Yours truly has been invited to participate in an SMU grad school panel presentation about how journalists are facing the new era of online news reporting, blogging and Twitter.
“BREAKING! The Broken News” will begin at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28 at the Owens Art Center, Room 1030.
Guest panelists include Nelson Clyde, publisher of The Tyler Morning Telegraph, The Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph, and Tylerpaper.com; Liz Johnstone, Events editor at D Magazine, contributor to Frontburner, D Magazine’s blog; and Dawn Redig, editor at Blue Ribbon News, and former editor of the Dallas Morning News Neighborsgo.
Among the questions to be discussed:
- Do you believe the concept of “transparency is the new objectivity” in the journalism industry, as proposed by David Weinberger and others?
- Running in tandem with transparency and accuracy is speed. With major news events often breaking on Twitter and being reported first by amateurs, how important do you think timeliness is in reporting news? Do you feel that journalists and news sources run the risk of losing credibility or sacrificing accuracy in order to be one the “first out of the gate?”
- Those who create and distribute news carry a heavy responsibility – even a burden to do it correctly. Macrowikinomics, a book by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams states: “News is important. It’s so important the leaving it to a group of people in an office downtown is and has always been irresponsible.” As a member of the journalism profession, how do you react to or view this criticism?
- Infotainment can be defined as “information-based media content or programmning that also includes entertainment-content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers.” Do you view infotainment in a positive or negative light in regards to the profession of journalism?
- And, with the overall unique visitors and average time spent on news sites declining from 2009 to 2010, do you feel infotainment is the answer to recovering those declining numbers? If that isn’t the answer, do you have any insights into what could bolster site visits and advertising support?
Panel hosts include Cesar Ortega, an external marketing intern for St. Jude Medical who received a B.A. in English from Austin College in Sherman, TX in 2008; Leigh Smith, who graduated in 2008 from Drury University in Springfield, MO with majors in Advertising, Public Relations and Design Arts; and Trudy Thomason, a 2009 graduate from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication, who works as a brand ambassador for Maximum Beverage Marketing. All three are pursing a Masters of Advertising, expected May 2012.
Belinda Baldwin is the Adjunct Professor of the graduate level course, Creating and Managing Interactive Content (How Technology Turns Consumers Into Collaborators). Baldwin is the director of audience development for Belo Corp., where she oversees the company’s strategy for online audience growth, measurement and monetization. She holds a Ph.d. from USC in Cinema-TV.
The Owen Arts Center is located on the western side of the SMU campus on Hillcrest Avenue, located in between the cross streets of Binkley Ave. and Granada Ave.
For more information, contact Cesar Ortega at cortega@smu.edu.
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