Journalism Blog- Week 9

Chapter 15- Computer Assisted Reporting

1. As a journalist fresh out of university, it would be important to get a job that is going to last a while. I would take the weekly newspaper job as job opportunities are very competitive and if the other job falls through there is no guarantee that I would automatically get a job! I wouldn't worry too much about the pay because the value of the experience gained in an environment such as the newspaper is priceless!
2. I would conduct the interview regardless as although an email interview is not ideal, any information from the main source is helpful! As the journalist it seems your hands are tied in this situation!
3. This is unacceptable. I would raise my concerns with the editor or sub editor. Situations such as these must never happen. Plagiarism is such a huge ethical issue in journalism and shouldn't be ignored.
4. This situation has the potential to be extremely dangerous. I would not go and meet the mystery person. The fact they are on the run alone is enough to suggest illegitimacy with very little credibility! I would question informing the police about the meeting place and give them the email address.
5. I would do as much research as I could. Are these sites reliable? I would look into the six different publishers and the people who conducted the interview. Sometimes it is easy to recognise a source that is not reliable or academic, such as wikipedia.

A few things that I thought were interesting from this chapter were:

• CAR has revolutionalised news-gathering since mid 1990s. It offers journalists access to databases and other online information sources which were previously either unavailable, or whose release depends on the whim of public servants, media minders or politicians.
• Basic CAR includes email, discussion lists and using simple search tools. Intermediare CAR involves precision use of search tools, bookmarks, and assembling simple spreadsheets. Investigative CAR includes creating and analysing databases and spreadsheets, merging databases.
• The most important skills to acquire in relation to CAR are learning to know where to look.how to look and to develop an ability to assess the legitimacy or otherwise of what is found.
• Verifying online information is essential. The need to protect yourself is a big part of Journalism due to new defamation legislation.
• Government websites are great sources of valuable info. From them you may find dites within sites which is refered to as the 'hidden web'.