Journalist or commenter? Where does a young journalist fit in on social media sites and comments sections?
More than a reader, but not quite a professional journalist just yet:
One of the questions going on inside my heading during the conference about user comments and ethics codes for news organizations is where do young journalists fit in on the web. I’m talking about student reporters, who are still in school and perhaps working at a student paper or interning locally, or young graduates still looking for a job and not yet a part of a media organization. Should we carry ourselves as journalists on the web? Should we refrain from online discussion boards … comment anonymously? or comment with our real names?
Should we debate on blogs or add comments to articles if we are journalists ourselves? Peter Kafka has shown us how Twitter can be great for tracking the development of a story, but should we use the medium to voice our own views? Should we engage in the social media movement as just places for tips, or should we respond actively? I’m trying to write my own code of ethics and am wondering what other journalists and young reporters think.
There’s such a big paper trail on the web, and I think it’s important to explore where young journalists fit in, especially if they’re looking to get into the professional news business that demands journalists understand and make use of the social media community.
I too think it’s hard to know how to state our opinions online. Do we (young journalists) stay away from joining political movements, adding them to facebook, etc. Do we hurt our potential credibility by stating our preferences on social media sites or blogs? I’ve heard from many of my professors and some career experts that young journalists looking for jobs should start their own blog to get their voices out there. Well, what kind of blog. Am I seen differently if I focus on entertainment vs. analyzing newspaper bankruptcies? What if I opined on a part of Obama’s budget. Can I then never write as a political reporter because I exposed my opinion somewhere? You raise an excellent question about what where we fit in.
One safe haven for young journalists, I think, is websites and forums (like this one) that are about journalism. Comment sections can be great tools for journalists to talk collectively about ethics concerns.
This is a lot about what kind of voice you wish to have and that is hard to determine at 18, 19, 20, etc. It is great to write to practice writing, but, yes, it is important to remember that the web is (nearly) forever and it can come back to bite. I would be more worried about the social networking sites than a site dedicated to your own craft; just keep the social blogging entirely separate from the area of profession blogging.
As always, Lexie, you can email us Cardinal alums for more help.
I agree about the confusion around starting a blog for a young journalist. In my case, I always stuck to opinion journalism, so it was never a problem, but for someone going into reporting, do you focus on objective commentary without necessarily revealing your position? If so, that’s kind of a hard thing to do.
The best blog would be one where you do some actual reporting and, with any luck, break stories.