Poynter. » Top Stories

What journalists can learn from the NSA leak

Ellyn Angelotti — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:05:20 +0000

Recent news about the NSA Surveillance program has Americans, especially journalists and active social media users, concerned about their privacy rights.

On Friday at 11 a.m. ET, Susan McGregor, assistant professor at Columbia School of Journalism with the Tow … Read more

Pointers journalists should keep in mind when covering the Zimmerman trial

Eric Deggans — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:07:09 +0000

As media coverage of George Zimmerman’s murder trial begins this week, we already know a few things that will happen.

Tiny Sanford, Fla., will become the center of the media universe, with hundreds of journalists expected to travel to the … Read more

New fair use principles show how copyright can be journalism’s friend

Ellyn Angelotti — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:10:20 +0000

Fair use is an area of copyright law that’s often misunderstood — and feared.

Some publishers think they have limitless rights to use any image they find on Google or social media as they wish. (They don’t.) Another common misconception … Read more

Highlights from Poynter’s TEDx event, ‘Discovering the future of media’

Mallary Jean Tenore — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:21:00 +0000

Poynter will be Storifying and live streaming the institute’s third annual TEDx event, “Discovering the future of media.”

Featured speakers included Jessica Bennett, who was previously the executive editor of Tumblr and now works for Lean In; Deadspin’s Tim … Read more

How digital platforms are changing the way science reporters find & tell stories

Taylor Miller Thomas — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:57:11 +0000

NASA’s many social media products point to an uncomfortable new reality for reporters: the space agency doesn’t really need them to break news.

“We have an obligation to authentically share NASA on social media,” Jason Townsend, deputy social media manager … Read more

PETA reaches out to news outlets that exaggerate its position on Chris Christie killing a spider

Eric Deggans — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:59:53 +0000

In early May, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie killed a spider during an event with several schoolchildren. That prompted a journalist with the website Talking Points Memo to call People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to see what their … Read more

John White on Sun-Times layoffs: ‘It was as if they pushed a button and deleted a whole culture’

Kenneth Irby — Fri, 31 May 2013 21:33:01 +0000

John White’s 44-year career at The Chicago Sun-Times has been rooted in faith and professionalism. It’s a career he refers to as “an assignment from God.”

: John White

Earlier this week, that career came to an end on what some … Read more

How J-schools are helping students develop entrepreneurial journalism skills

James Breiner — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:08:24 +0000

Universities around the world are teaching a relatively new subject – entrepreneurial journalism.

The revolutionary changes reshaping journalism have driven the industry to search for new financial models and respond to marketplace demands. Journalism schools are part of that search: … Read more

Police use Twitter to relay news, communicate with journalists more quickly

Andrew Beaujon — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:56:27 +0000

As protesters rioted in Seattle on May 1, Seattlepi.com reporter Casey McNerthney noticed that tweets from the police were hitting his phone almost at the same time officers in front of him were issuing orders to him and other … Read more

Why the Justice Department ‘better have a damned good explanation’ for seizing AP phone records

Al Tompkins — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:11:29 +0000

The Department of Justice’s seizure of two months’ worth of Associated Press phone records stinks. It smells like retribution against the AP for its May 2012 report about how the CIA foiled a bomb plot that targeted a U.S.-bound aircraft … Read more