New News 2010 Day 2

9AM

Refreshing change. Indigenous media panel.

Speaking Up: Telling Indigenous Stories and the Opportunities of New Media

Kerry Klimm (Kinnected) with Leigh Harris (Blackvine Media Group), Kerri-Lee Harding (Yalarry Indigma Media), Bess Nungarrayi Price and Rita Cattoni (Indigenous Community Television).

Rita & Bess showing a cross selection from Indigitube of community produced video.

Rita:
Needed to get back TV access as web limited in remote Australia. Now have weekend satellite broadcasting thanks to WA govt. ICTV Alice Springs based.

Bess:
Storytelling for indigenous people: learn, listen, tell stories essential for traditional survival. Mobile phones now everywhere in communities. Enthusiastic use of new media.

Kerri-Lee: Her story - 15 years broadcast experience in mainstream and indig media. Family grew up on Cherbourg Mission QLD. Now freelance journalist about to work with Koori Radio.

Cultural component vital to indig media. NAIDOC Week ABC digital radio was exciting. Featured ABC's Speaking Out and Awaye! programs amongst many others.

Leigh:
From QLD. Blackvine developing websites esp. for mobile devices. Avoids govt. money.
Involvement includes: Inguides available on all mobile phone platforms. Working with CNNiReport to upload content. iPad interactive languages map. One laptop per child.
Huge digital gap, training needs. Need for a 'datacentre' to host and access content.
One mobile per child.

Update 1

Kleptomaniacs and Walled Gardens

Will people pay to access news content online, or will news have to be free?

Julianne Shultz (PIJ Board, ABC Board and Griffith Review talks to Andrew Hunter (Head of Network, ninemsn) and Alan Kohler (Eureka Report, Business Spectator).

Andrew:
ninemsn makes lion-share from ads. Unlikely to change in near future for their digital platform. Syndication business supplies news to others. Couponing business just launched. Owners PBL Media and Microsoft provide about half of content: Channel 9 and magazines. also use wire services. 10% content: written, graphic and video from repackaging of 9 & other material, original content as well.
Apps good for commuters.
Websites not as attractive as TV: HTML 'boxy'.

Alan:
Eureka Report 5 years old. Subscription online newsletter. Aimed at self-managed super funds. Business Spectator originally planned as paid product but how do stop sharing of online? or compete with free competitors. Decision to go free correct one but ad revenue low. Advertising price has collapsed. Audience for ads online is known v. newspapers.
Ad rates unlikely to recover.
Explosion of people undertaking journalistic work for little financial reward.
Paying for Apps waste of money if you don't get anything more than free website.

Q. News Limited paid experiment:

Alan: Will fail. Struggling. Rupert doesn't use or understand the Internet. Content not different enough for people to pay. Australia NL trying to wriggle out of it.

Andrew: NL UK situation uncertain. If still have 10% of audience doing well but unlikely. Rupert sees Google as kleptomaniacs. Facebook the other competitor.

Audience: Facebook corporate pages becoming increasing important.

Alan: Value/usefulness/employability of journalism qualifications questioned.
Andrew: Still valued. Need fro J schools to keep up with new media.

Q. of Micro-payments: Alan: Upfront subscriptions more secure. Andrew: iTunes seems to have it right.

Update 2

Noon.


The Ethical Journalist Online

Chair: Denis Muller (Swinburne), Paul Chadwick (ABC), Chris Chapman (ACMA), Julian Disney (Press Council)

Chris:
Challenges of public interest journalism eg privacy. Legislation not up to new digital media. Connected behavior needs a legal framework. Existing, accepted ethics/standards in traditional/old media. Licensee codes (ACMA & ABC) for TV specify or imply many of these: privacy, vulnerability, consent, privacy v. public interest, death & grief. Others: covert recording, disclosure, commentary v. analysis.
Sponsored content a concern - draft coming.
Need an enforceable regime for online/new media

Paul:
Old Js v. new Js ethics
Samenesses: accuracy, fair (cool and adjusted), not bribed or intimidated, independent, attribute, avoid deception, understanding of human rights (privacy, liberty, non-discrimination), public interest, trusted important

Purposes: what are ethics for? the verbs describe, inform etc.

Changes: power (few to many, privileged to everyone) what to omit in new codes?
'Artificial intelligence' means reconsideration of what new J can do/should do. E.g. Accuracy, sourcing, info gathering, pseudonymity, private v. public self (personal voice v. employers). Our authentic selves v. public persona.

Julian:
Print media experience. Council role: Protect access to info and freedom of expression for Js. Handle complaints. Jurisdiction over members' websites eg newspapers.
Issues for online:
Time pressures on content, temptations to cut corners. Correcting mistakes online easier but can be tempting: publish and withdraw later. Illusion that corrections happen online.
Archives can affect reputation eg past convictions. Hard to rectify mistakes or damage.
Identification of source eg letter to editor. Comment streams moderation patchy.
Taking from other sources without checking its accuracy etc.

* * * * * * *
Q. of verification:

"If it's wrong it won't be long for long". How do corrections get to same audience? Same standards for online Js?
How do you write standards in absolute terms? Are audience expectations in different contexts a factor?
Same standards but extended version for online? Do ethics need to be used/applied more often?

Update 3

1.30 PM

Doing it Better: Opportunities for Better Coverage of the Issues that Matter

Chair Elaine Henry (PIJ Board, Smith Family CEO) talks to Alan Attwood (The Big Issue), Jan Schaffer (J-Lab) and Ben Naparstek (The Monthly).

Alan:
Publication, the Big Issue, helps those who sell it. Very involving. Aim to sell on content not as donation/ Old tech. print. Circulation surviving against flow.

Ben:
15 months at . Literary J. Literature pportunity to read widely about subjects in depth. Most academia at Johns Hopkins sneered at journalism - "stuff general public". The Monthly - high quality but not exclusive. speaks to wider public about ideas/things that matter.

Jan:
'Old' U.S. paper J. from 70s. Moved to civic J. project. Not popular with "cardinals" of journalism (cg Laurie Oakes). Then J_Lab. in 2002 helping independent community news people to use digital tech. for citizen media.

Who decides what matters?

Big Issue (fortnightly) ignores news. Liberating. Interesting, quirky. Personal stories. Cits writing about themselves.

Monthly can't be news. Politically heterodox. Looking for diversity. Unpredictably. Trying to expand pool of writers. MSM Js often unavailable.

Jan: Js often have no handle on what matters to ordinary people. Ask your audience! Understanding how people frame their issues. Help with background, context. Ignore scorecard J.

Who are the stewards for new media eg to protect public?

Jan: community members. Media literacy education needed.

Ben: increasingly blogosphere public protects itself.

Alan is not part of the blogosphere. Desire to be published (rather than be J) very strong and widespread. Need to open up communication with your community of writers & readers. Ben has much smaller pool of potential writers.

Alan: people want stories that are not just the "serious" pieces. Animals always a winner.

Ben: tony Abbott in lycra has limited appeal.

Jan: conflict a winner, even of ideas.

4.15 PM

Keynote finale: Closing Address

Jan Schaffer, Pulitzer Prize winner and Executive Director of the Insitute for Interactive Journalism (J-Lab) delivers the closing address for New News 2010.

Optimistic that citizens will get their media needs met. Includes citizen media makers/journalists, partnership coordinators, fact entrepreneurs, creative technologists, philanthropic foundations, universities, advocacy groups, government.

New news: Sharing info, facilitating conversations, crowd sourcing, smart curation, aggregation, data mining and visualisations, social media distribution.

Deputise new reporters, incentivise new sources, empower new ideas, re-imagine journalism

8 J-Lab trends:

Hyperlocal news sites:
individuals, old media companies, new media companies

Statewide news ventures:
Texas Tribune, California Watch, NJ Spotlight

Independent Metro news sites:
MinnPost.com

University-based news sites
Grand Avenue News, GrossePointToday.com

Creative Technologists:
Document cloud (NYT) Word Train

Net-J Collaboration:
The Seattle Times

Philanthropic Foundations:
Knight Citizen News Network database

Advocacy news sites:
Sunlight Foundation, The Notebook

Tremendous experiments in new journalism/media: J-Lab projects

Adding value to J:

Master narratives, connecting dots, explanatory J., asking obvious Qs, revisiting paradigms, "zag instead of zig" leaving the pack.

Validate consensus as well as conflict.

Still steeped in conventions of old J. Need to break away.

How CitJs do their work incredibly important. Training!

5 Key Lessons:

1. CitJ high-chum, high-touch
2. sweat equity is key
3. social media is game-changing
4. academic calendar not good enough
5. hyperlocal sites not business yet

Measures of success:

• new local coverage
• go-to places for crisis info
• empowered voters
• help solve community problems
• foster community media skills

Task to build as well as cover community.