With social media, blogging and other challenges and opportunities of the digital age, journalists face new ethical situations. The American Press Institute, with a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, has developed a seminar to guide journalists through these unfamiliar waters. The seminar tackles real-life situations and explains how to apply the time-tested values of journalism in today's fast-changing world. Hear Steve Buttry at http://jrnethics.wordpress.com/
COST: FREE! You can attend one 90-minute workshop or all four
FEATURING Steve Buttry, the C3 Innovation Coach at Gazette Communications. Buttry is a former editor of the Cedar Rapids Gazette and former Omaha World-Herald reporter.
SCHEDULE
8-8:30 a.m. coffee and rolls
8:30-10 a.m. Social Networks -- How do you vet sources through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social networks? What guidelines should you follow on using photographs from social-networking sites? What about your staff's personal content on these sites?
10-15-11:45 a.m. Blogging -- What guidelines should reporters have as they blog? What rules should your staff follow in citing material from blogs? What guidelines should you have for community blogs on your site or for comments on blogs? What about your staff's personal blogs?
11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch on your own
1:30-3 p.m. Breaking News -- How do traditional standards change when you're covering breaking news online as it is developing? What are your standards for accuracy and fairness? How do you stay first with the news while guarding against false reports? How do you correct errors? When does fairness require a response before publishing online?
3:15-4:45 p.m. Visual Journalism -- How should your staff handle issues such as digital manipulation of photos and videos? What about virtual reality, computer animations and simulations, or use of sound effects in videos, podcasts and audio slide shows?
The seminar is sponsored by the Nebraska Press Association Foundation, the American Press Institute, the Ethics & Excellence Journalism Foundation and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
