Journalism.co.uk Editors' Blog » Amsterdam

Channel 4 News sources interviewee via Twitter for the first time

Judith Townend — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:22:11 +0000

Channel 4 News sourced an interview via Twitter today for the first time. Over the last few months the channel has increased its level of communication with users and viewers via its @channel4news Twitter account and presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s own, @krishgm.

After setting up an interview with someone sending Twitter updates from the airport at which an aeroplane crashed in Amsterdam, Guru-Murthy tweeted “It’s just another way of finding people and talking. ‘Twitizen journalism’ is a rather dressy way of describing it I think.”

It’s ‘just a new medium,’ he later added.

This update comes from the news team:

“We got to a good eyewitness at the airport today via Twitter – then a phono. He described the plane ‘in three pieces at least’ and that there wasn’t any visible smoke and gave us good detail – see below on hearing the plane coming down and seeing over 50 ambulances, and possible survivors walking from the wreckage:

“An eyewitness – Jonathan Nip [@nipp] – talking to Channel 4 News initially via Twitter and then on the phone also described the moment the plane came down as a “low thump” saying he thought there had been ‘an earthquake’.

“He added that he thought he saw ‘just after the crash, people coming out of the plane’ but that it was ‘really hard to distinguish’, however adding: ‘at the same time a lot of ambulances came and a lot of emergency helicopters so that implies there are at least some survivors’ although he said ‘it looks really bad in any case’.

“Saying that he thought the speed of the response meant that the ‘rescue operation is being done really well…’ he described seeing ‘a lot of ambulances, I am talking about over 50 ambulances, even emergency helicopters, normal helicopters, a lot of police, firemen, huge fire trucks immediately after crash’.”

Background: A Turkish airline passenger flight crashed in Amsterdam today and broke into several pieces, resulting in an unconfirmed number of casualties: latest update here.

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Reflections on Blog08 and ideas for next year’s event

Judith Townend — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:33:18 +0000

So the brief day that was Blog08 is over and our blogging reporter, Anne Helmond, is back home. She rounds up over on her own blog, with a few after-thoughts. She also rounds up a presentation by a blogging politician, Boris van der Ham, who has been voted the most web savvy of Dutch House of Representatives members.

She says:

“Overall, it was a good first blog conference and I hope that next time organizers Ernst-Jan Pfauth and Edial Dekker will keep in mind that not every great blogger is a great speaker and that blogging can be approached from even more different angles and perspectives.”

Thanks to Anne for all the insightful and speedy feedback.

Meanwhile, over at the Online Journalism Blog, Paul Bradshaw – who participated in a panel – does a little piece to camera reflecting on the day’s events:

The event was ‘eclectic and random’, he says – just like blogging, but can we please get past the ‘old chestnut’ question of ‘journalism v blogging’? he asks. You can also watch some other video clips here.

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Blog08: Pictures from the blogging hearth

Judith Townend — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:45:16 +0000

As written about earlier today, panelists at Blog08 discussed ‘Journalism versus hearth blogging’… and here’s how it looked. You can follow Anne Helmond’s full Flickr stream here. PS. We’re not sure if it is hearth or heart (see below). We think hearth…

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Our blogger on the ground at Blog08

Judith Townend — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:31:04 +0000

Anne Helmond will be blogging back from Blog08 for us, with a focus on the online journalism aspects.

You’ll be able to follow Anne’s updates on this blog, or directly at this tag.

Blog08 is a one day only event/conference for all things blog, taking place in Amsterdam with the rather exciting theme of ‘Rockstars of the Web’.

Anne Helmond is a New Media lecturer at the Mediastudies department at the University of Amsterdam.

Her thesis entitled ‘Blogging for Engines. Blogs under the Influence of Software-Engine Relations’ aims to contribute to the existing research on blogs and blogging by framing it from a software-engine perspective and describing a different role of the blogger in this relationship.

She continues her research on blogs and blogging with the Digital Methods Initiative at the University of Amsterdam. She blogs at annehelmond.nl.

The not entirely serious video below gives a glimpse of what is in store…
Blog08 Special II from Sacha Post on Vimeo.

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Little will be keynote speaker at the World Digital Publishing Conference

Judith Townend — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:25:42 +0000

And while we’re on the theme of digital conferences in Amsterdam, news comes that the Guardian News & Media’s special adviser, Caroline Little, will be the keynote speaker at the annual World Digital Publishing Conference & Expo, to be held October 15-16.

Little was previously behind the Washington Post and Newsweek Interactive’s growth online, as their chief executive officer and publisher. She now advises the Guardian as it expands its online presence in the US.

Other speakers at the conference will include Ilicco Elia, head of mobile Europe for Thomson Reuters, Gary Clarke, director of business development for Amazon Kindle, and Frédéric Sitterlé, new media director for Le Figaro in France.

Organisers say that there are still places available at the conference.

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Digi bears’ picnic: live streaming from Amsterdam

Judith Townend — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:02:14 +0000

Get your rugs out in the office, today’s the first day of PICNIC 08, the ‘cross media bonanza’ in Amsterdam, from 24-26 September. This year’s theme is ‘Collaborative Creativity’.

The speakers’ line-up is eclectic, and includes people such as Kara Swisher, co-executive editor of AllThingsDigital, Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of globalvoicesonline.org, and Genevieve Bell, anthropologist for the Intel Corporation.

For those who have to munch their jam sandwiches on their own and can’t get to the Netherlands, follow online. There are RFID games, online social networking, a mobile application, a widget, a live feed, live report aggregated content, and blog, all available from the main site.

Live streaming can be followed throughout the three days.

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