COMP 381

Topics  How people get the news  What is a journalist?  Digital manipulation

Info in America 2008  Percentage of Americans who use Internet for… socializing80% medical information60% financial decisions50% news40%  Average American: 34 GB data per day ¼ Computer; ½ TV; ¼ other on computer, video 75% (time)

Produce Faster than Process One weekday edition of New York Times MORE INFORMATION than 17th-century Englander learned in a lifetime!

Television Sound Bites  sec  sec  Are we REALLY better informed?

Scientific Information Publications (logarithmic scale!)

Nine in ten American adults (92%) get news/info from multiple platforms on a typical day For six in ten American adults (59%), one of those platforms is the internet *Platforms include print newspapers, television, radio and the internet Multiple Platforms are the Norm Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

71% of American adults ever get news or information online The majority of ONC are under age 50 Compared to other adults, ONC are… more educated more affluent disproportionately white and Hispanic more likely to have broadband Almost a third are under age 30 The median age of ONC is 40 Who Gets Their News Online? Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

% of ONC Who Use Each Type of Site on a Typical Day Most Popular Online Sources for News and Information Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

Most Popular Online News Topics % of Online Adults Who Get News/Information Online About Each Topic Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

Overall Coverage 51% of U.S. adults say there is currently enough coverage of religion and spirituality 41% would like more coverage of religion The only topic that more people want improved coverage of is scientific news and discoveries

Most Popular Features of Online News Sites % of ONC Who Say Each Feature is Important Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey The most popular features allow people to interact with, share, and customize their news. This is especially true for young adults.

How many websites, if any, do you routinely rely on for news and information? Do you have a favorite online news source, or do you not have a favorite? Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey Most People Get News from Multiple Sites

How many websites, if any, do you routinely rely on for news and information? Do you have a favorite online news source, or do you not have a favorite? Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey Most People Get News from Multiple Sites Only 7% of all people who get news online have a favorite online news source they would be willing to pay for

Four Styles of Online News Consumption Efficient Grazers Most use multiple sites, and portals rank high as a favorite online news feature Hunters and Gatherers 71% go online specifically to get news/information at least a few times a week Serendipitous News Discoverers 80% come across news/information at least a few times a week while they are online doing other things News/Info Receivers 44% get news forwarded to them through , automatic updates and alerts, or posts on social networking sites at least a few times a week Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

Questions  Who are (and are not) journalists?  Transparency and bias

 In 2008, 184 million new blogs (26.4 U.S.) > 50% gone in 1 month 1.3 billion links 1 million daily posts  364 million people read blogs (>100 U.S.)  95% top newspapers have reporter blogs  Miniblogs  Technorati Technorati Blogosphere Statistics

 First there were bulletin boards (Usenet)  First diarist 1994: Justin Hall, student at Swarthmore CollegeJustin Hall  Name 1997 Jorn Barger weblog 1999 Peter Merholz blogs  Popularity based on tools Early blogs HTML, webmaster 1999 tools and hosting sites History of Blogs

 “Professional” Citizen Journalism News extension ○ NY Times NY Times Business?  Personal Celebrities Professional v. Personal Blog

 Blogging  “People who have an opinion, a modem, and a bathrobe“ Brian Williams, NBC news anchor  Independent  No regulation  Code of conduct Code of conduct  Credibility and trust  Journalism  News medium  Laws and standards Bloggers vs. Journalists

 Honesty and transparency Avoid plagiarizing and inaccuracies Sources  Harm minimization Respect for individuals  Accountability Admit mistakes Intent and disclosures Ethical responsibility Code of Conduct

Considerations  Freedom of speech Cahill vs. Doe  Risks Confrontation Imprisonment  Credibility Personal, not institutional Earned, not given

Jayson Blair Dan Rather

Wikipedia  Not about lying, but transparency Who are you? What is your agenda? Are you paid by someone?  When you go to a good website, you know who they are and what they care about

Wikileaks (as publishers)  Journalists?  What is the definition?  What are the responsibilities?

Photo Manipulation NOT New  Long history Long history  Used to be … harder easier to detect

Vanity

Political Benefit

Today  Availability  Detection Content, not technique  Examples Shadows Bad editing Size Angles

Opinion Making

John Kerry - Peace Rally, Mineola, NY (June 1971) Jane Fonda - Political Rally, Miami Beach, FL (August 1972)

Dramatic Effect

Technical Limitations

Skewed perception  Self-image Self-image