Category: Transparency

April 9, 2014 media notes: SPJ's ethics code challenge, secret-sharing apps, and the reporter as aggregator

4/9/2014

For Wednesday, April 9, 2014, some media stories of note:

Jim Bach, writing for the American Journalism Review, examines the challenge for the Society of Professional Journalists as it tries to transform its venerable code of ethics into a more digitally relevant form. Bach focuses on earlier criticisms of the draft changes in not reflecting the communal creation of content and the shifting contexts for transparency and independence.
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Caroline O'Donovan, writing for the Nieman Journalism Lab, examines the rise of secret-sharing apps like Whisper and Secret and their value for journalists. While secret-sharing and anonymity are nothing new, O'Donovan says the new apps are tapping into a clear market need.
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Joel Achenbach, writing for the Washington Post, muses on his revelation: He is an aggregator. He writes about the value of interviews, compared to the relative lack of value in grabbing material from online research. Nothing beats reporting, he says.

January 2, 2014 media notes: transparency, surrender, leniency

1/2/2014

Here, in a new year, are some media notes for Thursday, January 2, 2014:

It has long been a truism that media do not hold themselves to the same account as they do the institutions they cover. Their need for transparency and public accountability is the subject of Erik Wemple's latest media column for the Washington Post. He surmises that, for all their criticism of the U.S. government's information-control approach, media might be even less open and would benefit from practicing what they preach.

Andrew Sullivan summons outrage and intemperate language to note the "surrender" by media to advertisers, specifically in the decision by Time Inc. to reorganize its operation and have its editors report to the business executives. The New York Times noted the move earlier this week as part of a story on Time's plan to spin off its publishing company. Sullivan concludes: "This is the way the press ends. Not with a bang, but a 'revenue opportunity.'"

The New York Times, in an editorial that describes Edward Snowden as a worthy whistleblower, urges the Obama Administration to end his vilification and find a way to encourage him to come home. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has been the source of several major stories in the last year on surveillance at home and abroad, has been living in Russia after he fled the U.S. A criminal count has been placed against him, but the Times suggests none of his disclosures has harmed U.S. intelligence. "When someone reveals that government officials have routinely and deliberately broken the law, that person should not face life in prison at the hands of the same government," the Times editorial board wrote. The Guardian, whose former columnist Glenn Greenwald worked with Snowden to divulge the surveillance secrets, has also written about the need for leniency. It said the government can exercise "moral courage" in providing clemency.

media notes 11.05.13

11/5/2013

Tuesday, November 5, 2013's media stories of note:

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post has set upon the second questionable ethical move by NBC News in a week. Earlier he chronicled a decision by NBC to develop a movie with a victimized family it covered exclusively. Now he is writing about payment to skydivers for aerial footage and interviews following a collision by two airborne small planes. The video set NBC back $100,000 and gets them a Today Show exclusive Tuesday and two weeks' worth of exclusive television coverage (print interviews are permitted under their agreement).

Is the drive for transparency distorting the ethics of media and democracy? University of Oregon scholar Stephen Ward (transparency disclosure: a former colleague) argues that the "hyperbole" of transparency is a cop-out for more formidable obligations of the craft: responsible publication and independence. Moreover, Ward argues, some important journalism is non-transparent and that transparency is not necessary for many forms of good journalism.

NYU scholar Jay Rosen rarely sets fingers to keyboard without shaking conventional wisdom and finding insights into digital media. His latest Pressthink post is the basis of a speech in Australia and it riffs on Old and New Testament media traits: Old being everyone involved, New being media as mediators in insiders and outsiders, those kinds of riffs. The New Testament's business model, which valued the protection of media, is breaking down. He isn't necessarily siding, but he is suggesting both pieces are moving toward reconciliation. Neither has a monopoly on virtue, he says, and the messiah has yet to surface.

Media outlets have raised concern about a recent 60 Minutes segment on the attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost last year in Benghazi. They've noted the central subject of the segment had different stories for the cameras and for officials. Now the Huffington Post's media writer, Michael Calderone, is reporting that the subject, British security official Dylan Davies, has admitted there are differing tales --- but that the television one (and the one in his book) are factual and that he lied to his boss about his whereabouts on the night of the attack.

media notes 09.17.13

9/17/2013

Some media stories of note for Tuesday, September 17, 2013:

Paul Farhi, writing for The Washington Post, looks at Monday's breaking coverage of the Navy Yard shootings and the initial inaccuracies among media in determining the scope of the mass murders and the gunman involved. He notes how many mistakes emanated from police sources and moved through the media without adequate verification.

Tom Rosenstiel, writing for Poynter, says transparency should replace independence as a guiding principle for journalism. Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute and co-author of a new book with Kelly McBride on journalism ethics, says there should be three elements of the transparency: show technique, approach, and engage communities.

The Guardian writes on proposed changes to libel action in Britain that will make it more affordable to launch legal proceedings against publishers and broadcasters. The media industry worries this will permit vexatious claims and chill controversial investigations. Libel proceedings are significantly more expensive in England than elsewhere (up to 100 times), and the reforms will permit the courts to reduce the fees for one party if it does not have economic means to fully participate.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is going to examine native advertising and how it can blur the line between editorial and advertising content. Jeff John Roberts, writing for paidContent, notes the FTC will stage an event in December with a range of experts to look at how such messages are presented and consumed. Earlier this year the commission imposed disclosure obligations about such sponsored content.

media notes 07.15.13

7/15/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Monday, July 15, 2013:

Glenn Greenwald, writing in The Guardian, examines the internal debate at Al Jazeera as it approaches its American launch. The news organization has to choose whether it should change its tone to suit a U.S. audience. He reports that within the organization there is considerable concern that its editorial mission is being rearranged to make Al Jazeera friendlier to America.

Rick Edmonds, writing for Poynter, looks at what news organizations are learning as they implement online paywalls. In many instances companies are finding they stimulate revenue without much risking print sales, traffic or advertising.
He asserts that practices are emerging to provide optimism in the industry.

Anthony Loewenstein, writing for The Guardian's Comment is Free, argues everyone is subjective and that personal transparency about voting intentions and practices should be part of the deal for journalists. A commitment to fairness and balance is insufficient, he says. Instead, a fully transparent media would help restore trust in journalism.

Alan Mutter, in his latest Reflections of a Newsosaur post, further explores a recent Reuters Institute study on news consumption. He pursues a different line in his reporting to demonstrate that older people (those over 55) are part of "sweeping" shifts in consumer behaviour. The study indicates all age groups now choose online over print to consume media, and that publishers' beliefs that older audiences were still aligned with them might be misguided.

media notes 05.08.13

5/8/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Wednesday, May 8, 2013:

Josh Stenberg, a former newspaper advertising executive, writes an insiderish account for Digiday on why many newspapers are struggling. He writes of the "blind and bold arrogance" that resists digital change, the oversized ad departments that haven't separated remnant accounts from golden opportunities, the emerging role of messaging and planning that newspapers will be used for by advertisers, the mistake of looking for a single solution, and his assertion that paywalls won't work.

Frustrated about the vulnerability of your online activity? The MIT Technology Review notes that a U.S. government lab has been operating a "quantum Internet" for about two years that sends secure messages between two points using a hub that converts the content and makes it technically impossible to eavesdrop. "The idea is that messages to the hub rely on the usual level of quantum security," the site's physics blog writes. "However, once at the hub, they are converted to conventional classical bits and then reconverted into quantum bits to be sent on the second leg of their journey. So as long as the hub is secure, then the network should also be secure."

Roy Peter Clark, in a piece for Poynter, argues that sometimes there can be too much transparency in the journalistic narrative. He asserts that translucence, the balance between transparency and opacity, is a much more optimal result in many cases because it achieves authenticity while preserving the good reading experience. That said, he also knows that for certain straight news or investigative work, where the writing is less important than the reporting, transparency is much more important.

media notes 24.04.13

4/24/2013

Media stories of note for Wednesday, April 24, 2013:

Churnalism US is a new tool to help determine if journalism has been heavily borrowed from other sources. It is a joint project of the Sunlight Foundation (which reports on it here) and the Media Standards Trust. It works by pasting a URL or text into the site, which then patrols the web for similar content. Last week, for instance, it determined that a prematurely published obituary had borrowed heavily from a Wikipedia entry.

ESPN has a new ombudsman starting June 1. Robert Lipsyte has been one of sports journalism's most ardent critics over decades. The New Republic looks at his career and his outlook in the new role. Lipsyte replaces what had been a team-ombudsman approach at ESPN, which was using Poynter to help resolve public complaint issues.

Last week's British journalism conference, news:rewired, featured a session on media standards and ethics in the digital age. It produced a five-point guide that emphasizes accuracy over speed, stronger transparency on process, constant addition of value as stories are linked and shared, a commitment to corrections, and a strategy for trolls.

Poynter: Narrative journalists question standards on The New Yorker investigative story

8/11/2011

The recent New Yorker story on the plan to kill Osama bin Laden has drawn some criticism because the reporter never talked to any of the Navy SEALS who invaded the Pakistan compound and killed the Al-Qaeda leader.

The narrative technique has spurred journalistic debate about the authenticity of the account and presentation, in particular its vague attribution. One concern, not shared by all in the craft, was that the piece did not sufficiently explain to readers that the SEALS themselves were not interviewed, even though the piece said it was depending on their "recollections."

Poynter's Mallary Jean Tenore has weighed in with an article featuring narrative and ethics leaders examining the method and delivery of the story. While all believe the story was important and well-told, some indicate the standard of the piece could have been improved with some transparency. Others concluded that the piece has broadened the territory for narrative journalism.

Xark: On journalistic transparency instead of objectivity

8/10/2011

Dan Conover's Xark blog is among the most interesting on the evolution of media, and his latest writing is on the recent debate about shifting from a journalistic model of objectivity to one of transparency.

In the FAQ-style post, he notes that people don't accept the notion of objectivity and that, besides, it hasn't worked at informing or educating all that well. A transparent model might make smaller claims to credibility, but would be on firmer and more authoritative ground, he argues.

In this new model, he suggests individuals or organizations make accessible information about their influences. They might be political or economic or social, and they might even include attitudes or a personal manifesto.

Which does not mean a writer gets to inject opinion, Conover says. Rather, the transparency about influences helps bolster credibility of the writer to let the audience know about that writer's authority.

He also argues for greater transparency in decision-making overall, including transparency about editorial choices for the public to see. While it might require transitional stress to get to the new model, he concludes it yields a superior result.

What do you think?