Turning News Into Knowledge

In the age of the information society, with the development of Web 2.0 and 3.0, there have been radical changes in the ways through which people communicate and obtain news. The lives and capabilities of individuals and institutions have forever been altered. Governments and corporations have had to adapt to the internet in order to foster participation and communication, but it is perhaps the news industries that have seen the most radical transformations associated with the emergence of the net.

Throughout history, the tools used for journalistic production rested in the hands of a select few who had the means and capital to engage in such a process. The ability to gather and report information, to document events through photographs and video footage, and to disseminate the package to a mass audience was only achieved by media industries with professionally educated journalists. All of this has now changed.

As technology evolves at an alarming pace, the capabilities of average citizens continue to escalate as the costs for equipment such as cameras, camcorders, and computers spirals downwards. In the contemporary state of society, just about everyone has access to the tools of production and distribution with which they can disseminate almost any type of information they please to the masses. As a result of Web 2.0, defined by interactive social networking sites such as weblogs, Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, the exclusivity of information broadcasting that journalists held for so long has diminished. However, there are many implications – both positive and negative – which the internet and what is known as citizen journalism have brought about.

Perhaps the greatest ramification that the internet has had on news and journalism is that corporate and mainstream media have lost their stranglehold on citizens as the only outlet for obtaining daily news and information. The mass media rely heavily on the concepts of framing and agenda setting in order to perpetuate and propagate information which often furthers their interests. Through the selective construction and manipulation of news stories, audiences are told what to think about and from what perspective. Often, relevant parts of a story are omitted or an important event may not be covered in a newscast at all. It has been said that the news shapes the pictures in our heads. With the rise of citizen journalism, we now have the ability to paint our mental canvas with whatever pictures we want.

Citizen journalism can be loosely defined as the ability of an ordinary citizen to collect, report, analyze and disseminate news and information. This provides alternative views to what the mainstream media feeds the public. This has had profound effects not only in democratic societies but in dictatorial, state-media controlled ones too. The barriers to the free flow of information in the public sphere have been knocked down. The model of news from a one-way flow of information has now become a two-way flow. Also, because alternative media is not profit driven, there exists an unprecedented amount of consumer sovereignty and cultural citizenship.

The democratization of the media has brought reason for celebration; but there is reason for concern as well. As the mainstream media has lost control over its tools of the trade, and is no longer the only focal point of societal and political influence, can the online communities of citizen journalists be trusted to provide accurate reporting? Maybe some stories are not written with the rhetoric and professional linguistic styling of some reporters, but we are exposed to news and information which we would never have access to if we relied solely on the mainstream media. For instance, independent media brought the attention of the world to the brutal, dictatorial happenings in Burma and other places throughout the globe where citizens use cell phones to record footage and then disseminate it on the internet. Furthermore, can we actually rely on the mainstream media to provide us with accurate accounts of events – or real events at all?

Jayson Blaire, a once well known and renowned journalist for the New York Times, resigned in 2003 after he was caught and admitted to fabricating and plagiarizing news stories. How about the events leading up to the Iraq war? The spin and packing of political news used to regulate the flow of information is highly unsettling. Embedded journalism, press-releases, and staged press events all function to control the opinion and behaviour of the masses. The Bush administration created fabrications related to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which were never found, yet resulted in a war that is present to this date. Before the rise of Web 2.0, and what can be called journalism 2.0, society had no control over the flow of information. Now, if you don’t like the press – become the press.

There are many websites that have established themselves as credible, alternative news sources to mainstream, corporate media. A few examples of these are:

• Independent Media Centre
• Rebel News
• Canadian Alternative News Media

Blogs have made mainstream media more accountable. As these alternative news sources now exist, media industries must adapt to the new model of journalism. Most media outlets now provide online versions of their stories where a forum is provided for discussion. The public can give their viewpoints and insight…sort of. These discussion boards are moderated and therefore only acceptable arguments are posted. This illustrates that media industries are trying to appear transparent, but continually strive to control the flow of information.

So as society has been conditioned for so long not to question authority through critical thinking, web and journalism 2.0 has provided us with new tools to break free from this. Without a doubt there exists information on the internet that lacks substance or credibility, but the same goes for traditional media. What is required is a higher level of education and media literacy in order to be able to distinguish between bona fide and debatable information. So remember: If you don’t like the media, become the media.

Perspectives is a blogging series written, researched and compiled by teams of MediaMiser staff from Client Services, Sales, and R&D. This post was contributed by Paul Koziara, Paul Williamson, Stephanie Luedee and Eric Maciejewski.

As we get down to the short strokes and anticipation builds, the question is, who will light the Olympic Cauldron?

Chances are, this decision was made long ago and it’s one of the best kept secrets of these Olympic games.

Speculation has run rampant in both traditional and social media. A poll conducted Feb 1-2 by Angus Reid and commissioned by TSN and the Globe and Mail, found the most popular choice to light the cauldron was hockey great Wayne Gretzky at 25 per cent. Paraplegic athlete Rick Hansen was next at 17per cent, followed by Cindy Klassen and then Nancy Greene.

Betty Fox, mother of National hero Terry Fox, was 6th at 10 per cent.  Recently, however, there has been a big push through social media for Betty Fox to light the cauldron. A group created on Facebook urging organizers to pick Betty Fox has nearly 120,000 members and support on Twitter is growing.

So why was Betty Fox 10 per cent in the survey if there is such an outpouring of support on Facebook and Twitter?

Well, first it’s important to note that Betty Fox was 24 per cent in her home province of BC. Also, the survey was done at the beginning of the month and support for her has recently started to take root.

Therefore, the issue seems to be that Betty Fox and her son Terry, have just recently started to creep back into our National consciousness.

During the month of January, leading up to the poll, Betty Fox received less than 2 per cent of the new coverage Gretzky received. However, during this time the lighting of the cauldron was also the furthest thing from the media’s focus. Of all stories that dealt with Betty Fox and Gretzky, less than 2 per cent of the combined stories focused on the lighting of cauldron.

Justifiably, the media’s focus was pointed at issues such as disaster relief in Haiti and, coincidentally, Gretzky was involved with a telethon to help provide support to Haiti. In the month of January over 25 per cent of coverage that Gretzky received was in regards to the telethon.

Also, being in the throes of hockey season and the World Juniors you don’t require analysis to see where the lion share of his other coverage went.

However, with 5 days to go until the lighting of the cauldron, all of a sudden, people and the media started to take notice and the issue has become a hot subject. During the last 5 days, Betty Fox has received 12 times the amount of coverage.

In my opinion, if a poll was taken today, Betty Fox would be the overwhelming choice, because of the influence that traditional media has and the polarizing effect social media has to change opinion.

Also, the reason why most people chose Gretzky back in February was the influence of the media, simply because at the time, because of other coverage, he was more in our National consciousness. However, as we get closer to the lighting of the cauldron, people will think more of who will light it.

The decision that I believe was already made long ago, will be what most people would have ultimately chosen once they had time to discuss and think about the issue, and I believe it will be Betty Fox.

Please take this post with a grain of salt. However, this has been a really weird week in both the world of sports and the Twittosphere.

This week, we had cases of politicians and public figures tweeting stuff they shouldn’t, which of course made it to the mainstream press, making the person who made the inappropriate tweet look foolish and requiring them to make an apology.

In the world of sports, the FIFA World Cup (Soccer/Football) is reeling from an extremely contentious goal scored by the French National team over Ireland, knocking the Irish out of the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

So, what do these two things have in common? Well today, Thierry Henry, the French player who passed the ball with his hand (which should have negated the goal, sending Ireland to the World Cup) was reported by the Telegraph to have apologized on Twitter. You can see his apology on his Twitter page.

Now, I’m not saying it was inappropriate of Henry to say he’s sorry on Twitter. In fact, I believe this is a very good forum to do so, and many politicians and public figures may want to take note. That said, for the mainstream media reporting on Tweets of this nature, let’s be honest, it’s made for an interesting and very weird week.

Therefore, in the spirit of this very weird week, I suggest we develop a terminology for issuing apologies on Twitter.

I went to a Twitter glossary and found terminology for almost everything, except an apology. Since Twitter is now broadcasting apologies and, in many cases, is creating reasons for people (or tweeple) to apologize, we need a Twitter term for an apology.

Do you have a suggestion? Leave a comment below…

Resources:

• Nearly a third of the members of Parliament are on Twitter bandwagon (Canadian Press)
• MP tweets herself into hot water (Sun media)
• Halak agent faces Twitter backlash (CBC)
• Thierry Henry apologises for handball on Twitter (Telegraph)
• Thierry Henry’s Twitter page
• Twitter Glossary

One of the great dangers of social media is not saying too little, but saying too much.

Being a decision-maker and founder at MediaMiser, not only do I have intimate knowledge of where my company is going, but I also feel I have intimate knowledge of where the industry is going.

MediaMiser has a lot of credibility in its space and that opens the door to many different relationships. Plus, since a lot of my time revolves around technology and the operation of my company, I’m exposed to many leading-edge concepts.

There is so much I would love to communicate, but can’t. If I did, I could alienate partners and clients, and provide our competition with an edge.

This should not be just my dilemma, this should be everyone’s.  “Keep your cards close to your chest!”

So the question is, how do you give back and provide value so you are relevant?

The answer is there is no right answer.

It’s a tight rope walk that you need to struggle with and there maybe times where you make a mistake.  Hopefully, it’s not a big one. Keep in mind, when you say too much, you are not just hurting yourself, you could be hurting coworkers, partners, investors, etc.

Tips to avoid saying too much:

1. Don’t get emotional and always keep your ego in check: This is tough, especially if you are naturally competitive like most entrepreneurial people are.
2. Think of the consequences of communicating something and remember you can’t take it back.
3. Try to vet your information through someone else, especially if you are unsure. I personally do this a lot. It is not a weakness to know your limitations.
4. Provide a reason ‘why’ or an objective to posting information. If you can’t answer why, maybe it’s not a good idea. Warning: if you have a reason, make sure it doesn’t conflict with point 1, ‘don’t get emotional’. Some ideas seem good at first. Also, when justifying something, deploy point 3.
5. Wait a day before communicating something. This helps flush out ideas based on pure emotion.
6. Have a clear idea what your target medium is designed for. This may also aid in preventing abuse.
7. Develop a social media usage policy for your organization.
8. Develop internal social media networks. This has the potential of also creating a new set of problems, but at least in theory the damage will be limited internally. This also allows people to get familiar with social media. Practice makes perfect.

These tips aren’t designed to remove spontaneity or to stifle creativity.  However, it may be a side effect. This is why I wrote, “it’s a tight rope walk.”

On July 10, I wrote a blog posting called Beware of the viral nature of media.

It dealt with the United Breaks Guitars video, which went viral across the web and mainstream North American media.

Joe Boughner responded to the posting quite rightly questioning how much damage was actually being done to United Airlines’ brand. Joe also hoped that someone would do a six-month post-analysis on the story.

Well, we decided to do a one-month analysis of the United Breaks Guitars story and have some interesting results.

Whether long-term damage was done is still up for debate, especially since our analysis covers only the month of July.

That said, you can find the complete analysis on the Resource Center on the MediaMiser website. You can access it without providing personal information.

For those who don’t want to read it, here are some of the findings, which are backed up by the analysis in the report:

• Even though blogs and Twitter may have alerted traditional media of the story, traditional media outlets supercharged the story and made it a real issue for United Airlines.
• The majority of micro-bloggers (Twitter), tend be heavily influenced by the mainstream media.
• Do not underestimate the influence of blogs.  Even though the popularity of other social media is on the increase, and the number of people writing blogs may be waning, many are still relying on blogs for information.
• Not surprisingly, United Breaks Guitars dominated the news for United Airlines during the month of July.

There is probably a lot of handwringing at the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal over the so-called “wafergate” incident…

A story published on July 8, reported that Prime Mister Stephen Harper may have pocketed a communion wafer at former Governor General Roméo LeBlanc’s state funeral.

Three weeks after the fact, the Telegraph-Journal issued an apology and both the paper’s chief editor and publisher were apparently fired.

The Telegraph-Journal is one of New Brunswick’s most prominent and trusted newspapers.

There are people now questioning what led to the story and the motivation behind the apparent firings.

Whatever the motivations may be, I believe the reputation of a newspaper is its most valuable asset. This may or may not have been a factor in the apparent firings, and either way, I’m not personally judging the paper or their staff.

However, from a business perspective, newspapers must protect their brand and reputation.

Some believe that newspapers are dying and that you won’t need a paper to publish information.  Anyone will be able to do it online.

However, not everyone is a trusted source and we crave trusted sources.

Newsprint may disappear, but the masthead won’t if the paper is run properly and the journalistic professionalism is safeguarded.

A newspaper’s greatest asset is not the presses, the computers, or the paper it’s printed on, but the reputation of its brand.

United Airlines just got a brutal lesson on the viral nature of media.

According to Canadian musician Dave Carroll, United Airlines broke his $3,500 Taylor guitar.  For nine months, he unsuccessfully tried to get United to pay for the repair costs.

So, he took his case online to Youtube with a pretty slick music video called ‘United Breaks Guitars‘.

The video has had over 500,000 views since it was first posted Monday and now United is scrambling.

I was first referred to the video via a story in the Ottawa Citizen by Sarah Schmidt and Blair Crawford.

The term viral in the Ottawa Citizen story was in relation to Youtube and the Internet. However, ironically, as have already stated, I first heard about the story from the Ottawa Citizen – a traditional media outlet.

At last count, the story has appeared in over two hundred traditional outlets and thousands of blogs, which now includes this one.

Also, to add another layer of complexity for United,  when viewing the video on Youtube, you are given other anti-United videos to chose from, including a pretty funny Madtv skit.

Viral stories can jump medium to medium and organizations need to be more effective when monitoring and analyzing media as a whole and they need to be able to correlate the different media to one another.

In the case of ‘United Breaks Guitars’, all United can do is apologize and show humility, which they are doing. The video is too well done and has momentum.

I would also recommend that they analyze the ongoing situation and aftermath, so they can better understand what happened and try to figure out how they can repair some of the damage.

That said, they seem to be saying the right things to the media and they need to make sure they stay on message and show humility.

Again, to make sure they are being successful with their attrition, they should be constantly monitoring and analyzing all media, new and traditional.

In an article on cbcnews.ca, market research firm Nielsen Online found Twitter is having a problem retaining audience.

Even though Twitter’s base more than doubled in March, they have less than a 30 per cent retention, compared to a 70 per cent retention rate for both Facebook and MySpace.

The current state of the economy has definitely done a number on traditional news outlets.  Just recently, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer announced it is shutting down its presses and it is just publishing online only.

Some are pointing to this as the beginning of the end for the newspaper.  Others are saying that newspapers are just morphing into a new and more accessible medium — the web.

That said, the true value of a newspaper is not the paper it is printed on, but the credibility and value of news it reports.  Newspapers represent the trusted gatekeepers of current events.  They filter out what is not credible and not worthy for our consumption, which in turn makes us more knowledgeable.

Newsprint might die, but people will always seek out the credibility of the paper or publication — no matter what media it is on.

JibJab has just released its ‘2008 Year in Review‘.

Need I say more?

Enjoy.