Journalism, the World and the Future
Discussion of the future of journalism from GMU
Archive for Reporting techniques
First posted at Journalism, Journalists and the World.
Just catching up on some stuff.
One of my favorite annual surveys is the Economists’ Big Mac Index. (My other favorite is the Durex Global Sex Survey, although they are a couple of years late in doing their latest one.)
The Big Mac Index looks at whether a currency is over or under valued. Here is the Economist explanation:
The index is a lighthearted attempt to gauge how far currencies are from their fair value. It is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), which argues that in the long run exchange rates should move to equalise the price of an identical basket of goods between two countries. Our basket consists of a single item, a Big Mac hamburger, produced in nearly 120 countries. The fair-value benchmark is the exchange rate that leaves burgers costing the same in America as elsewhere.
Burgernomics: The latest Big Mac index suggests the euro is still overvalued
What the survey showed is what I have been saying for a couple of years: In Brazil you spend a lot of money for mediocre food. Brazil is the third most expensive place in the world for a Big Mac.
While this is a “lighthearted attempt” at looking at a complicated issue — currency values — it is an easy to understand index that can help people understand the issue.
Using the Big Mac Index reporters can help explain why getting China to float its currency is important. Or how trade is affected by differences in currency values.
After all, the price of a Big Mac is something everyone in the States understands. Even journalists.
First posted at Journalism, Journalists and The World
Interesting look by Pew at the digital divide between U.S.-born Latinos and their foreign-born counterparts. Seems the U.S. born are more likely to have regular Internet access.
The Latino Digital Divide: The Native Born Versus The Foreign Born
What does this mean? Think about it. Access to the Internet means better access to jobs and education. That means people who have Internet access have a leg up in improving their lives.
Looking at these national numbers got me thinking that there are probably loads of local stories that can be developed along these lines. Do these numbers translate to local areas? How about other ethnic groups?
Maybe stories could even be written about comparisons between Internet access in the immigrants’ home countries and the States.
The report does not break down how Latinos in the Northeast might be different from those in the South or Northwest. But by using some numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and some shoe leather a local reporter could come up with a story about the differences within the ethnic communities.
And, as mentioned above, access to the Internet can often mean access to a better life. And having more people improving their lives has a long-term effect on taxes, schools and other social issues.
First posted at Journalism, Journalists and the World.
Interesting story in the Times magazine this weekend: Digital Diplomacy.
It got me thinking that just 10-15 years ago the State Department was at the absolute bottom of rankings in use of technology. The main State HQ in Washington and the embassies around the world still depended on WANG work stations as late as 1996 when the rest of the government was moving to PCs.
Shortly after that, State was focusing on moving some of its records to an electronic system accessed using only GOPHER while the rest of the world was uploading databases using FTP and linking to it with Mozilla (and later Navigator and Internet Explorer).
Eventually State caught on and is now using new technology to carry out its mandate. Even with the technology in place, the problem still remains with the suits who don’t get this Internet thing. (They get e-mail, but Twitter? For most, not really. And the bureaucratic mindset still doesn’t get it.)
To be sure that is changing. But the bureaucracy is tied to a paper and ink mentality. Just taking a look at many of the websites or Tweets offered by some of the embassies shows that the folks in charge of those postings see the Internet only as a means of transmitting press releases instead of actually engaging the public in the US or in the host countries.
The strength of new technology at the State Department is focused on the Public Diplomacy section and Consular Affairs. And that is how it should be. After all these are the two sections of State that have the most contact with the general public.
The U.S. embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia does get it. According to a report back in April, the embassy has 128,000 “friends” for its Facebook page. And this is out of 161,000 “friends” for ALL U.S. embassies.
Making diplomacy less “pinned-striped cookie pushers” and more relevant to the American people can only help. this means using technology to engage people in a discussion about foreign affairs instead of just pushing information out. The technology allows American diplomats to establish a dialogue with the American people and the people of host countries more easily but only if the diplomats understand how to use it. (And so we come back to Jared Cohen and Alec Ross, the focus of the NYT article.)
And let’s face it, the problem of demystifying diplomacy and international relations is not limited to the diplomatic corps. The news media also play an important role.
A role they often fail to fulfill.
Until the US media and diplomatic corps get the point that domestic and international issues are linked, there will be less understand and limited support for our international activities. And more confusion about what is going on in the world.
First posted at Journalists, Journalism and the World
It is so nice to see the Poynter News University run a self-guided course on the very thing I (and a few others) have been harping on for so many years.
Local and global issues are linked. Editors and publishers who fail to see these links and who fail to allow reporters the leeway to report on those connections do readers/viewers/listeners a disservice.
No the News University is running a class to help established journalists see the links.
Reporting Global Issues Locally
I particularly like the second and third grafs of the class description:
Every day, reporters and editors in small- and medium-sized newsrooms miss opportunities for great stories because they don’t know how to take ownership of major international news.
Most big international stories have ripples that reach even the smallest of communities. “Reporting Global Issues Locally” will show you how to find the local angle in the broadest of international stories.
Again, this is the kind of stuff many of us have been saying is important to not only good local journalism, but also to the survival of local media outlets.
The other day I posted a couple of notes about the new Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism report on new and old media.
I saw in that two key issues that journalists and their bosses should be paying attention to.
- New media depends on old media — or at least good old fashioned journalism.
- People are interested in international news but are getting it from non-US sources.
Without good old fashioned journalism — multiple sources, checking facts, providing context — the news content of the Internet becomes opinion pieces instead of journalism.
The numbers speak for themselves. U.S. newspapers and broadcasts make up three-quarters of the items linked by American bloggers.
Web only generated material being passed on accounts for less than 1 percent.
So there is a value to professional journalism. The issue is finding a way to get paid for it. And that is what has to be addressed quickly.
On the other point — international news — the survey showed that foreign news — actual non-USA news items, rather than US foreign policy or military issues — was the second most blogged item. And yet people largely depended on non-US media outlets for this news.
There is an interest in news from other countries. Some of it frivolous. But most of it useful to understanding what is going on in the world.
The interconnection of local and global economies and societies no longer gives us the option of remaining isolated between two oceans. There are always local links in an international story and an international link to a local story. It just takes a reporter and editor with a view that extends beyond the city limits to see the connections.
