Professional journalists speak to
students in the Vlock Center for Convergent Media Wednesday about the
ways that their work has been changed by the Internet and mobile
technologies. From left to right: Hartford Courant reporter
Christine Dempsey, Connecticut Post columnist MariAn Gail
Brown, Madison, CT Patch.com editor Patricia McNerney. Photograph by
Brandon T. Bisceglia.
Three veteran journalists from around
Connecticut visited UNH Wednesday evening for a panel discussion with
students about the challenges and opportunities that new technologies
have brought to their field.
Hartford Courant reporter
Christine Dempsey, Connecticut Post columnist MariAn Gail
Brown, and Madison, CT Patch.com editor Patricia McNerney shared
their experiences and fielded questions from a packed audience in the
Laurel Vlock Center for Convergent Media in Maxcy Hall.
The two-hour discussion was titled
“News Writing and Editing for Traditional and Social Media,” and
was hosted by Adjunct Professor of Communication Michael Bazinet as
part of the copy editing course he is teaching this semester.
Students from other journalism courses also attended.
Dempsey described how the process of
reporting had changed dramatically in the 25 years she has been doing
it. She said that when she used to arrive on the scene of a breaking
story, she would have to look around for a pay phone to call her
editor.
“Now they have these smart phones
that can do anything but slice bread,” she said.
McNerney, whose publication exists
entirely online, agreed that mobile devices had altered her reporting
practices. She said she had “the most amazing experience in
journalism” during Hurricane Irene this summer, because she was
able to report on what was happening in her hometown of Madison while
staying at a friend’s house in Wallingford by using information
other residents posted or sent her.
Volunteers are key information sources
for McNerney. “The readers start to tell you what to report,” she
said.
Brown pointed out that the Internet had
“invigorated” print newspapers, too, by helping them to keep up
with television and radio.
“Because of the Internet and our
websites,” she said, “we’re constantly updating our stories,
which is rejuvenating our papers.”
The panelists warned, however, that not
all of the changes brought about by new technologies have been
positive. Brown noticed a disturbing pattern while covering the trial
of Steven Hayes, who was given the death penalty in 2010 for a brutal
home invasion and murder in Cheshire. Whenever reporters heard
something they thought was newsworthy, they would tweet it, often in
unison. She said the furious tweeting of reporters could send a
visual signal to jury members to pay more attention to certain parts
of the trial, possibly affecting the way they thought about the case.
For Dempsey, the increasing pressure to
get news out as quickly as possible sometimes makes her uncomfortable
that she might not have checked her facts thoroughly enough first.
She said she had not made any major blunders she knew of. But, she
added, “I’ve felt like I was walking a tightrope sometimes.”
McNerney said that, in the face of a
faster news cycle, reporters need to continually remind themselves
that they have a mission beyond entertainment as society’s
watchdogs.
“Are we fulfilling our traditional
role as the fourth estate?” she asked.
Despite all of the changes, the
panelists agreed that many of the fundamental aspects of their
profession remain the same. Dempsey said that strong writing skills
were still absolutely essential. McNerney concurred, noting that
Patch.com requires prospective reporters to take a writing test, just
like traditional newspapers.
She recommended that journalism
students avoid focusing only on print, broadcast or web content.
“Don’t think of yourself as a
one-dimensional reporter,” she said.
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