Apparently journalism is changing, and we need to adapt and learn new skills – but, in my opinion, you can’t place enough importance on the tried and tested journalistic tactics of the typewriter era*.
I’ve spoken to a few student journalists, and work experience boys and girls at the Mercury, about the job and I say the same thing every time. I tell them that the way we communicate is changing, and Twitter and Facebook and the multitudes of other social networking sites and blogging and YouTube are altering the way we interact, distribute and access information… but the only thing which can turn these into effective tools is good old-fashioned journalism.
It is even more important on sites like Twitter, where the lack of word space calls for the ability to write clearly and concisely.
What kind of animal would steal photos of bicycles
If you click on the link, you find that it was the bikes that were stolen, and not photographs of them as the post suggests.
A recent story about a gun being found near a children’s playground is an example of how the internet has helped to keep us keep up to date with what’s going on in the city.
A contact of mine, Albert Berer, who runs the community watchdog website St Peters Neighbourhood Monitoring, posted this on Twitter:
Albert's Twitter post
I called him and we spoke for about 15 minutes – he told me about the ‘where, when, who, what and how’ which gave me enough information to approach the police and ask about the incident – without Albert’s post, I don’t think the cops would have notified anyone about the incident.
I ventured out to the scene, spoke to some terrified parents and worried residents and before I knew it we had a front page story.
The internet is a very useful tool, but it needs people like Albert to continue the traditional role of caring and keeping an eye out for his community, and it needs reporters to be able to turn that information in relevant, interesting and informative news.
* I’ve never used a typewriter for the purposes of journalism, I’m simply trying to say ‘a long time ago’…
