Entrepreneurial Infograph

This is an infograph that my group made to explain what entrepreneurial journalism in. The members of my group are Nermine Aboubasha and Noor Gharbo.

Different types of journalism

The different types of journalism are:

·      Traditional Journalism

·      Online Journalism

·      Civic Journalism

·      Citizen Journalism

·      Human Rights Journalism

Traditional Journalism is the journalism that we see every day: the classic form of journalism. Traditional journalism is made up of getting information, writing articles, editing, and eventually publishing a newspaper.

Online Journalism is like traditional journalism, but instead of publishing the information in a newspaper or a magazine, it is published online. You can get to online journalism through the Internet.

Civic Journalism is the belief that writers have freedom of speech. The people are all a part of the news gathering process by giving their opinions and telling their problems. Journalists will use this information to make stories.

Citizen Journalism is where the people are journalists. Citizens who own blogs or have twitter accounts or use any form of social media to show information are considered to be a part of citizen journalism

Human Rights Journalism is journalism that covers any topics related to human rights. It was created to combine traditional and citizen topics to join the two categories together. A code of ethics was created to keep all journalists on a fair level with one another, and human rights journalism managed to combine two of the categories. Both traditional journalism and citizen journalism have a common interest – writing about human rights. That is why all human rights topics fall under the category of human righ

Entrepreneurial Journalism

A summary of the article "Entrepreneurial Journalism: The Life of the Freelance" by Mary Evans

Entrepreneurial Journalism Summary

It is made up of freelance journalists. A freelancer is someone who is self-employed and hired to work for different companies on particular assignments.

Every freelancer faces challenges that can be summarized to:

• ·        Finding work
• ·        Income
• ·        The future for freelancers

There were different perspectives from freelancers on the field

Adrian MacLeod, a media consultant, was negative on how he saw freelancers in general. He sees that freelancers don’t get paid enough for the work that they do, and that finding work is hard to begin with.

Fleetstreetfox, a freelancer for 20 years and a blogger, thinks that the industry has not changed at all. The only difference is that now there are more people in the field.

Sally Brockway, also a successful freelancer, thinks that the field was a lot better in the past. Her main issue was the money. She says that today she would be happy to get paid half of what she used to. Sally also does not recommend freelancing as a career,

Ian Abbott, an editor, says that the use of freelancers over time has decreased.

Currently, publications are choosing younger freelancers over the people that are experienced and working. This is because the newer journalists are willing to be paid less. Another reason is that the publications can train the new journalists to work the way that they want them to work.

It is advised that future freelancers need to create something different by getting stories that nobody else will get. It is also important to form a strong network, because knowing people is what helps freelancers get employed and advance in the field.

As times are changing, freelancers should stay up to date. New media should be embraced and used as a tool. Twitter, for example, is great for personal branding and networking. Freelancers should follow and interact with people. Their posts should be something worth sharing.

CHALLENGING QUESTIONS:

·      “I was a writer for 40 years. Now I’m a content provider. And content is free” (P J O’Rourke, 2012). What are the differences between a “writer” and a “content provider” and how do they affect modern freelancing.

I think a “writer” is somebody that writes basically anything in general, and therefore anybody can write and publish his or her work online. So this here is one of the reasons why people nowadays are wondering why they are supposed to pay people who just write basically and post online.

A “content provider” is somebody that provides people with content for them to make use of it. We can freely access and gain information through social media, anyone’s personal blogs or any other free publications that offers gaining information and we do not have to pay for any of it. To journalists, "content" is reading material or information of value to their target market. To us, the best content comes from writers.

·      Should freelancing be better regulated to prevent undercutting? Or is it every freelance for themselves?

A freelancer’s lifestyle does not allow many people the freedom to reach for better regulating. If any freelancer asks or argues about his or her payment they might as well just not get the job, because there are many other people who wouldn’t mind working in this career as long as they will be gaining any kind of money.

I think the regulations need to be changed for the people who work a lot and get way less than what they really deserve.

·      “Video killed the radio star” (The Buggles). Has digital journalism killed traditional print media freelancing?

Well I think that digital journalism overall is taking over print media somehow and there has been a huge decline that print media has been facing nowadays. Print media will only live with the generation that grew up using print media. In the generation we are living in now it seems that digital media will take over.

·      In new age of “citizen journalism” when anyone on the street can publish fact or opinion, what role is there for the freelance journalist?

The Freelancers are responsible for handling their own business finances. They also have their own PR team. The journalists take all the posts of people as free content and they are the ones that can reach out to people for more information. They have a kind off something we can call power in writing something.

From Journalism to Data Journalism

There are different types of journalism; among them is Data Journalism. Data Journalism is reporting information by using data.

Thanks to the current digital world, data are more than just a collection of numbers on a spreadsheet. Data are almost any possible topic described with numbers in different forms.

Data journalism isn’t like other forms of journalism. As opposed to having something written and traditional to express news or report information, data journalism uses a more visual approach – infographics.

Journalists use programming to gather and combine information from various sources. They can also use different software to find connections between different documents on the same sources.

Through the different documentation of sources, journalists can then create infographics to help display the information in a way that is easily understandable.

Infographics help explain how a story is relatable. It also helps people absorb a lot of information in a limited space.

For example, during the Olympics, there are charts that tell the people the number of medals won by a country. These infographics are also used to show information in a way that displays the different medals won on a scale relevant to each country. If this information were to be typed up, it would take a lot of space to write out each statistic for each country.

Infographics allow people to view the information quickly, in various ways, and in a small space.

Data is more than just information that journalists use for their stories, it can be the source, and the tool used to tell the story. You should keep in mind that any information given will be questioned, but the way it is presented will shape the way that people use it.

Journalists should use data as a tool to be able to verify the information given in their stories. There are news stories the second something happens from a bunch of different sources. Data journalists can collect and filter all these different sources of information, and compile them to create something that views the event through all sides.

Data journalism offers a new perspective on things as it creates the shape of the story. Journalists change their main focus from being the first to report a story and publish it to the public, to being the ones that tell what the story could mean.

Data, and the growing number of sources and “citizen journalism” should not be seen as a threat but as an opportunity.

This allows journalists to show different viewpoints and different affects based on the background of their sources. Journalists can also create personalized calculators that help the readers come up with their own decisions on various topics.

These topics could range from anything from buying a car to watching a movie.

Data journalists are able to analyze the way complicated situations are, and the different dynamics to them. These situations could be riots or problems in the workplace, and give a visual report that help people understand what is going on at an easier rate.

Another positive asset to using infographics is that visuals are easy for people to remember. People are also able to obtain information at a faster rate. The images can also give people more clarity and understanding on the issue at hand.

Apart from the things that data journalism offers to the public, it also gives an edge to the journalists behind them. It forces people to become more knowledgeable in figuring out information and how to transform that information to something visual. That skill is not found with everyone. Data journalism offers a future perspective to things as they happen. It’s more than just reporting on the event at hand, it also offers insight on what could happen next.

For people interested on taking that step from regular journalism to data journalism they have to be willing to go through the proper training. They have to be trained in learning how to work with data in any possible situation or in regards to any type of question that could be asked. Working with data is harder than just dealing with numbers and statistics, it is a puzzle that people need to learn how to assemble before displaying it to the public.

Blogging

Blogging is a way for online writers to express themselves. Anyone could create a blog, and post whatever they would like.

There are different types of blogs and platforms that give people endless options!

For example there is Blogger:

Blogger is a website that allows people to write whatever they want to, whenever they want to. It is a blogging website that people can create and customize and eventually share with the rest of the world.

It is also an option to keep blogger blogs private. A private blogger account would basically be an online journal or diary. The writer would be able to access their account from anywhere, including mobile applications.

Whenever a blog entry is posted on blogger, it is time-stamped. The time-stamp marks the exact date and time that the post was created.

WordPress is another platform used for blogs.

WordPress is more than jus a website that allows someone to blog. It is a blog publishing tool. Through wordpress you can build blogs or websites and maintain them throughout your use. You’ll be able to show more than just your posts. WordPress gives people the chance to show off their creative side due to the options available when customizing their site. 

There are two different variations to wordpress. There is wordpress.com and wordpress.org

There are differences between what is offered to the .com users and the .org users.

.com is free for the users to set up.

.org requires a fee – “self hosting is needed”

.com will show advertisements occasionally on your blogs

.org will not show any advertisements unless they are your own.

.com has a limited selection of themes and widgets for you to choose from when customizing your blog.

.org has an endless selection of themes and widgets, including paid themes to choose from.

.com also has limitations on customization.

.org offers more flexibility when customizing your blog. You’ll be able to personally design your own features, your own theme, and more.

.com does not give permission for the user to use their blog for money. You cannot make money off of a “wordpress.com” blog.

.org on the other hand, allows the users to use their blogs for any reason they would like.

Both .com and .org have support available to them.

.com provides spam and security protection for the blogs.

.org requires additional free plugins when it comes to security and spam protection.

Those are the major differences between wordpress.com and .org. 

There are also micro-blogging social networks like Tumblr. Tumblr allows people to share videos, photos, quotes, and more with followers and the public. It is a tool that also allows people to express themselves. Their posts on these types of blogging sites will reflect on their interests and creativity.

Another example of a micro-blogging social network is Pinterest.

Tumblr and Pinterest are both considered micro-blogging social networks; however, Twitter is considered Micro-Blogging in general.

Micro-blogging is expressing oneself in a limit number of characters. (Twitter tweets are 140 characters).

It is important to be aware of the different types of platforms. It is also important to consider what each individual platform offers in regards to what you want to use your blog for.

For example, something to consider would be the multiple languages; blogger offers 50 languages, whereas wordpress has over 120.

Wordpress also offers more image storage for free users, and even more for paid users.

The list of possible ways to use each platform are endless, and it is important to be able to determine which tools will be the best to use for your personal needs and goals.

Print writing vs. Online writing

Print writing and online writing are done in two completely different ways. Even though they are both done for the same purpose – to send information to the reader, they are done differently.

The writing styles of both print and online writing are not the same. Print writing focuses on a storytelling style. When reading print writing there is a narrative approach. It doesn’t mater what the issue is, print writing will write it in a long descriptive way.

Online writing focuses on a more brief way of writing. It is directly to the point, without any extra unnecessary information.

The paragraph lengths are also different between the two types of writing. Print writing uses long paragraphs. This is good for their long descriptive approach towards writing.

When reading online writing, the paragraphs are short. The paragraphs do not have to follow the rules of being three sentences long.

There are no links used in print writing. Links are generally used as a form of reference. Online writers will use links when if want to send the readers to other sites for more content, or to anything related.

Print writing attracts a different kind of reader. It attracts a reader that is likely to read thoroughly. The reader will read every word, and they will process all pieces of information presented to them through print writing.

Online readers are more likely going to scan the content. They might skip a few words here and there, or full paragraphs, and only read the parts that stand out to them or seem to be more important than the rest.

When it comes to the writing tone, print writing takes a more formal tone. They will write in a way that is more official and proper. You could even say that it detaches any type of personality from the writing itself.

On the other hand, online writing uses a more informal writing tone. The sentence structure is not as proper as print writing, and the general flow is more laid back. Often times you could even catch the personality of the writer behind the writing.

When print writing, the words used are informative. This often leads to technical jargon – words that are not easily understood by the public. The reason for this could be for it’s more informative approach.

Online writing does not use technical jargon; it is simple. The words are easily understood by the readers and don’t need any extra effort to be processed.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is making use of your tags or labels to the best of your ability. This is in no way used through print writing.

Online writing makes use of SEO by using appropriate tags in the posts. By using the tags or labels they are able to expand the different ways that people can be linked back to their articles. For example, if I were to use the tag “dog” for a post about dogs, anyone who searches for the word “dog” may come across my article in the results.

With the differences aside there are certain characteristics that make online writing really stand out from print writing.

When writing online, it is best to use “killer headlines” to attract readers to want to open the articles. For scanners especially, writers should utilize not only the headlines, but also the bullet points and bold words.

Pictures and videos would also be a great addition to online writing. They can be used as content breaks in articles and also an extra source of information for the readers who enjoy the topic more than others.

Online writing also has something that print writing does not – audience engagement. Because of the different social media platforms and online sources, it is possible for the audience to be engaged in all articles. They can be involved in a conversation by commenting on certain articles. By doing so they can engage the writer or other readers through comments and eventually expand on the topic in general or certain points. The audience also is engaged by sharing the post on their own personal social media accounts. This is a form of distribution.

Print media does not have any of these audience engagement factors.

Online stories also make it easer for the writers to maintain an up to date archive list. The archives can also be publicly shared in an organized manner. This includes links to previous stories. The links could also be from different websites or publications on the Internet.

When it comes to print writing, there is no easy way to access archives. The archives are mainly hard copy and found in a warehouse somewhere, often in the form of a think stack of books. The only reason it would be online is if someone took the time to digitalize all of the print content.

These are the main differences between print writing and online writing.