Comments on: The Fundamental Training Need http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/ Derek Willis' weblog on investigative and computer-assisted reporting. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:26:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0-alpha hourly 1 By:   Bookmarks for June 5th through July 27th by andydickinson.net http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-138258   Bookmarks for June 5th through July 27th by andydickinson.net Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:01:04 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-138258 [...] The Fundamental Training Need :: The Scoop - "yeah, teach those CAR and multimedia skills. Have everybody Twitter. But please, let’s find a way to address the fact that for many journalists, Microsoft Word is the primary tool for organizing any and all kinds of information" I think the best way to do that is to teach them CAR and all that stuff and wean them away. [...] [...] The Fundamental Training Need :: The Scoop – "yeah, teach those CAR and multimedia skills. Have everybody Twitter. But please, let’s find a way to address the fact that for many journalists, Microsoft Word is the primary tool for organizing any and all kinds of information" I think the best way to do that is to teach them CAR and all that stuff and wean them away. [...]

]]> By: Notes from a Teacher - Wednesday squibs http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-137979 Notes from a Teacher - Wednesday squibs Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:26:15 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-137979 [...] The Fundamental Training Need, by Derek Willis, calls for journalists to get much, much better at the fundamentals of organizing information. “In general, and this is my scientific conclusion, we suck at managing information.” [...] [...] The Fundamental Training Need, by Derek Willis, calls for journalists to get much, much better at the fundamentals of organizing information. “In general, and this is my scientific conclusion, we suck at managing information.” [...]

]]> By: Links for today | Links para hoje « O Lago | The Lake http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-137597 Links for today | Links para hoje « O Lago | The Lake Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:04:59 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-137597 [...] The Fundamental Training Need, The Scoop [...] [...] The Fundamental Training Need, The Scoop [...]

]]> By: Andy http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-137589 Andy Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:35:23 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-137589 Interesting post. I think your point "a news organization’s information belongs to the organization, not just to individual reporters and editors," is really important. To be honest a lot of the reason that data gets put in to silos within newsrooms comes down to individuals not engaging with even the simplest of sharing techniques. Forget about tags or meta or social bookmarks. Even just sharing contacts is like pulling teeth for some. We all know why. That's your individual journalistic equity - you arent going to give it away. No amount of api's, sharing etc will work until that mindset is gone. People will subvert it, ignore it and kill it before it starts. Large organisations need to shift perspective more to the idea that this will benefit the individual journalist first. Help them build a brand online. Help them with their own, individual process. Then you'll see the benefits. Interesting post. I think your point “a news organization’s information belongs to the organization, not just to individual reporters and editors,” is really important.

To be honest a lot of the reason that data gets put in to silos within newsrooms comes down to individuals not engaging with even the simplest of sharing techniques. Forget about tags or meta or social bookmarks. Even just sharing contacts is like pulling teeth for some. We all know why. That’s your individual journalistic equity – you arent going to give it away.

No amount of api’s, sharing etc will work until that mindset is gone. People will subvert it, ignore it and kill it before it starts. Large organisations need to shift perspective more to the idea that this will benefit the individual journalist first. Help them build a brand online. Help them with their own, individual process. Then you’ll see the benefits.

]]> By: sandra fish http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-137547 sandra fish Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:49:43 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-137547 one of the failures of most newspapers has been their inability to realize the <i>value</i> of the information they possess, from historic photo and clip archives, to databases they should be archiving for future use and more. with probably only a few talented folks - like the librarians the papers have laid off - they could not only make connections in this information for their newsroom, but repackage slices of it for - get this! - profit. there are businesses out there using newspaper and other databases to do research for corporations and reselling it at reportedly hefty rates. one of the failures of most newspapers has been their inability to realize the value of the information they possess, from historic photo and clip archives, to databases they should be archiving for future use and more.

with probably only a few talented folks – like the librarians the papers have laid off – they could not only make connections in this information for their newsroom, but repackage slices of it for – get this! – profit. there are businesses out there using newspaper and other databases to do research for corporations and reselling it at reportedly hefty rates.

]]> By: links for 2009-06-27 – Innovation in College Media http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-137544 links for 2009-06-27 – Innovation in College Media Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:01:39 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-137544 [...] The Fundamental Training Need :: The Scoop The real problem is the way that we as journalists manage information, because that determines so much else: the kinds of stories we’re able to envision and construct, the amount of context we’re able to bring to bear in a short amount of time and our ability to connect the dots. In general, and this is my scientific conclusion, we suck at managing information. (tags: data theory journalism) Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...] [...] The Fundamental Training Need :: The Scoop The real problem is the way that we as journalists manage information, because that determines so much else: the kinds of stories we’re able to envision and construct, the amount of context we’re able to bring to bear in a short amount of time and our ability to connect the dots. In general, and this is my scientific conclusion, we suck at managing information. (tags: data theory journalism) Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

]]> By: Mindy McAdams http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-137517 Mindy McAdams Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:16:36 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-137517 It sounds like this would require data entry and tagging, which might not be a bad thing for journalists to get into the habit of doing for each story. I'm reminded of Adrian Holovaty's standard speech about how every crime report is a little dataset (date, place, suspect, victim, type of crime). It would be easy enough to require six or 10 fields to be filled in (in a CMS) before the reporter is taken to the screen where she writes the story, or before the photographer uploads her take, etc. The harder part would be, I think, adding contextual tags in a consistent way -- for example, "development" or "sprawl." And then the place names ... one option is "Newberry Road" and another is "Oaks Shopping Mall." Both are correct, but omission of one will affect future linking situations. Just brainstorming ... It sounds like this would require data entry and tagging, which might not be a bad thing for journalists to get into the habit of doing for each story. I’m reminded of Adrian Holovaty’s standard speech about how every crime report is a little dataset (date, place, suspect, victim, type of crime).

It would be easy enough to require six or 10 fields to be filled in (in a CMS) before the reporter is taken to the screen where she writes the story, or before the photographer uploads her take, etc. The harder part would be, I think, adding contextual tags in a consistent way — for example, “development” or “sprawl.” And then the place names … one option is “Newberry Road” and another is “Oaks Shopping Mall.” Both are correct, but omission of one will affect future linking situations.

Just brainstorming …

]]> By: Cromag http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-137498 Cromag Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:01:44 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-137498 Well said! Well said!

]]> By: Jamie Scanlon http://blog.thescoop.org/archives/2009/06/25/the-fundamental-training-need/comment-page-1/#comment-137497 Jamie Scanlon Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:54:07 +0000 http://blog.thescoop.org/?p=5229#comment-137497 I know a lot a Journalists ( my wife works in newspapers and so did I early in my career). One disturbingly common thread between most Journalists is that they are very bad about understanding technology. Anybody who is on the forefront is dealing with the problem of organizing a vast amount of information, but they handle it by understanding how to harness the power of technology to filter the information fire hose. There has not been a breaking news story in the past year that I have not heard about first through twitter. Journalists no longer break stories, their value is in providing depth. In the age of technology, information is free and instantaneous. It's kind of funny that the name of your blog is thescoop.com because the word 'scoop' is meaningless in a world of fast paced technology. I agree with your point but the answer is not to limit the amount of information you receive. In fact it is the opposite. The answer is to use technology to gather as much information you can and then filter it so that the really important stuff rises to the top. Jamie I know a lot a Journalists ( my wife works in newspapers and so did I early in my career). One disturbingly common thread between most Journalists is that they are very bad about understanding technology. Anybody who is on the forefront is dealing with the problem of organizing a vast amount of information, but they handle it by understanding how to harness the power of technology to filter the information fire hose.

There has not been a breaking news story in the past year that I have not heard about first through twitter. Journalists no longer break stories, their value is in providing depth. In the age of technology, information is free and instantaneous. It’s kind of funny that the name of your blog is thescoop.com because the word ’scoop’ is meaningless in a world of fast paced technology.

I agree with your point but the answer is not to limit the amount of information you receive. In fact it is the opposite. The answer is to use technology to gather as much information you can and then filter it so that the really important stuff rises to the top.

Jamie

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