The Telegraph’s Kate Day looks at a case in California: a student journalist in was granted the legal protection given to professional journalists when a judge overturned a police search warrant.
That prompts Day to ask: “When it comes to the right to refuse to disclose information, why is that the preserve of journalists? Surely in a free society we all have the right to remain silent?”
Nuria Leon, a journalist and postgraduate student at the University of Westminster, recently demanded an explanation from BBC director-general Mark Thompson regarding the lack of varied BBC news content from Latin America. You can listen to the encounter here.
Now she needs journalists’ help: for her MA dissertation in media management she wants to find out what journalists think about coverage of Latin America in the UK. [NB: Latin American countries listed here, and UN information on the Americas here.]
So, if you think there is a hole in English-language reportage from that part of the world, please help her out. Here are her questions. Please leave your thoughts below, or email her directly: n.leon at my.westminster.ac.uk.
Twitter got a big mention in Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger’s ‘Journalism Matters’ speech last night. Repeating his ‘future of newspaper’ Twitter recommendations made in Berlin in April (@amonck, @niemanlab, @jeffjarvis and @cshirky) he praised the way it could be used as a personalised filter for information consumption.
He used Guardian technology writer Jemima Kiss as one example of why to use it – she’s probably in labour, and twittering it, ‘as we speak’, he joked. Journalism.co.uk didn’t put its hand up to say ‘err, no – she’s already had all 10lb 6oz of it’ (we learned via Twitter, obviously).
He also mentioned @GuardianTech with its impressive 900,000+ followers, and showed how journalist Paul Lewis (@http://twitter.com/paul__lewis) had used his account to report from the G20 protests.
Before Rusbridger was reborn as @arusbridger he thought it was all a bit, well, ‘silly’, but now he’s well and truly converted. In fact he thinks all Guardian journalists should use it: “I”m trying to get everyone to twitter”. He told this to a room of newspaper journalists in Norway and they asked whether he, as editor-in-chief, would have to moderate all those tweets?…
John Mair’s report on last night’s Media Standards Trust event here, and tweets from @journalism_live, and others captured by the #journmatters tag, below.
Thanks to everyone who has commented, tweeted and emailed with their advice on writing the perfect press release – from the journalist’s point of view.
We’re doing this to create a guide for PRs, press officers and other communications professionals with no nonsense tips from those receiving the releases.
What’s been interesting from the responses so far is the degree of consensus regarding what should and shouldn’t be included.
I’d like to get your views on the following specifics too:
Leave a comment below, email me (laura [at] journalism.co.uk) or send a message to @journalismnews.
Journalism.co.uk will be reporting today’s culture, media and sport select committee meeting at this post, using CoverItLive. We’ll also send out occasional updates via our event Twitter account, @journalism_live.
Background: following reports by the Guardian newspaper that there were further allegations and evidence, previously unreported, indicating that News International journalists had repeated involvement in the use of criminal methods to get stories, the House of Commons culture select committee has begun taking new evidence. Last week it heard evidence from Nick Davies, the Guardian journalist who reported the allegations, Alan Rusbridger, editor in chief of Guardian News & Media and Tim Toulmin, director of the Press Complaints Commission.
Today the committee will hear evidence from Andy Coulson, former News of the World editor (and currently director of communications for the Conservative Party), and Stuart Kuttner, former NOTW managing editor.
The re-opened inquiry into press, standards privacy and libel by the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee will hear evidence from former News of the World editor Andy Coulson and Stuart Kuttner, former Managing Editor, News of the World.
Kick off is 10:30am (BST) – and you should be able to watch a live video stream on the parliament website.
Coulson’s involvement in the recent phone hacking allegations will be top of the bill – in particular to whether he did, or did not, know the extent of the activities at the paper.
Last week the committee heard from Nick Davies, the journalist behind the reports, and Press Complaints Commission (PCC) director Tim Toulmin, who said that while the ‘buck stops’ with the editor, Coulson has since resigned from this post.
…in a world where the crowd is increasingly filling the role of reporter.
Dan Schultz offers five suggestions all focusing on defending a journalist’s credibility:
Good round up from the Editors Weblog of the case of US blogger Shellee Hale, who may be required to reveal her anonymous sources behind comments she left on an online messageboard.
Despite offering proof of her journalistic credentials Hale’s submissions were ruled as insufficient evidence of her professional status. As such she is not covered by New Jersey’s state shield law, which allows journalists to keep sources private.
#FollowJourn: Adam Westbrook
Who? Multimedia journalist, blogger and filmmaker.
What? He currently works for Bauer Media as a broadcast journalist.
Where? @adamwestbrook or his excellent blog on broadcasting and journalism.
Contact? You can leave a comment for him on his blog at this link.
Just as we like to supply you with fresh and innovative tips every day, we’re recommending journalists to follow online too. They might be from any sector of the industry: please send suggestions (you can nominate yourself) to judith or laura at journalism.co.uk; or to @journalismnews.
The PTC New Journalist of the Year Awards 2009 will open for entry on July 22.
Now in their 26th year, the awards recognise emerging talent in the industry
Last year’s awards saw a double win for Caterer and Hotelkeeper’s Tom Vaughan and multiple prizes for CMP Information.
This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony at Vinopolis on London’s South Bank on Friday November 20.