TheBusinessDesk expands with iPhone app for regional business news

Fake news report of Russian invasion causes panic in Georgia

March 16th, 2010 | 1 Comment | Posted by Judith Townend in Broadcasting, Editors' pick

English language TV station Russia Today reports:

A Georgian TV channel has caused nationwide panic with a fake news bulletin claiming Russian troops were on their way to the capital, Tbilisi – and that President Mikheil Saakashvili had been killed. Many viewers missed a short warning that the thirty-minute report was a mock-up, and rushed out onto the streets.

Hat-tip: Daniel Bennett on the Frontline Blog.

Tags: Georgia, Georgian demonstrations, Mikheil Saakashvili, Russia Today, Tbilisi

Elise Hu: Future of context at SXSW

March 16th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Events

Elise Hu has written a thorough round-up of the ‘Future of Context’ panel at the SXSW Interactive conference in Texas.

Some great thinkers in media are leading what I’ll call the ‘context movement’, a push toward giving audiences more satisfying, better understanding of the worlds in which they live instead of simply presenting ephemeral, episodic stories as journalists always have.

Panellists included:

Matt Thompson, NPR and formerly of the Knight Foundation; Jay Rosen, author of PressThink and professor at NYU; Tristan Harris, CEO/Founder of Apture.

Full post at this link…

(Hat-tip: Jay Rosen on Twitter)

Also see:

http://www.futureofcontext.com/

Tags: Jay Rosen, matt thompson, sxsw, tristan harris

#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – tracking Freedom of Information requests

March 16th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Top tips for journalists

FOI: Check out our basic guide on tracking Freedom of Information requests made by you and others relating to your patch or specialism. Tipster: Laura Oliver.

To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

Tags: Freedom of Information, tips

Channel 4 News: Embedded journalist in Helmand province

March 16th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Broadcasting, Editors' pick

Channel 4 News correspondent Alex Thomson was embedded with the Coldstream guards in Afghanistan, while they came under heavy fire from insurgents.

His film from last night’s news programme:

Yesterday Channel 4 news wrote in its evening email, Snowmail:

[The film] reveals the state of relations between the Brits and the rather hapless Afghan army – who spend much of their time shooting in the wrong direction – or arresting, then releasing a local man who may, or may not have done anything wrong.

Suddenly the troops come under heavy fire as the insurgents start shooting straight at them. Our team are pinned down with the soldiers as bullets fly overhead – even into one soldier’s head, whose helmet luckily saves him. Not much ground is won at the end of it all – but it’s a remarkable watch.

Alex Thomson was tweeting throughout his visit, via http://twitter.com/alextomo. Tweets from the battlefield had a time delay because of operations security. An example from 12 March:

(Not live) RMP shot in helmet wakes up realising he has woken up . Alive. A shd let hm keep smashed up helmet. He’s back on roof sentry.

Thomson is due to participate in this week’s video conference in Coventry: Afghanistan – are we embedding the truth? The event is due to be livestreamed on this site and the BBC College of Journalism. The Twitter tag will be #afghancov.

Tags: Afghanistan, alex thomson, BBC College of Journalism, Coventry University, military, War/Conflict

Afghanistan: are we embedding the truth?

March 15th, 2010 | 4 Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Broadcasting, Events, Journalism

Alex Thomson (Channel 4), Stuart Ramsey (Sky News) and Jonathan Marcus (BBC) have all been confirmed as speakers for this week’s conference on journalism from Afghanistan.

As previously reported on Journalism.co.uk, along with the BBC College of Journalism, we are supporting the afternoon event at Coventry University next Thursday (18 March), which asks: “Afghanistan: are we embedding the truth?”

Conference organiser John Mair said he is “delighted to be co-operating with the BBC College of Journalism – the new kid on the J block in Britain”.

“The time is long overdue to closely examine and debate the British media coverage of the Afghan war – this is the forum. Come along or follow the webcast live.”

Journalism.co.uk will livestream video and tweets from the conference from our site. For followers on Twitter, the tag will be #afghancov.

The conference will take place on Thursday 18, at 1pm – 4pm in the Humber Theatre, Coventry University.

The line-up in full, below:

Tags: Afghanistan, alex thomson, BBC College of Journalism, Coventry, Jonathan Marcus, Stuart Ramsey, War in Afghanistan

Must-read: PEJ’s annual State of the News Media report goes live

March 15th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Journalism, Online Journalism, Social media and blogging

Each year the US Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) produces a report on the State of the News Media, aggregating other reports on what has happened to news organisations during the previous 12 months and providing its own research into what lies ahead.

The 2010 report weighs in on paywalls, and why there’s still a “hill to climb”; the increasingly niche-focus of both traditional news organisations and new online-only players; and features a special report on the state of community media or citizen journalism projects.

It’s an incredibly thorough survey – featuring figures on changes in advertising spend across all sectors and analysis of news sites’ traffic figures – and is best read in full at this link.

Some highlight quotes:

Advertising:

79 per cent of those surveyed said they had never or rarely clicked on an online ad.

News content:

“When it comes to audience numbers online, traditional media content still prevails, which means the cutbacks in old media heavily impact what the public is learning through the new.”
Online news coverage is still geared towards breaking news. New technologies for live reporting can provide a less vetted version of releases/press conferences;
BUT: “While technology makes it easier for citizens to participate, it is also giving newsmakers more influence over the first impression the public receives.”
News organisations are becoming disseminators rather than gatherers of news, and becoming more reactive than proactive.

Social media:

Eventually, the news operations that develop social networking strategies and distribution mechanisms well might be able to convince advertisers that they have special access to attractive news consumers – especially those who influence the tastes of others;
Blogging, amongst news consumers, is declining in frequency;
80 per cent of links from blogs and social media sites studied are to US legacy media.

Niche news:

“Old media are trying to imagine the new smaller newsroom of the future in the relic of their old ones. New media are imagining the new newsroom from a blank slate.”
“Online, it is becoming increasingly clear, consumers are not seeking out news organisations for their full news agenda.”

More on the report’s take on niche news at this link…

Tags: Business, Communication, community media, Journalism, mass media, PEJ, PEW, project for excellence in journalism, State of the News Media, Technology/Internet, us

Independent.co.uk: Solicitor general to look into phone hacking concerns

March 15th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Journalism, Legal, Press freedom and ethics

MP Tom Watson has speculated that his question in the House of Commons last Thursday, like many other phone hacking concerns, will receive scant attention by the press.

Linking to an Independent on Sunday report, he tweeted: “yet another phone hacking story that won’t be reported anywhere else”.

And Google News shows us Watson is right so far – only the IoS appears to have picked up the solicitor general’s response to his question about the investigation of the News of the World phone hacking case.

[From Hansard: PDF at this link]

Mr. Tom Watson (West Bromwich, East) (Lab): Will my hon. and learned Friend satisfy herself that the Crown Prosecution Service has not successfully prosecuted cases on the basis of police files that were compiled using evidence illegally obtained by News of the World phone hacking?

The Solicitor-General: Yes – I am not sure that any connection has been made, but I am very well aware of the issue, and it is an issue well raised.

Further to that, the Independent on Sunday reports:

Whitehall sources said that there would not, at this stage, be a full-blown investigation into any concerns, but that the issue would be examined. A more detailed investigation would take place if substantial evidence was put forward, sources said.

According to the paper: “a spokesman for the Met said it would not be commenting on the parliamentary exchange. A News International spokesman declined to comment.”

Tags: Crown Prosecution Service, House of Commons, News International, News of the World, phone hacking, solicitor general, Tom Watson

Twenty-five new vacancies this week on the Journalism.co.uk jobs board

March 15th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by Ed Martin in Jobs

These are the latest editorial and media job opportunities from the past week on Journalism.co.uk’s jobs board:

Irish web editor/producer
Web producer with strong editorial experience and extensive knowledge of the Irish market. Short term full time contract.
Salary: DoE
miggle.co.uk
London, England
>>more

Journalist (part-time)
Newly launched online news site The Periscope Post is looking for a part-time journalist to write weekly articles on a flexible schedule.
Salary: £300 per week
Periscope Media Ltd
London, England
>>more

Content writers
Adfero is looking for talented and enthusiastic writers to join its DirectNews division in our offices in Manchester and Leeds.
Salary: £16K
Adfero
Manchester and Leeds, England
>>more

Managing editor
Silicon.com, the UK’s leading technology and business publication, is looking for a managing editor (maternity cover) to oversee comment and analysis content across the publication.
Salary: DoE
CBS Interactive
London, England
>>more

Editorial assistant
The position will involve editorial administrative duties, proofreading, some copywriting, events research, taking email and telephone enquiries and liaising with an offshore data entry team.
Salary: DoE
Science Navigation Group
London, England
>>more

Technology news editor
We are seeking a dynamic editor to lead the technology news team. This key role is responsible for running the technology news section in the magazine and online.
Salary: DoE
New Scientist
London, England
>>more

Copy editor
The position involves editing real-time news stories from Dow Jones reporters covering macroeconomics, foreign exchange and debt markets.
Salary: DoE
Dow Jones Newswires
London, England
>>more

Senior editor (permanent – full time)
The Senior Editor is responsible for all aspects of the editorial process and the writing staff for the ESPN F1 site.
Salary: DoE
ESPN F1
London, England
>>more

Expert editor for Environment and Nature section
An outstanding opportunity for an experienced individual with a flexible work schedule, as this contract role is part-time and home-based.
Salary: Negotiable
Sideways News
Home-based, United Kingdom
>>more

Assistant editor/editor
We are looking for an assistant editor/editor to work as part of the team on two magazines operating in a fast moving, constantly changing market.
Salary: DoE
Turret Group Limited
Rickmansworth, England
>>more

Reporter
Leading business technology news website ZDNet UK is looking for a Reporter to join their busy news desk on a 1 year fixed term contract.
Salary: DoE
CBS Interactive
London, England
>>more

International news editor – Supply Management Magazine
Business travel, fraud and Whitehall efficiency are among the areas you’ll be covering as the international news editor of the UK’s leading magazine and website for the purchasing profession. Oil prices and corruption are among the others.
Salary: Salary Circa £30K p.a. + Excellent Benefits
Redactive Media Group
London, England
>>more

Senior account executive
We are seeking a talented senior account executive to join our friendly team and work on a range of blue-chip accounts. For the right person this role will mean fast track career progression in a top 100 agency
Salary: DoE
William Murray Communications
London, England
>>more

Global technical support representative
Work with Bloomberg by solving customers’ hardware, software, and networking problems, showing them how they can maximize the benefits from their Bloomberg platforms.
Salary: Competitive + benefits + bonus
Bloomberg
London, England
>>more

Junior reporter
Junior reporter for Agence France-Presse (AFP) based in their South Asia bureau in New Delhi
Salary: DoE
AFP
New Delhi, India, Rest of World
>>more

News and website editor
This is an great opportunity to write and edit for a new website – SearchDataManagement.co.uk – for IT pros. We have a proven track record in the US and are investing many resources to make our UK sites successful. Apply today!
Salary: DoE
TechTarget
London, England
>>more

News reporter
Journalists keen to develop a career in business writing are needed for an established team reporting on international law and business.
Salary: DoE
Law Business Research Ltd
Notting Hill, London, England
>>more

Social issues journalists/writers/editors
ngo.media is looking to replenish our pool of exceptional self-motivated freelance journalists / writers / editors / proofreaders.
Salary: DoE
ngo.media
London, England
>>more

News sub-editor
Digital Spy is seeking a news sub-editor to sub-edit copy across the site.
Salary: DoE
Digital Spy
London, England
>>more

Online journalist for consumer website
This is a great opportunity for a successful journalist who is looking for their next step up, to work for a consumer-based comparison website writing within the personal finance and energy sectors.
Salary: C£25K
GRM Recruitment
London, England
>>more

Internship
Four week full-time internship with an established producer of entertainment guides for major cities throught the UK
Salary: Expenses paid (£50 a week)
Itchy Online
London, England
>>more

Head of branded content
We are looking for a Head of Branded Content to help us champion and develop our content offering and building a new content team.
Salary: Competitve
LBi
London, England
>>more

Content indexing data analyst
The Global Data department provides real time market data which is used by our clients to make informed investment decisions.
Salary: Competitive + benefits + bonus
Bloomberg
London, England
>>more

Reporter – Life and Pensions
Life and Pensions has a vacancy for a reporter; the role involves features and news writing on risk management issues affecting both sectors globally.
Salary: DoE
Incisive Media
London, England
>>more

Advertising sales executive – Bloomberg Market Magazine
Bloomberg Markets Magazine seeks an advertising sales executive with a strong understanding of communication planning, international readership, print advertising and online advertising.
Salary: Competitive + bens
Bloomberg
London, England
>>more

To sign up for free as a jobseeker, please go to http://www.journalism.co.uk/113/

To sign up as an advertiser, please go to http://www.journalism.co.uk/75/

Tags: Jobs, journalism jobs, media jobs, recruitment advertising, Vacancies

NYTimes.com: How Ushahidi is ‘transforming the notion of bearing witness’

March 15th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Editors' pick, Handy tools and technology, Social media and blogging

How Ushahidi, the mapping technology developed to help bloggers and citizen journalists share information about political violence in Kenya, is being used by news organisations and governments:

With every new application, Ushahidi is quietly transforming the notion of bearing witness in tragedy. For a very long time, this was done first by journalists in real time, next by victim/writers like Anne Frank and, finally, by historians. But in this instantaneous age, this kind of testimony confronts a more immediate kind: one of aggregate, average, good-enough truths.

Full story at this link…

Tags: Kenya, Mapping, ushahidi