Media Literate Review

I believe writers influence readers all the time, which is why it’s important to do the research to find out if the author is a credible source or not. It’s absolutely important for writers to act in an ethical manner because it affects everyone. The readers with the wrong information can share that information and instances like the Boston Marathon Bombings that will jeopardize police searches. What if those individuals got away with it because there were too many false reporting’s and that shared information crippled the case. Writers are in danger as well because if they are unethical they risk their credibility, which can ultimately get the fired or lose there following. In the blogging world your following is the only means for success, without it you are just a writer without listeners. I believe it is the writers role to tell the truth and as much information as they have at that time, with the understanding that information has been fact checked prior to sharing it with the world. I believe the race to get the information out first should be reviewed because often times getting the information out first before the facts are confirmed leads to mistakes. I understand that even the reporters and editors are human and human beings make mistakes but stupid mistakes are costly and we as the public hold journalists to a higher standard. Getting the facts wrong can be extremely painful for individuals involved in the story as well. It’s important to take time and not get caught up in the deadlines that come from a time crutching industry.

I definitely believe being media literate reduces, but does not eliminate the potential for content consumers to be influenced. Just because someone is media literate doesn’t not mean they can be completely free of influence. I do not believe my views have changed much from my original post as I have always looked at situations from both sides however I do believe I have become even more analytical, especially towards the source/author. Researching the background of authors has almost become second nature to me now because I can’t just believe anyone on the web. I truly believe and have stated this over and over again in my posts that a journalist needs to be properly trained through education and experience. This doesn’t mean I don’t value what bloggers have to write but I take their articles with a grain of salt and consider them very opinionated/bias. Do I still feel very influenced by media absolutely because it’s my major source of news, absolutely. However, I am a bit more skeptical on the author and want to examine their work to see if they are bias or not. If they are bias then look at articles from the opposite side of the story to compare and contrast.

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Multimedia Tools

How does multimedia enhance our messaging?

Multimedia enhances our messaging because it allows readers to not only read the text content but to visually connect as well. There is also the usage of audio tools such as Podcasts and the conversion of text to MP3 files. There are a number of certain multimedia techniques that are more effective then others such as slide shows compared to multiple photos displayed. A slideshow presentation can combine multiple photos without taking the interest away from the reader due to constantly scrolling down to see the next picture. That simple motion could be enough for the reader to turn away from a site. Matt Smith explains using audio tools such as podcasts to help keep the readers focus by stating:

Podcasts can be another medium that you can add to your posts to make them more engaging. Instead of just reading your posts word for word, perhaps you record a weekly Podcast for your site talking about related subjects and adding it your articles where appropriate. You could conduct interviews with people, get people to send in questions that you could answer, run competitions, etc. Encourage people to subscribe to next week’s Podcast and it will help you to get return visitors to your site (Smith, 2013).

The idea here is to not have a website that is only text posts but to incorporate different multimedia tools to keep readers interested and coming back for more. Bloggers overall goal is to have a following and in order to do so, one must use these multimedia tools to enhance the message being told.

In last week’s module we read about best practices for writing for the web and something that stood out to me was, “usability researchers have found that web users rarely read entire pages, word for word” (Dotmarketing, n.d.). Personally I do not read web pages word for word and a prime example of that was when reviewing the websites for this week’s modules. In reviewing the website Snow Fall Avalanche I found myself skimming the story and listening to the audio police recordings conversations along with the videos of the survivors/loved ones. I thought this site was incredibly captivating as it was depicted in six parts starting from the history of Tunnel Creek, to the devastating avalanche and how it impacted others. The usage of audio and video in this website was truly amazing and much more effective that simply reading the text. Visually seeing the survivors and their reactions, with their tears was incredibly hard to watch. It’s understandable why this site has become a critically acclaimed website for it’s use of multimedia storytelling.

The first site that I’m going to cover is Mother Jones a site dedicated to new gun laws and how they are contributing to more mass shootings. There are a number of reasons why this site is effective, however I think the one that stands out immediately is the graph of mass shootings from 1982-2012 that shows a higher injury/fatality rate verses that of 1982. This data is very visually appealing and hooks the reader in right away. There are videos along with a number of photos and other maps to go along with the different multimedia tools used as well. However, I do feel that the photos are a bit overwhelming and think that the infographics are much more effective. This site is also very cluttered and difficult to navigate, I almost didn’t know where to start.

There was a very effective slide show as well called “Stand your ground, explained,” which discusses “three legal concepts that turned a reasonable self-defense law into a recipe for vigilante justice” (Mother Jones, 2015). In this slide show it portrays a car accident between two drivers one in which has a gun for self-defense. When approached by the other person involved in the accident the driver with the gun uses it to shoot and kill, which is then described as justified. The last picture has the shooter with the guns in the air laughing and stating, “ha-ha, you can’t sue me” (Mother Jones, 2015). Going back to the beginning in which this slide show stated “vigilante justice” it’s clear that by having a gun people feel that they can defend themselves by any measure and acts as vigilantes, which isn’t the case. I thought this was a very effective use of multimedia techniques and while on a very cluttered website I was drawn to this post. Overall, I think this site incorporates a lot of multimedia tools, however I think simplifying it might be more effective as it was hard to follow.

The second site that I’m going to cover is in the same category of firearms called Firearms in the Family. The main focus of this site is the role guns play in American lives. First off, this site is way more manageable and less cluttered than that of the first site I discussed. The usage of videos is extremely appealing but what I thought was great is the section that has six different individual’s images;

 these images are links to their story and beliefs in regards to guns in America. There is also a really calming audio track that runs on a loop that draws the reader into this story. The really interesting part is that the six photos are in motion so in reality they are actually looped videos and not pictures. The six stories are open carry, a mother’s plea, the rodeo queen, the hunters, a father’s gentle revenge and channeling grief (Prieto, 2013). When you click on the looped video such as “open carry” it takes you to the video along with the story listed below it, which is extremely easy to navigate. I believe that is what makes this site so effective. Another aspect that I noticed was the ability to share this site amongst social medias such as Facebook and twitter. The first site I covered did not have this available only a subscribe function, which then perhaps you could share; however I did not see this option. In my opinion the use of video is way more effective then that of infographics and slide shows. I believe seeing the raw emotion of people involved in the story is extremely effective. This site also contained infographics such as the picture of open carry that stated, “45 states have some open carry gun rights” (Prieto, 2013). While this picture is nice it’s not as effective as the infographic on the first site because it lacks data however, that data can be found in the text. Remembering that people do tend to skim through sites, so you want the info to be there and visible, I think this site does that much better then that of the first one. It also discusses multiple opinions on the topic and that is seen in the in the dialogue and text. This site isn’t focused on changing anyone’s belief but explaining just how guns change our lives and it leaves it up to the viewer after hearing these different stories to decided where they stand.

Reference

Dotmarketing. (n.d.) DM best practices writing for the web. Dotmarketing, inc. Retrieved from http://www.uakron.edu/webteam/docs/dm_webwriting.pdf

Mother Jones. (2015). America under the gun. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/special-reports/2012/12/guns-in-america-mass-shootings

Prieto, B. (2013). Firearms in the family. The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved from http://data.digitalfirstmedia.com/guns/

Smith, M. (2013). Why multimedia blog content is good for your site. Retrieved from http://www.benchmarkemail.com/blogs/detail/why-multimedia-blog-content-is-good-for-your-site

Best Practices for Bloggers

1. In your opinion, what are the “best practices” when creating a blog to ensure appropriate form, function, and substance?

In my opinion best practices are guidelines to creating a good blog. Best practices are ways to improve a blog by following the do’s and don’ts. Best practices follow simple guidelines for example, do not over crowd a website with advertisement, always include who, what, where, when, why, and how in regards to the stories/posts, along with the writing style from pyramid to inverted pyramid (Dotmarketing, n.d.). Overall best practices are helpful tools to formatting a website for bloggers in regards to his subject. Best practices can be guidelines for any topic for example my work has a best practices meeting every quarter to teach office managers how to improve the quality of work at their office.

2. How has your chosen blog met or not met these “best practices”?http://themovieblog.com/category/reviews/

The blog that I chose to review is called The Movie Blog. I chose this blog because I love movies and came across it while researching blogs for our class discussion. I’m always looking for upcoming movies and interested to hear what people have to say about them before going myself so I thought this was a very interesting topic to cover. From looking at the website it is well put together, there isn’t too many advertisements/clutter that prevent navigation. The site is broken down into sections, news chat, reviews, trailers, posters, interviews, which is clearly listed under their feature heading. There are tabs at the top to bring you back to the home page along with the “about” and “contact” tabs as well. When looking in the “review” section all posts are dated with the most recent post first, which would be the film Inherent Vice. The headline reads, “Paul Thomas’s Zany Inherent Vice is a Densely Constructed Masterpiece” which gives the reader the most important fact first in which they think this film is dense. In comparison to the second review Selma, which the title reads, “Ava DuVernay’s Masterful Selma is the Timely Movie America Needs” (Campea, 2015). This style of writing is inverted pyramid in which the most important information is listed at the beginning. Clearly the reader knows the authors opinion of the film before even having to read the review. Giving this opinion of the film in an inverted pyramid style gives grabs the reader’s attention and acts as a best practice for good web writing (Dotmarketing, n.d.).

3. Additionally, complete a self-assessment of your own blog. How does your blog compare to the “best practices”? What are some elements you can improve upon? What are you doing well?

When comparing the two sites it clear that my site needs some major work. I actually just went through and restructured it because the template I was using was too distracting.  Initially I had each post listed and able to view on the home page, the problem with that was it showed the actual post with the entire body of work. The format that is listed now has tabs for each post in which if the reader was interested could select and then see article that goes along with it. One thing that I’ve noticed from looking at both sites is that my home tab “R.E.L.A.X” isn’t clear to the reader that it is a home tab. “R.E.L.A.X” is a Green Bay Packer’s reference however for those that don’t know it, it would be very confusing.  It doesn’t really act as a home tab. I’m a superstitious person and since the Packers are in the playoffs don’t want to change it so I’m going to add the word “home” alongside it. I think another element I can improve on is the header to each post.  Looking at the most recent post “New Media Tools” I would wonder why anyone would select that tab because it doesn’t grab attention. Obviously the post was for an assignment in this course, but if I follow the rule within best practices under word count for headings I could use 8-10 words which would give me a better opportunity to elaborate on the topic in hopes of grabbing attention (Dotmarketing, n.d.). What I think I’m doing well with my site is keeping it organized now that the home tab is in place along with the search link at the top. Obviously without advertisements it lacks clutter, I also minimized how many widgets were added because there were duplicates ultimately simplifying the site and making it easer for the reader to navigate.

4. As a blogger, if there were an official “Blogger’s Code of Conduct,” would you read it, follow it, and find it useful?

I would absolutely read and follow a Blogger’s Code of Conduct. I believe any help is useful and if there were a code to follow it would only benefit the author because bloggers rely on a following and having a code would only give bloggers more credibility. With more credibility there would be more trust and more of a reason for people to follow a blogger, that is how I would look at it and why I would follow it if it were me. The idea being that it would separate me amongst others that don’t follow a code of conduct. In regards to a code of ethics for the blogger of The Movie Blog, I think it would make a big difference in what they could of couldn’t say because if they were to harshly criticize a film it might go against the code of ethics. Would that make a difference to me as a blogger? I’m torn when discussing this because I see the necessity to have a code because it gives credibility but I also believe that blogging isn’t the same as journalism and since anyone can do it each blogger shouldn’t be held accountable for following a code. I think it would only help the blogger but don’t expect bloggers to follow. Personally I would because I would want to be credible and have followers and think this would be the best way of doing so. I do not think it would be restriction on ones freedom of speech because it’s blogger to blogger and not government enforced to have a code of ethics. Simply put they are good guidelines to follow and best practices are just that good ways to improve ones site.

Reference

Campea, J. (2015) The Movie Blog. Retrieved from http://www.themovieblog.com

Dotmarketing. (n.d.) DM best practices writing for the web. Dotmarketing, inc. Retrieved from http://www.uakron.edu/webteam/docs/dm_webwriting.pdf

 

New Media Tools

http://aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/index.html#tool-bookmarkingNew

The first new media tool that I used was QR codes. QR codes are interactive barcodes that can be scanned from mobile devices, linking the user to a site. In this example the QR code helps users locate HIV/AIDS related clinics in the area. In order to test the QR code I had to install the application QR Reader for iPhone. Once the app was installed I was able to scan and pull up my local area, in which eight HIV testing facilities were available.   The closest location available was at the Holbrook Counseling Center located at 998 E. Maple St, Mundelein, IL 60060. The application is connected to Google Maps, so there is the ability to see that it is 2.51 miles away from my current address. This tool is definitely designed for a more technological savvy audience. Not only do you have to be capable of downloading an application, which requires a smartphone but you would also have to have the understanding on how to navigate through the application all of which is targeted towards individuals who are better with technology. For example my father wouldn’t take the time to download the application and even if he did, he would not know what he was doing with it. This new media tool is probably the one that is most overlooked out of those listed on this website in my personal opinion. I do like that it’s interactive but the time it takes to make this happen if you do not already have the application can be avoided by simply Googling HIV testing facilities.  

The second new media tool that I used was RSS feeds. RSS feeds are websites users subscribe to that send updates automatically through e-mail or a newsreader. There was a link under the more common RSS readers called Feedly so I tested that one out. In order to connect to this Feedly site I had to connect my Facebook to create an account. Once I had the account I was able to search my particular interests such as film. Once I was in the film category I was able to add Empire News to my Feedly list. The Feedly list acts similar to Facebook when you “like” something. For example if I was to “like” the Green Bay Packers on Facebook I would get news and updates to my feed in regards to the Packers. Feedly works similar to that in which I will now get updates on movies through Empire News. This new media tool is designed for anyone who prefers social media and since it connects to Facebook it is a great crossover tool for users to get information on the preferred social networking site. I prefer Facebook to all others; therefore I’ll get this information from Empire News on Facebook now versus looking it up on Feedly. Even though it seems to be a nice platform, I would prefer to simplify my resources. I did not care to have another application installed on my phone so when Facebook prompted me to add Feedly I did not go forward with it.

The third new media tool that I used was Online Collaboration Tools. Online collaboration tools allow people to work together over the Internet and an example of that would be Wikipedia. I’m an avid user of Wikipedia as I use it as a source to confirm information that I may or may not know. I think a number of people that have Internet capabilities use this method of online collaboration as a resource to help each other learn. When I followed the link it took me to a featured article on Sir Colin Hannah who was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force and a Governor of Queensland. Since Wikipedia posts over four million articles in English there are many similar articles to Sir Colin Hannah that can help educate me on individuals I may know nothing about or research whatever I’m in need of looking up. All can use this tool, however because it can be edited by all, it brings to question the validating of some of the sources, I believe this is why most schools don’t use Wikipedia as valid references when citing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

 

Oconee County Observations

Oconee County Observation- by Lee Becker

http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com

Who is the writer? Do you consider the author a “professional journalist”?

The writer is Lee Becker who has his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Mass.  He received his M.A. from the University of Kentucky in Communication and his B.A. in Journalism at the University of Kentucky as well. In my opinion he his has had formal training with his B.A. in Journalism, which coincides with the normative approach to defining a journalist. Stephen Ward defines the normative approach as “the normative approach insists that writers should not be called journalists unless they have highly developed skills, acquired usually through training or formal education, and unless they honor certain ethical norms” (Ward, 2014). He has however had no experience working with any news station. Regardless, his credentials through education in my opinion makes him qualified.

What is the purpose of this site? Is there a bias?

The purpose of this site is for Lee Becker to blog about Oconee County in Georgia, in a newsletter style writing. Since this is based on his personal feelings regardless of “wanting to offer a balanced presentation that recognizes different points of view” his biases are clear. In his first paragraph on the blog post Rep. Quick Tells Oconee County Government Leaders she questions, the need for additional funding for GDOT, he starts off by stating “It’s unlikely that Rep. Regina Quick won any friends at the Georgia Department of Transportation last week” (Becker, 2014). It is his bias opinion on the issue that allows him to state her inability to make friends. I’m sure there were a number of people that support her on her decisions, however Becker is not one of them and that is clear in his blog post.

Does the writer adhere to SPJ’s Code of Ethics? Does it seem like he takes steps to verify information and report truthfully and accurately?

I believe that the writer is trying to adhere to the SPJ’s Code of Ethics. I think Becker is seeking the truth and reporting it. I believe Becker is trying to minimize as much harm as possible however I think bias opinions can cause harm so that one is a mixed bag. I believe that Becker is acting independently and is accountable/transparent as possible.

In your opinion, does it really matter if someone reporting news is labeled as a “professional” or not? Should everyone be held to the same ethical standards regardless of their professional classification?

In my opinion it does matter when labeling someone a professional or not. I think to label any blogger a professional is a discredit to those who put the time in and received formal education. That isn’t to say that someone blogging can’t be respected, accurate, and truthful in discussing whatever news they are covering but in my opinion they should be considered armatures. It’s similar to athletes who make it to the professionals, it’s not to say that college athletes aren’t good at what they do or have the potential to become a professional but there is a significant different level from a college player to a professional in regards to their skills and only so many of them have been able to get to that point because they put there talent to good use and trained hard enough to get there. Journalist on the other hand don’t have to be born with this god given talent to make it to the big leagues but they do need in my opinion to get the training that is needed to be considered a professional. Some bloggers out there probably don’t even know of the SPJ let alone their code of ethics. Ethics alone is something that all journalists must go through within their training and in that case it is even more of a demand to have that training to be more ethical in their reporting.

How does the rise of citizen journalists and bloggers change the way we receive knowledge and what we know? What are the advantages and disadvantages (or challenges) attributed to the presence of these new writers? Can “non-professionals” show good judgment, assemble information for balanced stories, and build up credibility?

I absolutely think citizen journalists and bloggers can be received as a good source credibility. I think anyone who does the research and cites their sources can be considered showing good judgment. As I said before I think there is a higher standard amongst professionals and citizen journalists/bloggers due to the training. It wouldn’t however stop me from reading one versus the other but I would always have it in my mind that the professional probably did a more accurate job. That is simply a bias opinion on my behalf because I believe in proper training and anyone in a field should train themselves to be a true expert in their field. If someone wants to be considered a journalist they should get the education behind it before calling themselves one. I love photography and have taken courses in it but am far from calling myself a professional photographer.

Reference

Becker, L. (2014). Oconee County Observations. Retrieved from http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com

Ward, S. (2014). Digital media ethics. Center for journalism ethics. Retrieved from http://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/resources/digital-media-ethics/

Mistakes, False News, and Errors

After reading the article The F.B.I criticizes the news media after several mistaken reports of an arrest, I was left feeling conflicted towards how impactful our social media is within reporting the news. I have for the longest time and continue to believe that technological advances have only helped our industries grow along with the global connection amongst people due to social media. I am a complete advocate for even more involvement and growth, that being said it is hard to watch the news when they are rushing to get the story out in the “report now, apologize later” method or as Bill Carter put it “the age of retraction” (Carter, 2013). Since, social media’s involvement in getting the news out faster and on a global scale through sharing and retweeting, it has put more pressure on the reporters to get their story out with more urgency then there was before. Even before social media there was a sense of urgency to be the first one reporting the news, but now that anyone can break the story over social media, reporter or civilian it has become an even greater factor.

I personally believe that the new thought process of report now, apologize later is the way news is going to continue to be, because it’s about updating statuses on what they have at that time with the idea that it could change. The way news is being reported has more of a real time feel then it ever did before. The reporters are getting things wrong because they are reporting what is being said/done at that given time. I believe it’s on us as the citizens to understand the change rather then set blame to the news stations. They are humans and humans make mistakes but that didn’t stop the viewers from watching their news station. I feel as though the blame only gets dished out once the viewer repeated what was said only to find out it was incorrect. I know the idea is that these news stations are supposed to be experts in their field and the information being told should be authenticated, but let’s face facts it didn’t need to be shared right away. I didn’t need to see it posted two seconds later on someone’s news feed so that I could post it as well. If it’s an immediate story perhaps the viewer should wait for all the other news stations out there to be collectively reporting on the same page thereby confirming everyone us up to speed before sharing it with the world. Citizens definitely fall under the culprit aspect because of our desire for immediate knowledge and impulsion to share it globally amongst others. I question whether our need is to hear what the incident is versus how important it is to get the information out there on ones own social media platform. Perhaps it makes citizens feel more like reporters when they can inform people they are connected with of the disasters in the world first by sharing. In doing so, citizens definitely are to blame as well, however I feel the blame theory is one that should be tossed aside as well. As I said before I think humans make mistakes and so do reporters, it’s common knowledge that expectations are high given that this is their field of expertise which makes the viewer expect the facts. However, with the changes in technologies and how the world gets information through the web, sources are expanding much further then that of the news reporter. It’s up to the civilians to deceiver what they believe and wait for the facts. Having the knowledge that news reporting is subject to change and what we are getting right then and there might not be the whole story only what is currently available. Rafig Copeland of Metro Magazine wrote an article Tweet all about it: social media and the news revolution stating:

The fact that social media users still rely on old media sources is indicative of another important caveat that must be placed on any discussion of this news revolution: the wealth of content available does not necessarily lead to better content than what we had before – it just means that there is a lot more of it at our fingertips. There is actually the very real possibility that with all this news and commentary, quality will get drowned out by quantity. This is perhaps where the most distinctive factor in social media news dissemination becomes apparent (Copeland, 2011).

I don’t believe we should expect or demand more evidence as we are getting what is there at that moment in what is considered real time and this sense of urgency isn’t going to go away because the demand from the citizens is too high. I absolutely feel that we have entered the age of retraction and that falls directly on the technological advances but looking back to the radio and the television viewers would have to wait until morning to find out what had happened the night before. Having these new advances come with some drawbacks but the overall impact and the way social media has expanded news coverage on a more global scale has only caused more good then bad. There will be mistakes with everything and anything that happens in this world, I believe pointing the finger is the real mistake. These mistakes happened long before the Internet and will only continue, long into the future.

References

Carter, B. (2013). The F.B.I criticizes the news media after mistake reports of an arrest. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/business/media/fbi-criticizes-false-reports-of-a-bombing-arrest.html?_r=1&

Copeland, R. (2011). Tweet All About It. Metro, (169), 96-100.

Sources, Credibility, and Social Media

• Star Witness in Apple Lawsuit Is Steve Jobs by Brian X. Chen

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/technology/star-witness-in-apple-suit-is-steve-jobs.html?ref=technology&_r=0

In evaluating the author Brian X Chen I have decided that I do believe him to be a credible source. He works with The New York Times as a technology reporter and has been there for over three years. I discovered this information through his personal website, listing his social media accounts and through LinkedIn was able to look up his experience. I believe that 10 years in reporting gives him the qualifications that I would need to believe what he is reporting is accurate. Chen has worked with companies such as Macworld, which is devoted to all products Apple based, this leads to more credibility in his ability to know the product he is researching. He worked with Macworld for roughly two years.

Chen’s website http://www.brianxchen.com links the reader to his book along with his e-mail address and social media sites that he is actively on. Chen is the author of a book Always On: How the iPhone unlocked the anything-anytime-anywhere future—and locked us in.  There is also a picture of him as well which shows me he is relatively young, this give his experience a limit versus someone who has been in the field for 20 years. However, I still believe 10 years is a good amount of experience to be a credible source of information.

Chen’s LinkedIn account lists his experience in reporting for the past 10 years along with his profile summary that reads:

“Author and reporter Brian X. Chen is a technology writer for The New York Times, where he reports on the cellphone industry and its impact on the world of business.

A new media enthusiast, Brian enjoys experimenting with cutting-edge web tools to report the news. In August 2008, he led an interactive, crowdsourced study to investigate the iPhone 3G’s network problems. The story attracted 4,000 participants around the world who collectively helped conclude that the iPhone’s connection problems were related to AT&T’s overloaded 3G network rather than the handset. The study earned Wired.com nominations for awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) and the Online News Association (ONA).

While at Wired.com, Brian’s biggest scoop involved the famous iPhone 4 prototype that an Apple employee left at a bar in 2010. The person who found the phone sold it to Gizmodo.com, which published pictures of the device. Brian followed clues on social media and the Internet to track down and unmask the man who took the phone from the bar.

In 2011, Brian completed a book about the always-connected mobile future titled Always On, which was published by Da Capo. He has been a technology commentator on several radio and television programs, including Fresh Air, All Tech Considered, Bloomberg West, CNN and CNBC. Finally, he was a founding editor of TheWirecutter.com, a website that features only the best of the best in consumer electronics.

Specialties: Writing, editing, news reporting, journalism, blogging, research, film reviewing, computers, technology, commodity hardware testing and reviewing.”

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianxchen

The article reviewed for this blog was titled Star Witness in Apple Lawsuit is Steve Jobs, and is about an upcoming lawsuit in which old e-mails and conversation from the late Steve Jobs are being used in court as evidence that Apple’s iPod put competing music software companies in jeopardy. It is one of the third major antitrust lawsuits Apple has faced since Steve Jobs died (Chen, 2014). Chen gave quotes from Michael Carrier a Professor at Rutgers School of Law, who said “Steve Jobs was a genius in terms of his vision for the future, but it went along with a really healthy ego and perhaps the lack of an antitrust filter” (Chen, 2014). There were also quotes from the plaintiffs’ lawyer Bonny Sweeney as well. What I found really insightful was the actual transcripts from Steve Jobs’ emails dating back to 2003, in which he discussed a new software Music Match that was a competitor music store to Apple, and that they were not going to allow it to work with their iPod (Chen, 2014). Chen discusses the upcoming trial and how e-mails from Steve Jobs will affect Apple in a negative way. Chen also discusses e-mails from past lawsuits and how current Apple executives such as Philip Schiller (marketing) and Eddy Cue (iTunes director) will be brought to trial to testify on Apple’s behalf.

Based on the guidelines listed in the article Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources, I have mapped out the facts to determine the credibility of Brian X Chen. I do believe that Chen showed some signs of bias for example when Chen stated “and that’s not necessarily good news for Apple,” in reference to Steve Jobs being a key witness in the upcoming lawsuit (Chen, 2014). Chen clearly showed some of his bias in that statement, however followed it up with a more neutral comment such as “the emails in all these cases present the good and bad of Steve Jobs – charmer and bully, someone who may not always have played by the rules” (Chen, 2014). Looking at the website there is a date of 11/30/14 followed by a correction on 12/2/14, it is clear this site is up to date. There are also links that have pictures of people in Christmas hats which correlates to the upcoming holiday all of which leads me to believe website is current. There were however no works cited or references other then stating the background of the individuals quoted such as Professor Michael Carrier that I discussed above. There is also an available printed version of this article under the heading Star Witness in Apple Suit is Still Jobs. The website is considered a news and journalistic site, it is clearly from The New York Times, which includes national, international news, online newspapers, magazines, and “homegrown” Web publications (Montecino, 1998).

There was a correction on December 2, 2014 that indicated the correct month in which the trial will start, which was April and not January as Chen stated. This correction makes me curious what else could have been incorrect. On the flipside it also shows that this article has been proofed and edited to make sure it is accurate which leads to more credibility. If this had come from a blogger and not a reporter for The New York Times, I would definitely be more skeptical. I believe the information provided has shown that Brian X. Chen is a reliable source.

In regards to how social media has played a role in the spreading and receiving of information, is is clear from the readings that discussed multiple examples in which there were mistakes because reporters were in too much of a time crunch to get all the facts. What I thought was really interesting and something I think all reporters and editors should abide by are initiatives such as the Verification Handbook (Vis, 2014). The Verification Handbook is a guideline that explains how to deal with false information (Vis, 2014). In the article How does false information spread online? by Farida Vis, she stated

In this emergent field of study we need solutions that not only help us to better understand false information spreads online but also how to deal with it. This requires different types of expertise: a strong understanding of social media combined with an ability to deal with large volumes of data that foreground the importance of human interpretation of information in context (Vis, 2014).

I believe there should be more focus on verifying the facts and not getting consumed in the time crunch that social media enhances because it only leads to more false reporting. In a time where anyone can be a blogger it is important to get the facts right so we don’t have more cases like Flight 214. It’s the job of the reporter to fact check along with the editors, I would think that social media has only made it harder on them and will continue going forward.

Reference

Chen, B. (2014, November 30). Star witness in Apple lawsuit is Steve Jobs. The New York Times. Retrieved from    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/technology/star-witness-in-apple-suit-is-steve-jobs.html?ref=technology&_r=0

Montecino, V. (1998). Criteria to evaluate the credibility of WWW resources. Retrieved from http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-sites.htm

Vis, F. (2014). How does false information spread online? Retrieved from http://www.socialsciencespace.com/2014/04/how-does-false-information-spread-online/

Examining Media Use and Influence

• 1) What forms of new media do you use daily?

The forms of media I use daily rely heavily on what I see through Facebook. I spend most of my time watching SportsCenter on TV. I am extremely well versed in what is current in sports but not so much with the world around me. I also spend my time listening to ESPN Milwaukee specifically designed around the Green Bay Packers news, when I’m in the car, which is 75% of my job. In regards to new media it is definitely through the use of Facebook. A prime example would be what I found out about the Malaysian airlines disappearance and what is going on with Ebola, all of which I got from different news stations I have liked through Facebook or the statuses of others that I read off of my news feed.

• 2) In what ways does media reach you indirectly (through friends, co-workers, etc.)?
• I would have to say media reaches me indirectly through friends from a social media aspect because I am able to see what they are posting through their status updates without any of my interaction. It allows me to keep up with those I’m connected with. A number of posts reflect what is going on in the world or news articles that are being shared across different platforms. As for coworkers a lot of that comes from mass e-mails throughout my hospital system that are being sent to all users. I tend to avoid mixing coworkers with Facebook because I believe Facebook to be more personal and don’t like the two to cross paths.

• 3) Do you think that media influences your perspective of world events?

Having worked in a new station during my college internship I have grown very skeptical of what I see or here about from the news. However, I am very influenced by branding, the more I see the more I believe it is the best or top of the line. A lot of that comes from marketing. I spend my time working in marketing and the more exposure to a product tends to lead people to believe that it is better then those other brands that are unheard of. This might not necessarily mean it is the best but clearly there is money being spent to show that they are something worth buying. It is attractive to the consumer to see a brand over and over again. When I was younger I was definitely more influenced by what the media portrayed. Thinking back to 9/11, I was very close to joining the Army but didn’t because that was never a plan of mine so it goes to show that the speeches made and recruiting efforts dished out by the media were very influential. One of my best friends did enlist after 9/11 for what I believe were very similar reasons to why I almost did.

• 4) Do you believe that the media has the power to tell you what to think about, but not what to think?

This is the whole process with agenda setting theory, in which they may not tell you what to think but what to think about.   I absolutely believe the media has to the power to tell you what to think about. However, I think it comes down to the person themselves to do the research to make sure whatever you are being told is accurate. With all the technology we have today it is very easy to fact check, but it is important to pull information from a creditably source. We also can get sucked into believing everything that is on the Internet, which is why doctors ask patients not to Google symptoms because they will in return get too much information and think something simple as a cold is lung cancer. It is a fine line to walk but the ability to do so is there.

• 5) Can media shape your beliefs? If not, explain. If yes, to what degree? Is the influence strong and direct—for example, if a newscaster told you to go jump off a bridge, would you do it? Or are your beliefs cultivated over time through continued exposure, resulting in small but measureable effects?

I believe that I’m a very analytical person in which if I heard something I would double check and triple check before repeating it. There is a catch to that though because for instance if it was SportsCenter and they reported a scandal, let’s say the Ray Rice incident, one would think it is the correct information, but the reporters are only going off what they have at that given moment. The information it’s always subject to change. I think working in the news prior to healthcare has helped in my ability not to swallow everything I see or hear right away.

• 6) Are these positive or negative influences?

I would like to think positive because for the most part I’m being educated on information I know nothing off. I’m not following celebrities and doing what they are doing because it’s cool. The most influence I have is from sports media or what I see on the news through Facebook and I like to think the reporters have done their research but after all the studies I have had it’s clear to me that they are only human. It’s very simple humans make mistakes, they aren’t always going to be right. Of course there are negative influences, I truthfully think the Kardashians are a negative influence on the world and why they are being reported is mind boggling to me, but that is a personal opinion. I think it comes down to the person to decide what is negative and what isn’t. There are definitely news stations that are focused on their beliefs, for example there are Republican stations that focus their blame on President Obama which can have a very negative influence because they don’t believe in his policies. Some may see that as a negative influence and some may see it as a positive depending on their beliefs. For those uneducated on the matter it can be harmful because there are bias opinions being filtered without all the facts.

7) How have information revolutions resulted in ways of knowledge changing or remaining the same? How has the power of media changed throughout history? What are some differences and similarities of our current time and place to the past? (Hint: See Blur Chapter 2.)

After reading this week’s module assignments, the idea that stood out to me was that we have been here before (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2010). Obviously we have advanced throughout the years from cave paintings, to books, to printing press, radio, TV, and now Internet/Social Media. However, something has always stayed the same, we use media to gain knowledge on the world around us. The power has changed because it has expanded to a global scale in which we can get information from all over the world by the click of a button. The differences from now and the past is that it’s more accessible through ICT devices. What I thought was really interesting in our readings is the idea that authorities will be replaced by new ones (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2010). There may be more freedom to access information right now but it won’t be long until some government puts a law into place to regulate what can or can’t be said on the Internet.

Reference

Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2010). Blur: How to know what’s true in the age of information overload. New York: Bloomsbury.