Katharine Lackey

Project Pearl

Journalism students at Georgetown University are taking off where the FBI left the investigation into who killed Daniel Pearl, the American journalist kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002, a Marie Claire feature reports.

This immense project, now in its second year, is actually yielding tangible results — the students have uncovered 15 real identities of the 19 suspected of having been involved in Pearl’s murder. Now, the students just need to track down their whereabouts.

The article only briefly mentions, though, the dangerous nature of taking on a project of this scope. Unless these students are somehow very carefully protecting their true identities, they could be putting their lives or potentially their loved one’s lives at risk especially if they get too close to discovering the remainder of the suspects and their locations.

While many of the students are relatively safe, being residents of the United States, others are from Qatar, India or other foreign nations, where they could be much more susceptible to kidnappings, perhaps even by the same group who kidnapped Pearl.

Still, investigative journalism has really gone to pieces lately, at least in my mind, and maybe there’s a thing or two those editors and reporters at the Washington Post, New York Times and USA Today can take away from the example of these young journos — that sometimes, its worth taking the risk to uncover the truth.

Even my cat watches the news

Or the CNN scrolling bar….

Social Networking and Career Building

It wasn’t too long ago that social networking sites, like Facebook, were viewed as a potential liability when applying for a job. But now, these types of sites are becoming more and more networking sites as opposed to just a ’social’ function.

Facebook, though, still needs to be viewed with caution, especially among college students who post a ridiculous amount of photos and status updates that reveal waaay too much information. Learn about privacy settings.

LinkedIn has increasingly become the site of choice for business professionals to post resumes, get recommendations and seek job opportunities in their field. (I have a profile myself, which you can view here). I’ve been using LinkedIn for a little over a month now, but don’t really like that I only get 5 introductions. But having a profile in the site is a real advantage and it links to my Web site where potential employers would be able to contact me directly.

But another requirement should be added in today’s job market, particularly among journalists: A Web site with its own domain name, complete with resume and clips, as well as a blog. As journalism continues to move online, I also wonder how essential a blog is becoming — I would bet its becoming more resume-worthy with each passing year.

Tired of Being Self-Taught

Note: This post also appeared at Tomorrow’s News, Tomorrow’s Journalists, a new blog ring for young journalists that I am participating in.

When I was somewhere around the age of 13, I created my first Web site and quickly learned the ways of basic HTML. In the past 10 years, the web has changed dramatically and I have been unable to keep up with all the changes. It’s moved toward not just being text-based, but video and audio-based. I’ve had to learn, little by little, how to use programs such as Frontpage and Audacity. However, there’s a ridiculous amount I have not learned and my time at Penn State has not helped much.

The journalism program at Penn State has only recently added a ‘Convergence Journalism’ class, where students can learn to shoot and edit video as well as audio. It’s a class i will be taking in the spring, along with the only web design class I could find, oddly enough under ‘Arts.’ In that class, I will learn XHTML.

I received an email last week about a new six-week course called ‘Webcast Production,’ where I could learn how to set up and produce a live Webcast. So why didn’t I rush to sign up for the course? It is meant for broadcast communications majors and has two requirements, one of which is the base level course called ‘Cinema Art.’ The description for that course — “The development of cinema to its present state; principles of evaluation and appreciation.” That totally sounds like something I need in order to understand how to make a Webcast!

Journalism and newspapers have been moving online for years and we can no longer make the distinction between skills needed for print versus skills needed for broadcast or radio journalism. We need and deserve to be better prepared for the industry we will enter. By providing more integrated courses, allowing students to become proficient in programs from Quark to InDesign to Final Cut, universities could raise the bar and provide their students with better skills, and ultimately, job opportunities.

Digging Digsby

When I saw an ad on a Web site for Digsby, I clicked on it and was surprised to find the best tool out there (I believe) for managing multiple accounts from one location — Gmail, GChat (Google Talk), Twitter, Facebook (including Fbook chat) and AIM are all accessed easily through Digsby. (See screenshots here)

The program is computer-based, but small pop-up windows appear at the bottom left hand corner of my screen to inform me of new emails as well as IMs and Twitters updates. With IMs, I can even respond to the person using the pop-up window, meaning I don’t have to pull the program to the front in order to respond.

One of the drawbacks that I haven’t figured out how to fix yet, is that I get the pop-up notifications any time someone gets a wall post on Facebook or some other mundane action. So someone from Digsby just pointed out in the comment section that I can indeed edit my accounts to determine what types of popup messages I want to receive. I went through and deleted many of the popup messages for Facebook and was also able to have Twitter check updates more often (every 2 minutes, instead of the default 3). I also changed the default for checking my Gmail account from every 5 minutes to every 1 minute, because I’m obsessive compulsive when it comes to my e-mail.

Digsby also allows me to reach a whole new level of Facebook stalking since I can see everything any of my friends have done recently as well as the time of that action.

The only downside to the program is that, since I use two computers, I have to remember to shut off Digsby so that its only open and active on one computer at a time, otherwise I can risk missing parts of conversations, which happened earlier today when I missed three lines a friend typed (I noticed them hours later on my desktop upstairs).

A few of the people on Twitter that I’ve mentioned the program to seem to have taken to it as I commonly see ’sent via Digsby’ popping up on the feeds now. I use Twitter more than Facebook and the program works well by allowing me not only to update my Twitter status, but by also allowing me to reply to anyone, or even see my archives, replies, favorites and direct messages.

Standing up for journalism

Journalists at The Falcon, the student newspaper of Seattle Pacific University are standing their ground after university administrators demanded they remove an article from the site’s archives about a suspect in an alleged assault that took place 10 years ago.

In 1998, Shakespear Feyissa was arrested as a suspect in an alleged sexual assault. While the charge was eventually dropped, Feyissa’s suspension from the university stuck. Now, Feyissa is a Seattle-based attorney and says the article has hurt him both personally and professionally.

The Seattle Times writes,

The 1998 article in the student newspaper, the Falcon, quotes Feyissa saying “SPU is still a school like the KKK, in my opinion.” It also quotes then-provost Bruce Murphy saying there was “sound reason to believe that Mr. Feyissa is a threat to persons on campus.”

With that popping up every time someone searches his name, Feyissa said he cannot escape the shadow of the accusation of attempted sexual assault, even though Seattle police closed the investigation and he was never charged. He’s also worried what people will think after reading this article.

Interesting. So now, even if the article were to be removed from the archives of The Falcon, the quotes would remain online through the Seattle Times — which has a much higher appearance when you Google Feyissa’s name. Smart move.

The students at the paper had an apt response to the university’s demand:

“We explained to them, if they wanted to start down a path of removing historical archives and pulling it from the public sphere, what they’re doing is censorship,” said Chris Durr, the editor at the time. “We basically said, sorry, we have principles in journalism that don’t allow us to put stuff in the memory hole and pretend it never happened.”

After all, the students said, it’s factual and a matter of record.

“Shakespear Feyissa may not like the story, but that doesn’t mean he should get to dictate what gets removed from a newspaper’s online archive,” Debra Smith, who wrote the original article, said in an e-mail.

If The Falcon were to remove the article from the archives, it would set off a string of events where anyone could request to have an article removed and the university, and, therefore, the newspaper would basically have to oblige.

Now, the university is essentially holding the paper hostage, because it is in need of a new server.

The administration replied that first it wants the Falcon’s editor-in-chief to sign a contract giving officials access to the new server, and affirming that SPU is the publisher of the Falcon and has final say over content.

The incoming editor has refused to abide by this demand, with good reason — it would give the university total and absolute control over the paper.

If the students wanted to publish an article that could perhaps reflect badly on the SPU, the school could nix it before it even appeared in print or online. It could even require the students to submit articles for review PRIOR to publication if it wanted.

What gets me is that this university teaches journalism, and teaches the ethics of journalism. Yet, when its students follow those guidelines, its quick to throw them out the window, perhaps making excuses for why it doesn’t apply in this or that situation.

To Seattle Pacific University: Practice What You Teach.

Endings and Beginnings

I walked through the gorgeous Gannett/USA Today building today for the last time. I turned in my badge (“You mean I can’t keep it as a souvenir?”)

My internship has ended.

But, I went out with a bang. I’ve had six stories in print, plus two more that won’t be published until a special section in a couple months. I’ve edited two state-by-state charts and contributed on a number of other stories. Furthermore, all but one or two of the stories were my ideas — things I found that had a national trend — and one story became the most read and emailed story online on the day it was published.

I’ve heard others have had internships where editors have bemoaned the dying newspaper industry. I was fortunate to not have that experience — the editors and reporters simply understand that they need to continue to adapt to the changing industry.

Even when they’re being hit with the news of a 3% reduction in staff, they keep their heads up. They make jokes when they learn that stock has jumped 10% on the news.

I’m heading back to Penn State on Wednesday, but will remain a freelance writer for USA Today, occasionally writing stories (I already have two I’m looking into). At the same time, I will be a copy editor at The Daily Collegian, which should be a fun challenge. I definitely enjoy editing and get way too excited when I find widows to cut.

So, as always, with every ending, comes a new beginning.

The Way Google Changes the World

Google Search. Gmail. Google Reader. Google Calendar. iGoogle. Google Analytics. Google Docs. Google Notebook. YouTube.

That’s the list of all the Google products I use on a regular basis. I no longer run a search, I ‘google it’ to find what I’m looking for.

Now, Google has introduced Knol, its Wikipedia-like information base with articles ranging from health to technology. The difference is that Knol uses named contributors unlike Wikipedia where anyone can edit an entry, leading to frequent spammers. While Knol is nowhere near Wikipedia levels yet, people are already questioning whether there’s an ethical problem — will Google searches include Knol results higher to the top of the first page? I don’t think there should be much problem since, if you believe Google will favor Knol, you can just use Yahoo or another search engine instead. I personally have yet to see a Knol article come up on a Google search let alone be higher than a Wikipedia topic.

But Knol is just one example of the massive expansion Google has undertaken in the last several years and begs the question, according to a Nicholas Carr article for The Atlantic, ‘Is Google Making Us Stupid’?

Reading a lengthy article or novel used to be easy, Carr says, but now he is finding it more difficult. We are all so well acquainted with the internet now that we find the quickest way to gather information — and that means instead of spending hours reading a textbook, we read a brief summarized post or article online. (Note: I find it ironic that Carr’s essay is too lengthy for myself to read all the way through — I skimmed most of it)

Carr writes:

Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes. A few Google searches, some quick clicks on hyperlinks, and I’ve got the telltale fact or pithy quote I was after.

In his essay, Carr points out how hyperlinks propel users to click on them, instead of the traditional footnote in an article or research paper.

Which brings up another good point — should news articles, like blogs, link online to articles or sources they’ve used?

Carr’s essay created a large response from readers who wanted to simply read more about the topic, requiring him to publish a post on his blog. (It’s curious why this post hasn’t been linked somewhere in his original essay — that’d make it easier to find)

I think Carr’s essay should be viewed as the exception, not the rule, when it comes to whether links should be included in news articles. Carr’s essay was a perfect example of a case where it would be appropriate to link — because a reader could want to learn more about the topic and its not an easy topic to just Google.

But a traditional news article really should not use other news articles all too much, except for the occasional pulling from an AP thread, which then always includes a tag ‘The Associated Press contributed to this report’ at the end of any article.

Linking to a source, say a foundation used in the article isn’t really necessary and could potentially cause ‘conflict of interest’ claims. And so we’re back to Google again — a reader can easily ‘Google’ the foundation to find the Web site if they want to learn more. And there’s no real reason to link to an AP article since readers can just check Google News for the latest headlines.

For bloggers, though, I think it is absolutely required to link to other articles, since for the most part, we are not doing our own original reporting.

Some have argued that using link journalism, as it’s called, will reduce plagiarism. Tammi Marcoullier says,

When editors value link journalism and communicate to their reporters and writers that including links to their sources and giving credit where credit is due is as important as meeting a deadline, they will provide less incentive for plagiarism.

I think in some cases, Marcoullier would be correct, but why do reporters plagiarize? Is it because they are trying to meet a deadline, or is it because they simply do not want to expend the energy it would take in order to create an original piece? Repeat offenders, at least, just do not want to do their own reporting for one reason or another and I wonder if those types could ever really be changed by their editors valuing link journalism.

What I think we should tackle first is the lack of sourcing requirements at many newspapers — how many times have I read an article where I don’t know where the information actually came from — personal interview, Web site or otherwise. No more paragraphs where its not clear where the information came from and fewer unnamed sources would mean more credible and accurate articles.

Newspapers Lose Identities Online

Last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer made a controversial move by eliminating the posting of stories online before they appear in print, with the only exception being breaking news. (Go to Poynter and scroll down to view the Aug. 7 memo).

“… we’ll make the decision to press the button on the online packages only when readers are able to pick up The Inquirer on their doorstep or on the newsstand,” writes Mike Leary.

This step-backwards policy, though, perhaps highlights a different concern — are newspapers losing their identities online?

Newspapers need to embrace the Internet and create easy-to-navigate Web sites — but it seems that many are, instead, combining with metro sites, such as philly.com.

Both the Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer are contained within philly.com and while the tabs are easy enough to find, its odd to have two competing papers on one site (and I do believe they are considered competing papers, yes?). [UPDATE: I've been told they are not competing papers.]

Using philly.com takes away some of the breaking news ability of both papers, since anything either paper breaks will post immediately on philly.com instead of a separate site for the newspapers. it’s also ridiculously easy to switch between philly.com’s homepage and the pages of the Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer. An additional ‘News’ tab combines Inquirer and Daily News posts.

Notice that no Inquirer or Daily News articles are shown “above the fold.”

Compared to some newspaper sites, philly.com makes it easy to navigate each paper, whereas nj.com does not.

Partnered with the Star-Ledger, which recently announced it would sell if 200 employees didn’t accept buyouts, nj.com seems to tout itself more as the site for all things New Jersey, instead of a host of the major Jersey paper. (The site also has a ridiculous amount of unused space to the right).

While the site does include a great deal of Star-Ledger content, its design is geared toward breaking news. Clicking on “News” provides more Ledger content, but the site’s design is almost blog-like with the most recent posts getting the most space — even though the stories are not necessarily the best or most popular. (Side note: I hate that the tab is “News + Biz” — can’t we just change it to News?)

The site makes it hard to view articles just a couple of days old, even when clicking on specific topics.

So not only are these newspaper sites losing their identities by belonging to sites named after their regional area, but they are seriously lacking in quality and easy-to-navigate design. Unlike The Washington Post, New York Times or USA Today, the sites have not embraced the Web and its potential.

I wonder what partnering with regional sites such as nj.com and philly.com does to the paper’s ability to change the layout and design of the site — I’m sure they don’t have as much control over it. So that begs the question, why not have their own sites, such as phillyinquirer.com or starledger.com?  I guess the sites offer online management that the papers either can’t afford, or don’t want to deal with? Is there some sort of money advantage I’m not aware of?

‘Local Idiot To Post Comment On Internet’

Thank you, Onion — Local Idiot To Post Comment on Internet.

In a statement made to reporters earlier this afternoon, local idiot Brandon Mylenek, 26, announced that at approximately 2:30 a.m. tonight, he plans to post an idiotic comment beneath a video on an Internet website.

Mylenek verbalizes what must go through the mind of 90 percent of those who comment on news stories.

“Later this evening, I intend to watch the video in question, click the ‘reply’ link above the box reserved for user comments, and draft a response, being careful to put as little thought into it as possible, while making sure to use all capital letters and incorrect punctuation,” Mylenek said. “Although I do not yet know exactly what my comment will entail, I can say with a great degree of certainty that it will be incredibly stupid.”

There’s been an ongoing debate about comments across journalism blogs lately. Even with requiring users to register before they can comment on articles, posts, especially on national news sites such as USA Today repeatedly degrade to the stupid and insane.

While it seems that I cannot have even one spelling or grammatical error in a blog post, those that comment on news articles can have several in just a few sentences without getting much grief. The writers belittle and point out small issues with articles and photos. An example — a photo paired with a recent article showed gas at $3.55 at a California gas station. Someone immediately commented about how old the photo was — the news article did change the photo later on most likely in response to the readers comment. But the point is that the comment had no real value. The story wasn’t about current gas prices or gas prices in general (it was about thefts at gas stations).

During my internship, I received an email from an editor about whether a quote in my article was correct because some reader had pointed out in a comment that they thought by ‘unintended’ I meant ‘unattended’ and that I must have misheard the source. The word was in a direct quote and ‘unattended’ had nothing to do with the issue being discussed.

While it only took a few minutes for me to rattle off an explanation for the quote to my editor I was slightly irritated that one comment writer was able to make him question my accuracy (although I’m sure he was just double-checking).