Charles Fletcher, “a former Sky News correspondent, involved in the setting up of a radio station in South Queensferry, has been appointed chair of the media ethics charity, MediaWise,” AllMediaScotland.com reports.
From 9.30am (GMT) @journalism_live will be interviewing @RuthBarnett, Twitter correspondent for Sky News, about her new job. Follow the conversation here, and please drop in your own questions with the tag #SkyRB. After 30 minutes answering questions from @journalism_live she will answer the questions from the ‘audience’.
Update: and here’s how it went. The live updated stream has now been replaced by the conversation that took place (slight changes for ease of reading):
journalism_live: @ruthbarnett to be interviewed via Twitter and @journalism_live shortly…
RuthBarnett: #skyRB Hi I’m here and ready to go!
journalism_live: Morning @ruthbarnett! Thanks for finding time in your Twitter day. Followers – please tag yr Qs #SkyRB and she’ll take them after 30 mins
journalism_live: @ruthbarnett Firstly: You’re ‘really’ a Twitter correspondent for Sky News: is that the actual job title on the business card?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live I still have my old business cards which say multimedia producer! But it would be cool to get Twitter ones.
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett so what does yr day involve? You must do other stuff, as well as scan Twitter all day?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live Yup I look for stories, write things up for skynews.com, live tweet from events eg Google launch, do some TV
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett How did it get suggested? Was it your idea?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live Its really the brainchild of news ed @jongrip but it followed conversations we’d had about Twitter, new media etc
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett There’s been a lot of online attention about yr appt: do people ‘get’ what you’re doing?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live I think most people do. Its about being part of the conversation – listening and responding. Coverage was a shock!
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett yes, you’re enjoying Twitter fame! so, how’s the first week gone: what have you done?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live I’ve made my first two TV appearances, written stories for online, let followers give their views on stories + more
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett not bad! any really good scoops sourced via Twitter yet?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live We were v quick off the mark on the London fire and pix. Also people have been in touch about their real lives
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett Interesting – how does it shift dynamics of your relationship with users and viewers?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live eg this story today www.tinyurl.com/tillygeorge came from a tweet.
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live I hope it makes us easier to approach, you can give feedback to us v quickly, its a genuine interaction.
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett There’s so much noise on Twitter – are you able to filter out the bad stuff and find the gems?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live Yeah I hope so. And people are quick to let me know if they think I’ve missed something which is useful!
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett well we cd go on but we’ll open to the floor…. Any questions for the professional Twitterer?
journalism_live: @ruthbarnett maybe start with a Q from @1DimensionalMan: What do you think of the idea of a premium version of Twitter? Its impact?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live I thought that had been outed as a hoax this week? I may be wrong. I’m not sure it would work to be honest
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live It would change the way the community worked and perhaps people would move to another service? What do you think?
journalismnews: @ruthbarnett is now taking questions from the Twitter masses: what do you want to ask about Sky News use of Twitter?
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live @PoppyVix asked if I also look for stories as well as tweet. Yes – from breaking news to interesting quirky stories
hfitz: @journalism_live What do you think of PR people using Twitter? Is it intrusive or do you encourage it?
RuthBarnett: @hfitz If they do it in an open way it can be useful. But people will unfollow if they just push their product, no?
NewspaperWorld: @ruthbarnett has there been an increase in readers accessing sky news since twitter?
RuthBarnett: @NewspaperWorld Too early for me to comment on that but I believe we are reaching out to new readers which is great.
Partois: @ruthbarnett Twitter still appears to be a North American fad. Can it really take off in Europe?
RuthBarnett: @Partois Its true many users seem to be from the US but anecdotally I think its really growing in the UK
makemusicnotwar: @ruthbarnett Some say you dnt need a “twitter correspondent”. Shouldn’t all skynews journos just use twitter to hunt for stories etc?
RuthBarnett: @makemusicnotwar Colleagues do! But useful to have one point of contact & give that person time to invest in it
RuthBarnett: Any more questions you’d like to ask? Thanks for all sent so far, interesting to hear what you’re curious about #skyRB
GoooRooo: @ruthbarnett if I @ you can you sort out my rubbish Sky customer service?
RuthBarnett: @GoooRooo Don’t think so I’m afraid. Surprised to hear that as I’ve always had a good experience and fast response
NewspaperWorld: @ruthbarnett could you further explain the benefits of having one twitter correspondent instead of many journalists on twit?
RuthBarnett: @NewspaperWorld Sure. Helps you know who to contact. Means we one person delve deeper, devote more time, + interact
NewspaperWorld: @ruthbarnett Thanks. What do you think of interviews on twitter? effective?
RuthBarnett: @NewspaperWorld Yes because its quick and simple and reaches more people. It’s been an interesting experience.
makemusicnotwar: @RuthBarnett Has having a journo devoted to twitter paid off? Hav u found stories, involved users & done things your colleagues cudnt?
RuthBarnett: @makemusicnotwar Yes I hope so. But I’m only five days in! Will always listen to how I can do better.
makemusicnotwar: @RuthBarnett Thanks. It’s been very interesting to hear from you. I will be following your progress with great interest.
RuthBarnett: @journalism_live Thanks Jude at Journalism.co.uk for hosting today.
journalism_live: @RuthBarnett our pleasure! Thanks for your time. Happy Tweeting and speak again soon…
Ruth Barnett has caused a bit of a stir in online news with her new job: as Sky News’s Twitter correspondent.
Using her Twitter account, @RuthBarnett, Barnett sources news stories on Twitter and feeds them back to the Sky News team.
Tomorrow, Journalism.co.uk will interview @RuthBarnett via @journalism_live, our event and live-interviewing Twitter account. From 9.30 am – 10.30 am she will answer questions using the hashtag #SkyRB.
It will be the end of her first week in the role and she’ll be telling us all about her new job: why, how and what.
Please pitch in with your own questions via Twitter, labelling them #SkyRB and she will answer them after the first 30 minutes of the interview with @journalism_live.
We’ll also be streaming the conversation here on the blog.
Today is the MediaGuardian’s Changing Media Summit 2009. You can find the programme at this link.
There are a few Twitterers about – possibly including the event’s chair @ruskin147 aka BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones although he lost out on his Twitter hashtag of choice.
#GCM has been shunned for #changingmedia. You can follow tweets via @journalism_live.
The European Journalism Centre is trying CoverItLive for the first time:
visit the conversation here, at this link.
Twitter conversation tracked here. Follow this post with no need for refresh…
Pop back here at 7pm for a livestream of the Colin Freeman event at the Frontline Club.
From the Frontline website: “Colin Freeman, who was kidnapped in Somalia in November 2008 and held for six weeks, is at the club tonight to discuss his experience and the future for the ‘failed state’ in the Horn of Africa. He’s joined by Mary Harper, a BBC Africa correspondent and Mike Thomson, chief foreign correspondent for the BBC Today programme.”
As Tony Burman predicted, the ‘news channel of the year’ award at last night’s Royal Television Society awards didn’t go to Al Jazeera. Instead, it went to the BBC – who did rather well on the night in several categories. Here’s the full list, with the judges’ comments:
Young Journalist of the year: Hannah Thomas-Peter – Sky News
“A combination of fantastic access and great insight has enabled our winner to help transform health coverage on Sky News.”
Nominees: Joe Crowley – Inside Out BBC South / Kate Taunton – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News
Nations and Regions Current Affairs: The Story of Michael Barnett – Inside Out BBC Yorkshire
“A powerful programme with a sure touch…with the confidence to let the story tell itself.”
Nominees: A Friend in Need – Focus ITV Meridian / Meat Hygiene – Week In Week Out Special BBC Wales
Nations and Regions News Coverage: Weston Pier Fire – The West Tonight ITV West for ITV1
“… comprehensive, engaging and professionally presented. It had outstanding pictures and a real sense of an event which affected the whole community.”
Nominees: Boris’s Deputy – Ray Lewis Investigation BBC London News / The Darwin Trial North East Tonight for ITV1
Scoop of the Year: HBOS/Lloyds TSB Merger BBC News Channel
“… indeed ‘an extraordinary exclusive’ which heralded the extraordinary changes in the British banking system.”
Nominees: China – The Moment the Earth Shook ITV News / Canoe Man – Gerard Tubb Sky News
Presenter of the Year: Jon Snow – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News
“…yet another superb year, whether it was in the studio – interrogating politicians and bankers – or out in the field – from the Middle East to the United States. One jury member said ‘he’s just brilliant. There’s nothing more to say.'”
Nominees: Kay Burley – Sky News Sky News / Andrew Neil – BBC News
News Coverage – Home: The British Banking Crisis BBC News
“The winning entry started with a scoop of the first order and followed it with reportage and explanation of the highest quality. It was without doubt the story of the year and showed BBC News at its very best.”
Nominees: Ipswich – Guilty ITV News / Heathrow Crash BBC News
News Coverage – International: Congo Crisis ITN for Channel 4 News
“Top class coverage of a consistently high standard… It was totally comprehensive, enterprising and managed brilliantly to use small individual stories to explain the bigger picture.”
Nominees: China – The Earthquake ITV News / Conflict in the Caucasus – Newsnight BBC Newsnight for BBC Two
News Channel of the Year: BBC News Channel
“The winning news channeldelivered a fantastic series of scoops on the story of the year. It was a channel you had to watch to keep abreast of the breaking economic news.”
Nominees: Al Jazeera English News Al Jazeera English News / Sky News Sky News
Current Affairs – Home: Primark: On the Rack – Panorama BBC for BBC One
“… not only an engaging watch but… thorough and also went the extra mile to lay bare the whole chain from refugee camp to the High Street rail.”
Nominees: Omagh: What The Police Were Never Told – Panorama BBC for BBC One / The Secret Peacemaker BBC for BBC Two
Current Affairs – International: Undercover in Tibet – Dispatches True Vision for Channel 4 Television
“…a truly great current affairs film that sheds light on the future. Filmed just months before Tibet erupted into rioting, this extraordinarily brave programme, made at great personal risk and with much hardship, illuminated the tensions and troubles of the country, with powerful testimony and pictures.”
Nominees: Britain’s Most Wanted – This World Mentorn Media for BBC for BBC Two / Iraq’s Lost Generation – Dispatches Hardcash for Channel 4 Television
Innovative News: 10 Days to War – Newsnight BBC Newsnight for BBC Two
“The winning series harnessed everything from drama documentary to a special website to re-examine events leading to the Iraq war in 2003. The jury saw this as a brave and successful venture to capture a new and younger audience.”
Nominees: Unplugged Sky News / On The Frontline – Afghan Headcams ITV News
Specialist Journalist of the Year: Robert Peston – BBC News
“One journalist dominated this year’s specialist category. [He] owned the story of the Credit Crunch and its impact on the whole economy.”
Nominees: Faisal Islam – Channel 4 News/ Channel 4 News at Noon ITN for Channel 4 News / Jason Farrell – Five News Sky News for Five News
News Programme of the Year: BBC News at Ten BBC News for BBC One
“In a vintage year for news output, this programme shone through. The jury felt it had led the way on a wide range of major stories and the experience and quality of its leading correspondents had simply been unmatched anywhere else. It had triumphed on the big story of the year but had supported that with first-class reporting throughout.”
Nominees: Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky Sky News for Five News / News at Ten ITV News
Camera Operator of the Year: Garwen McLuckie – Sky News Sky News
“The winner’s work in Africa was fearless and showed a remarkable empathy for the problems faced by people across the continent. His story-telling was impressive and his work demonstrated immense personal bravery and the highest technical skills.”
Nominees: Raul Gallego Abellan – Associated Press Television News Associated Press Television News / Stuart Webb – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News
Television Journalist of the Year: Robert Peston – BBC News
“The winning correspondent produced probably the most sustained run of scoops and exclusives in the history of broadcast news in the UK… It would not be an exaggeration to say that a large part of the nation hung on the winner’s words every night – he personally revived appointment-to-view.”
Nominees: Martin Geissler – Africa Correspondent ITV News / Emma Hurd – Sky News Sky News
Lifetime Achievement Award: Peter Wilkinson
“This year’s winner is, for the first time, a cameraman. He is not a household name – but you will all recognise his work. Many of the defining moments of our era have been captured through his lens, and he is one of the true pioneers of his trade.”
Judges Awards: Zimbabwe News Teams
“[This year’s Judges’ Award] recognises and salutes the work of a disparate collection of journalists, cameramen, producers and others who work under the radar, who have helped the outside world to report and understand a major international story that would otherwise have remained largely hidden from view.”
Gold Medal: Stewart Purvis
“[The Gold Medal goes] to someone whose name may not be widely known by the public but who has influenced, directly or indirectly, virtually everything we’ve seen on screen tonight. He is, without doubt, one of the makers of modern television news.
This morning Al Jazeera English’s managing director, Tony Burman, held a breakfast meeting in London and invited journalists along to ask about latest developments at the channel.
Burman is in town for tonight’s Royal Television Society Awards (2007/8), for which the channel has been nominated for the ‘News Channel of the Year’ award – and it’s up against BBC and Sky.
Burman was, however, not overly optimistic and said that he thought it would be the BBC’s win. However, “next year will be the Gaza year and we will be here again,” he told the group. We’ll report back with an update tomorrow.
Burman’s message was clear: the channel is increasingly strengthening its reputation (that includes within the US, he said) and he emphasised that the fact it broadcasts to nearly 140 million households, after two years on air (it launched in November 2006) was a feat he considered very impressive. Getting Al Jazeera onto the satellite and cable networks in North America is a priority, he said.
The real topic of the morning was the crisis in Gaza: the two correspondents, Ayman Mohyeldin and Sherine Tadros, who had been on the ground prior, and during the 22 day conflict were also there to answer questions.
It was again confirmed that Al Jazeera English was the only English-language broadcaster to report from the Gaza strip before the press ban was lifted (see a previous interview with the channel’s head of new media, Mohamed Nanabnay).
So, here a few of the things that were discussed. Journalism.co.uk will be following up in more detail on these and other points raised, in due course.
Gaza:
Tony Burman said that ‘coverage was really very comprehensive’ and that the reaction to the channel’s output ‘was a reminder that there is a hunger in the world, to get a sense of what is going on’.
The Al Jazeera site had, at times, seen a 600 per cent increase in traffic during Gaza coverage, he said.
Because Israeli, as well as other international media couldn’t access the area either during parts of the conflict, Al Jazeera was watched by a bigger Israeli audience too, he said.
Sherine Tadros, who said it was just ‘chance’ that she ended up reporting from the ground (she is normally the Jerusalem correspondent) said that ‘everything was a risk’. ‘There was no green zone,’ she added. She ‘wasn’t meant to be there’ she joked.
Tadros was asked to go and do a feature from the region before the media clamp-down became apparent, and she hadn’t even packed clothes to take, thinking that her stay would be brief.
To be the only English channel on the ground could be a ‘one-off experience’ during her career, she said. While she thrived on being part of the only English-language media team on the ground – ‘everything we did was exclusive’ – Tadros was aware of the responsibility to cover as much as possible for an English speaking audience.
There was no way they could go away and ‘Google’ for additional information, for example, she said. All the information from the ground had to be gathered by themselves directly. While Tadros said she was already quite familiar with the region, she also had to adapt very quickly to the surroundings and context, she said.
Ayman Mohyeldin described how other international broadcasters were eager to use their material and how he did then feed back to US networks. One of the main differences between the Arabic and English coverage was the level of detail in the reports, he said.
Reports can’t assume context for an English-language audience, whereas an Arab audience has grown up very aware of 60 years of history, he said. As a result, English coverage must supply more detail and background. So while the English and Arabic channels worked closely via multimedia channels (there is a joint new media team) and shared information and sources in their newsrooms, the output can vary.
The style of English reporting is also different, Tadros added. Whereas an Arabic channel might do one hour of footage inside a hospital, that wouldn’t be something they would necessarily do on the English channel.
Expanding into Africa:
With a good presence in Nairobi, Zimbabwe and Johannesburg they’re keen to meet the needs of a ‘growing’ African audience, Burman said.
In regards to whether a full bureau would be opening in Nairobi (to add to bureaux in Washington, Doha, London and Kuala Lumpur), Burman was hesitant. In the current economic climate he ‘can’t talk about expansion,’ he said. For now, little is being said about big investments he explained, adding that Africa is a very important region for them and more correspondents would be added around the continent.
AP reports that Joe the Plummer, the man from Ohio who became a ‘household name’ during the US presidential campaign, says he is heading to Israel as a war correspondent for the conservative Web site pjtv.com. Full story…
Reuters’ Second Life correspondent Adam Reuters a.k.a. Adam Pasick has been pulled from his virtual world beat.
There’s a live video from the Free Media conference at the Norwegian Institute of Journalism in Fredrikstad today, courtesy of Journalisten.no.
You can’t rewind the video but you could opt in at the points you want to (Norwegian time is one hour ahead UK time).
Thursday November 6
10.00
Welcome: Trine Østlyngen, director, The Norwegian Institute of Journalism
Opening remarks: Håkon Gulbrandsen, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
10.15
Strengthening media in the developing world – what does it take to ensure access for people living in poverty? Stephen King, director, BBC World Service Trust
11.15
The Muhammad Cartoons – an imagined clash of civilizations?
Opening remarks: Why I published – and how do I reflect upon my decision today? Flemming Rose, cultural editor, Jyllands-Posten
Panel discussion The caricatures as seen by the press around the world. Presentation of the new anthology summarizing the Muhammad cartoons controversy in several countries with Rose, Elisabeth Eide, researcher at Culcom, University of Oslo, and Risto Kunelius, professor and director of the journalism program at the University of Tampere, Finland
Moderator: Journalist and author Solveig Steien
14.00
Caucasus burning: The need for a free and independent media – and how to develop it? Danish SCOOP with support from International Media Support has started a program to help train journalists and develop media infrastructure in the Caucasus. The first national seminars were held last month in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. With Antti Kuusi, country coordinator, International Media Support; editor Boris Navasardian, Yerevan Press Club; and former Russia-correspondent Arne Egil Tønset, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, who recently returned from a journey in the region. Moderator: Aage Borchgrevink , writer and advisor at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee
16.00
A Cameroonian journalist in exile: Philip Njaru and Jan Gunnar Furuly, SKUP/GIJC
Friday November 7
09.00
A thousand words – the camera as a tool. Well-known Iranian photographer Reza presents his “100 photos for press freedom”
09.45
Safety for journalists. A global overview. Sarah de Jong, Deputy Director and Project Manager INSI (International News Safety Institute).
10.30
Conflict-ridden Colombia: The role of the media
A journalist’s perspective: From death threats to a life in exile – reflections from Maria Cristina Caballero
Followed by a panel discussion where Jan Egeland, former UN Under-secretary general and the secretary general’s special adviser on Colombia, and NRK-journalist Sigrun Slapgard, will join. Moderator: Journalist and former Latin-America- correspondentHaakon Børde
11.30
Closing speech: Former presidential candidate and FARC-hostage Ingrid Betancourt