Some media stories of note for Wednesday, May 29, 2013:

Matthew Cooper, writing in The National Journal, argues that a new shield law for journalists in the U.S. is only a portion of what's needed. Unless prosecutors stop pursuing reporters, the law has little effect. This is one area where custom trumps statute, Cooper writes, and where prosecutors have options they simply don't use. Unless they desist, he says the shield law will prove ineffective at preventing journalistic chill.

Craig Silverman, writing for Poynter, identifies three key areas that would be useful for journalists (and the public) in the absence of a correction tool for Twitter. He says it's a good idea to develop an understanding of best practices and to widely distribute them. He believes there are tools to use for verification and to enable those best practices. And he argues that there is value in finding ground to cooperate in so-called breaking news.

Mashable reports (on an eMarketer report about a Brightroll study) that suggests advertising executives believe online videos are just as or even more effective than television advertising in reaching audiences. Those surveyed also believe video ads are more effective than other forms of online advertising. Research indicates that video advertising spending will grow substantially this year.

At a relatively early stage of his career, Vadim Lavrusik is articulating well the emerging nature of our craft in a voice that is nuanced and scholarly. His latest post for Mashable is a good primer on the direction of journalism as it employs social media.

First off, he says, all media will be social.

Beyond that, though, is an array of features that will in broad outline define journalism:

1. Collaborative reporting.
2. Journalists will manage communities.
3. Social media will be integrated.
4. Online curation for the time-poor.
5. Social networks will be editors.
6. Social content will be monetized.
7. Social newsrooms will feature personal brands.
8. Mobile will engage.

Greg Ferenstein has posted on Mashable a list of five services and tools that help mobile journalists "rival a fully functional news team."

They're pretty basic but useful as such:

1. Google Voice for interviewing and record-keeping.
2. Ustream for uploading and downloading video.
3. Reeldirector for video editing on the iPhone.
4. Fast fingers. These aren't software, they're yours.
5. Wordpress as a publishing tool.

Ben Parr's column, The Social Analyst, regularly delivers insightful observations on social media. His latest has four basic predictions on the Web of the future:

1. Accessible anywhere.
2. Not focused on the computer, but on the TV or car or other devices.
3. Media-centric, not text-centric.
4. Social media will be its largest component.

"In ten years, when you access the web, most of the time you spend will be to connect with your friends. Almost all of that will be on social networks and through social media. It will be the #1 reason why we ever pull out our phones, tablets, or computers," he writes.

Joshua-Michele Ross, a digital strategy executive at the Fleishman Hillard communications company, has a good post on Mashable on social media that has more than a little applicability to newsrooms.

As many extol its virtues, Ross identifies some reasonable concerns organizations should have before jumping in with both feet. They're much the same reason firms should weigh any expenditure on research: If you're not going to listen, don't do it.

Ross notes that, without the ability to act upon what you learn, there is little point. Moreover, while it seems the right thing to "join the conversation" about your entity, social media can paint a bullseye on your back.

What the customer (audience) wants to talk about is not necessarily what you can.

"Ultimately if your company is willing to take the feedback and turn it into action, then social media is a competitive game changer," he writes.

Mashable has assembled a smart guide for journalists in the social media age, and it has four basic principles:

1. Get in the game by adding social media tools to the toolbelt.
2. Turn your site into a community.
3. Become a new new journalist, meaning adopt the platforms and techniques.
4. Keep looking forward.

They're extremely common sense-filled, and nothing unusual, but for newsrooms beginning to engage.

CNN.com carries a feature involving Mashable's Pete Cashmore on the 10 Web trends to watch in the year ahead. Cashmore is one of the most worthy voices to follow online.

He elaborates on them, but in a nutshell they are:

1. Real-time ramp ups.
2. GPS-based services.
3. Augmented reality.
4. Content curation.
5. Cloud computing.
6. Internet TV and movies.
7. A convergence conundrum.
8. Social gaming.
9. Mobile payments.
10. Fame abundance, privacy scarcity.