The problem with online freelance journalism

I had to read this article for another class, and it's pretty interesting. One of the problems with online journalism is that it's so new and there isn't a set structure for it yet. It's not as defined as print or broadcast so the rules and regulations are much more vague. The author also explains that with online journalism, the job titles are much less defined. Everyone on the team does a little bit of everything instead of just writing or just editing.

I know we talk about this type of thing all the time in other classes, but what do you think are good ways to save online journalism and make it a more respected institution like print or broadcast? How can journalist be successful through online journalism?

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/03/05/the-problem-with-online-freelance-journalism/

Well it was funny anyway....

Kind of sad when you can't even believe the prank videos.  Actually makes me (the audience) the punkee instead of the car salesman. 

Watch the 'Jeff Gordon' test drive that fooled almost everyone
http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-jeff-gordon-prank-20130314,0,7332097.story

Twitter search widget "#oj13umd"

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4-year-old's sot taken out of context

http://www.upworthy.com/what-kind-of-news-station-assassinates-the-character-of-a-4-year-old

This made me cringe on so many levels. First it was aired on a station in the #1 market in the county with journalists & management that should know better.

So many questions.
What reporter/ photographer crew would think it is OK to interview a 4 year old?
Did his parent give permission?
Who chose & edited the SOT?
Either it was intentionally edited to be misleading or the context was never even thought of/discussed. Neither is an excuse.
How would you handle such a situation as a journalist in the field or a manager in charge of content?

Sifting Through Stories on the Internet

There are stories that we see on twitter or on the internet that seem to be legitimate stories. For instance, during the Duke-Miami game, I saw on twitter that there were apparently rumors that LSU Head Football Coach Les Miles had an affair with a student and was going to resign.

This story was not too dissimilar from the rumors about former Arkansas Head Football Coach Bobby Petrino and the affair that he had with a football staffer. The rumors turned out to be false. I did not buy into the story and I looked at other news organizations like ESPN and CBS Sports and Deadspin for confirmation. I didn't see them looking into it and determined that the rumors were probably bogus. I ended up being right.

The second story that came up months ago was about possible improprieties committed by New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez. There seemed to be more in depth reporting here and it came from CNN which is a very reputable news source. Today, a woman that claimed that Senator Menendez paid her to have sex with him confessed that she had never even met him. The rest of the story as it pertains to Menendez possibly helping a campaign donor get a lucrative contract in the Dominican Republic could still be true. But it was a mistake on my part because I felt by re-tweeting the story, I was helping to contribute to the misinformation.

Please let me know about a time when you saw a story and whether or not you assumed that it was true or whether or not you did some additional digging. Have you ever tried to inform people about a story that ended up not being true?