Sites Like Poynter Teach about the News Industry
Go Online to Increase Your Media IQ and Understanding of Journalism
Feb 12, 2009
But Is there a bias in certain reporters? Do some networks have a hidden agenda? The majority of the men and women who gather the news and report it, protest emphatically that their only motive is to provide citizens with the best, most complete information they can.
How can news consumers, reconcile their suspicions of the industry with both their need-to-know, and with the idealism of those who work in it?
They can take a step in that direction by learning more about the industry itself. There are a number of excellent online resources that watchdog and analyze the news media. Any interested citizen can go where the pros go to keep an eye on their industry.
The Poynter Institute Provides Research and Teaching to Media Professionals
Founded in 1975 by Nelson Poynter who was the long-time publisher of theSt. Petersburg Times, this influential journalism institution holds onsite classes in Florida, as well as online tutorials, for both students and professionals. It continues the founder's vision of enhancing independent journalism with excellent academic opportunities for its practioners.
On the Poynter Website News Consumers Will Find:
- Five "stories of the day" each headlined and with a compelling graphic which discuss the news of the day (the Obama Inauguration, the Stimulus Package, the rise in homelessness), or address industry news such as new business models for newspapers, or ethical issues for journalists using social networks like Facebook
- Links to lesser stories, and to blogs and columns by the Poynter professionals and teaching staff
- Perhaps the best known of these is "Romenesko", a blog-like collection of items and links to news and gossip about media people and their publications.
Why go there? Poynter offers a novel way to keep up with the daily news while looking in the window at industry trends, too. The links at Romenesko often yield the most surprising nuggests (such as a link to the Miami Herald claiming "Castro is the journalistic equivalent of a kidney stone.")
Let Journalism.Org be Your Guide to the Information Revolution
This website is the product of the 12 year old Project for Excellence in Journalism which "is dedicated to understanding the information revolution". PEJ, which recently became affiliated with The Pew Research Center in Washington, emphasizes empirical research and quantifying data over merely offering criticism. It has amassed an impressive online library of numbers and content analyses so that both "journalists who produce the news and citizens who consume it develop a better understanding of what the press is delivering."
What News Consumers Wil Find at Journalism.org:
- A top story of the day, such as a detailed look at a transformation in the Washington press corps
- A daily briefing (media news and gossip)
- Analytical reports, and much numerical data
- A weekly News Index seeking to measure what the media is covering and what it is not
- A comprehensive annual report studying all aspects of the news media (ownership trends economics, content, audiences,) in its various forms (print, broadcast, online, etc.)
Why go there? Much can be learned from the News Index, and the numbers in the data library. The eight sections of the Overview of the the annual State of the News Media reports offer an invaluable picture of all aspects of the media today.
The Nieman Watchdog at Harvard Helps Journalists Ask the Right Questions
Every year since 1938 a select group of mid-career jourrnalists are offered a year of study at Harvard University through Nieman Fellowships. In 1996 the Nieman Foundation at Harvard launched a new program, Nieman Watchdog, to expand the resources of Harvard expertise to more journalists through a series of conferences; then they moved online where all can enjoy this access.
One unique feature of the website for NiemanWatchdog.org is, "Ask This" to help the press ask the critical questions, that often go unanswered, about the news of the day; and to give journalists easy access to academic experts to help formulate those questions.
Everyone Can Become More Media-Savy
Perhaps just as important, any citizen can also access the "Ask This" questions at Nieman Watchdog and use what they learn to pressure the media outlets they most often visit to get the answers.
The sites discussed here are an introduction to the online journalism resources that exist. Each is a rich resource on its own, but also offers dozens of links and suggestions for further study and information. Everyone at these sites is concerned with the free flow of information to the public.
As Barry Sussman of the Nieman Watchdog says "the goal is to see that people in power provide the information the public should have." And these are sites where the public can also observe the powerful in the media world at work.
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