using deceptive practices to get a story? Ask students to research and summarize the guidelines given journalists by at least three professional organizations and three major media companies. How helpful are the guidelines? Do they draw appropriate boundaries, in the student's opinion? Why or why not? The student's summary and analysis should be included in a research paper with appropriate citations -- either endnotes or footnotes.
  • Ken Silverstein's undercover effort this year was by no means an isolated journalistic incident. Ask students to prepare some research on the ABC Food Lion case and at least two others from the last 100 years of journalism history (for more starting points, see stories linked below). Students should write a paper documenting what the reporters did, how they justified the deception, and the reporting outcome. Did the reporters' findings prompt business or government reform? If so, does that justify the efforts? The paper should include appropriate citations, and students should be prepared to discuss their findings in class.

    RELATED COLUMNS, STORIES AND REPORTS:


    STORY 4: "    Not So Pretty: TV’s emphasis on how female anchors look is an anachronism that needs to be scrapped." Column by Deborah Potter  

    MORE INFO FROM THE COLUMN:

    When CNN President Jon Klein this spring introduced two new anchors for the struggling morning news program, he described John Roberts as a "kick-ass reporter." As for Kiran Chetry: "One look at her tells you why she deserves the slot," he said. Although some things have changed, some haven't in the 35 years since Jean Enersen became the first permanent female anchor of a flagship local TV newscast. Potter notes that although local TV news staffs today are about 40 percent women, male news directors still vastly outnumber women, about 3:1. The emphasis on women's looks may be one reason so few women stay on air - and in the business -- as long as men.

    CLASS DISCUSSION / RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS:

  • Invite in a panel of female TV reporters and news directors to discuss both opportunities and pitfalls for women in TV news. To kick off the discussion, the teacher might ask them if their looks have ever helped or hindered a job prospect; if their pay is on par with male colleagues' of comparable experience and educational backgrounds; and if opportunities to advance have been the same for them as for men on their team. What else has held them back in their careers? What has helped them to advance? What advice do they have for female and male students entering the field? Ask students to each come prepared to the session with at least one question for the panel.
  • Ask students to do a research paper on women and television news, detailing their numbers as reporters, anchors and news directors since the 1960s, and also describing their influence on how and what gets covered. With the latest RTNDA/Ball State University survey showing a slight uptick in the percent of women news directors (at 26.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006), what are the expectations for the future? The paper should include either end notes or footnotes for citations. Students should be prepared to discuss their papers with the class.

    • RELATED COLUMNS, STORIES, STUDIES AND PRESS RELEASES:

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    Teachers' guide written and produced by Chris Harvey, online bureau director at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism and a former managing editor of AJR.
    First item for this issue published Oct. 15, 2007; second item published Oct. 17, 2007; third item published Oct. 20, 2007; last item published Oct. 22, 2007.

    Copyright © 2007 Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Permission is granted to freely print, for classroom use, up to 100 copies of the most up-to-date version of this document, as long as the document is not modified.