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Introduction Here follows the lecture prompts for part I of my 2008/9 lectures on Computer Assisted Reporting (CAR). For part II on sources - see here. Because of the speed at which new initiatives (and relevant research examples) come and go in this field, I'll be adding updates on this post from time to time. But to stay fully up to date with developments, keep an eye on my blog and website. Computer Assisted Research (CAR): why? * Once research was the domain of librarians and researchers - not anymore. * Rapid developments in online technologies; contributor finding, fact-checking, current awareness, multimedia. * Changes in the news landscape (fragmentation of market and 'efficiency drives'). * Journalists must now do all their own research.

Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives examines the spontaneous actions of ordinary people, caught up in extraordinary events, who felt compelled to adopt the role of a news reporter. This collection draws together 21 original, thought-provoking chapters. It investigates citizen journalism in the West, including the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia, as well as its development in a variety of other national contexts around the globe, including Brazil, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Palestine, South Korea, Vietnam, and even Antarctica. It engages with several of the most significant topics for this important area of inquiry from fresh, challenging perspectives. Its aim is to assess the contribution of citizen journalism to crisis reporting, and to encourage new forms of dialogue and debate about how it may be improved in future.

about cij The Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) advances education for, and public understanding of; investigative journalism, critical inquiry, and in-depth reporting and research. CIJ is a registered charity offering high-level training, resources and research to the community, journalists, students, non-governmental organisations and others interested in public integrity and the defence of the public interest. The Centre runs international summer schools, produces publications to help present landmark investigations, offers training in appropriate techniques, organises debates, speakers and screenings on critical issues - all designed to nourish the culture and professional standards of investigative journalism. We are assembling a significant archive of investigative material. It can assist and defend investigations and provide research materials, advice and resources to NGOs, community activists, journalists and researchers. The CIJ offers particular assistance to those working in difficult environments where freedom of speech and of the press is under threat and where reporting can be a dangerous occupation.

Nielsen: Online Video Use Skyrockets Online video engagement by Internet users is deepening, according to a new report on the online landscape released last week by The Nielsen Company. Nielsen Online CEO John Burbank takes a look at the economic and advertising impacts of the report.

It's an anxious time to be graduating from journalism school. The economy is in the tank and newsrooms are being decimated. But yet, it is also a great time to be a journalist, with more news and information available than ever before and more ways than ever to reach audiences. At the recent International Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, I asked a range of professionals what advice they had for journalism graduates entering the job market. There was broad agreement that students should leave journalism school being able to work across print, broadcast and online. At the very least, they should understand the new tools available to reporters and be continually learning. As one professional said, school is just the beginning of learning. At the core is good writing and reporting, regardless of the medium. But to stand out from the crowd, journalism graduates should follow their passions, develop an area of specialization and master that area.

At TEDU 2009, Erik Hersman presents the remarkable story of Ushahidi, a GoogleMap mashup that allowed Kenyans to report and track violence via cell phone texts following the 2008 elections, and has evolved to continue saving lives in other countries.

Introduction to a series of reports hosted by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard on citizen journalism, from Winter 2005. Includes articles from BBC world service director Richard Sambrook and Santiago Lyon and Lou Ferrara from AP

NowPublic is a participatory news network which mobilizes an army of reporters to cover the events that define our world. In twelve short months, the company has become one of the fastest growing news organizations with thousands of reporters in over 140 countries. During Hurricane Katrina, NowPublic had more reporters in the affected area than most news organizations have on their entire staff. In 2007, TIME Magazine named NowPublic one of the 50 Coolest Websites and in 2009, the site was nominated for an Emmy for Advanced Technology.

posted by Nelly Akhmetova

"There are times when technological change catches up with an idea. Now is such a moment, as social media transform how people receive and share news and information. Just a few years back the notion of journalism being a conversation, not a lecture, wasn't embraced widely in an industry content to transmit what reporters learned to audiences expected to consume it. Comfort with that notion grew as online comments and live chats assumed a role that Letters to the Editor once held on their own, albeit with greater anonymity and often less civility. Then, from the "audience" spilled forth blogs and photos, videos and tweets. Soon, the words "citizen" and "journalist" were joined in a marriage brokered by technology and nurtured by convenience as news organizations shed staff yet still needed to produce "content.""

Over the years it seems they've done exactly that, funding the kind of international journalism that often is without a sponsor in the USA.   But for journalism to retain any integrity it cannot simply rely on something as intangible as 'a deep sense of responsibility', it must be grounded in a solid set of ethical principles and it must be accountable.   Without these principles journalism doesn't shine the light into dark places, it becomes the dark place. Several weeks ago I came across  a set of pictures on Facebook and Photoshelter by the talented photographer Marco Vernaschi which focus on the subject of child sacrifice in Uganda. The work is both being funded and promoted by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. It's a decent enough story, but not one that is in any way new. The pictures are black and white, often blurred, without hope and even evoke a sense of nihilism.  Nothing however in my journalistic career could prepare me for the disturbing truth as to how a number of the photos were taken.

link to a very useful set of articles on visual journalism from the Nieman foundation Context. Layered information. Voice. Movement. Transparency. Photographer as "author." Subject as "storyteller." Image as "instigator." Words and phrases that even a few years ago were not used to describe the practice of photojournalism surface today with hesitant certainty. Where the digital road is leading those whose livelihood relies on the visual portrayal of our contemporary lives might not be entirely clear. By adapting to technology in shooting their images and in how they publish and distribute their work, photojournalists are constructing roads that are already taking them in new and sometimes unanticipated directions.

Panos Pictures is a London-based independent photo agency representing photojournalists worldwide. Our photographers document issues and geographical areas which are under-reported, misrepresented or ignored. In a media climate dominated by celebrity and lifestyle Panos aims to provide fresh perspectives on the world. Panos photographers are available for assignment on every continent. Their in depth knowledge of local conditions enables them to deliver even in the most difficult situations. This website allows you to search, download and purchase from our ever growing archive of digitised images. If you cannot find the image you require our experienced researchers are on hand to help you locate what you are looking for in our physical archive of over 500,000 images. Half of the profits from the agency are given to the Panos Insititute to further its work on issues around media and communications, globalisation, HIV/AIDS and environment and conflict.

tools and services designed to make life easier for reporters when covering humanitarian emergencies

Press Releases 02/16/2006 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES For more than a century and a half, men and women of The Associated Press have had the privilege of bringing truth to the world. They have gone to great lengths, overcome great obstacles - and, too often, made great and horrific sacrifices - to ensure that the news was reported quickly, accurately and honestly. Our efforts have been rewarded with trust: More people in more places get their news from the AP than from any other source. In the 21st century, that news is transmitted in more ways than ever before - in print, on the air and on the Web, with words, images, graphics, sounds and video. But always and in all media, we insist on the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior when we gather and deliver the news.

Data visualization resources While I was shamelessly picking the brain of Matt Waite in recent weeks, he advised me that if I don't have more than three to five weeks to spend on "data" (sort of akin to what we used to call "computer-assisted reporting"), what I should focus on is teaching the students something about data visualization.

Bill Miller's Strategy for Working with Nonprofit Organizations For a print article on pages 22 - 24 of the ASMP Bulletin's Winter 2007 issue, Sarah Coleman interviewed eight photographers who have worked with nonprofits on various levels. She described the obvious benefits, the potential pitfalls and reported on how photographers have managed these relationships, and to what extent their normal business practices were appropriate. Here, Oregon-based photographer Bill Miller provides additional insight into a strategy he's developed to make his nonprofit work a financially viable enterprise for his business needs and a win-win situation for all.

A primer on invasion of privacy Celebrities, politicians and other sought-after sources of news would appear, by their routine claims that members of the media have violated their privacy, to understand precisely what is private and what is public, or newsworthy, information. Journalists, however, often possess different notions of privacy and newsworthiness, and know that the question is more complicated. Reporting news stories in a way that serves and informs the public will often entail publicizing facts or displaying images that will embarrass or anger someone.

The Abu Ghraib prison scandal first exploded into public light in April 2004 when reports and photographs of torture were revealed in a daring New Yorker article written by Seymour Hersh. At a conference recently held at Stanford, entitled Thinking Humanity After Abu Ghraib, Hersh and a panel of experts came together to think through the legal, political, psychological, and ethical implications of the abuses at Abu Ghraib, and also to weigh the consequences of the US government's evolving approach to handling enemy combatants and suspects taken during the war on terror. You can now find all of the presentations on iTunes (which you can download for free). Here is the lineup: