NOTE:<\/strong> This originally was posted to my professor\/class blog: http:\/\/www.elprofe.me\/2010\/07\/08\/the-web-journalism-rules\/<\/a>. Seeing that these are a constant in many of my posts, I am re-publishing them here and on the Online Journalism Review site: http:\/\/www.ojr.org\/ojr\/people\/webjournalist\/201009\/1889\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n And while it, for me, is based on core journalistic values, it was clear a handful of folks were thinking my message was attempting to replace the way we did reporting.<\/p>\n So, that prompted me to whip up the rules I present at nearly every talk I give. This is a list of guidelines to remember when you engage with constantly evolving Web Journalism.<\/p>\n These are the rules I work under. Technology is, and will always be, changing. Our journalism core values do not. News judgment and ethics are key no matter if journalism is in the form of pixels or paper or whatever.<\/p>\n The point to all of this \u2013 printed word, Flash interactives, video documentaries, visualized data, social media, etc. \u2013 is not the tool. Let\u2019s be clear, the point is serving the community by helping them be informed citizens in a democratic society.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the people and their stories, not the databases and Twitter followers.<\/p>\n We use these powerful tools to help advance our journalism, not replace it. Got it? Good.<\/p>\n This is basic Journalism 101 and it applies to old school and new media alike. Whether you get an in-person tip or a Twitter message (it\u2019s okay to call it a tweet, y\u2019all), it is not fact\u2026 it\u2019s the start of the reporting process, not the end of it.<\/p>\n If you get lazy and not fact-check, you\u2019ll get burned. Remember, all we have is credibility\u2026 our word\u2026 it takes a lot of time and hard work to build up credibility, but no time at all to lose it.<\/p>\n There is an actively engaged community sharing a ton of information \u2013 much of it is TMI \u2013 on the Web. We\u2019d be doing a disservice to our community by not engaging them in these new spaces.<\/p>\n But remember, while millions and millions are on Facebook and Twitter, there are millions who aren\u2019t. Engage with your community in every space, but remember to reach out to the voiceless. The digital divide is still a reality.<\/p>\n This is just the way it is. As a journalist, you\u2019re not a typical civilian. This ain\u2019t no 9-to-5 job\u2026 this is a lifestyle. Sorry.<\/p>\n So, when you experiment and engage with these new technologies, there are three roles you need to be aware of: Citizen, Brand and Journalist.<\/p>\n Your behavior can and does affect each one of these roles. Be conscious about what you are saying and doing. Be who you are\u2026 don\u2019t fake it. But always work under the impression that there is no privacy online\u2026 because there isn\u2019t any.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve heard \u201cWhy would anyone do FourSquare?\u201d Before that it was \u201cWhy would anyone use Twitter?\u201d Before that it was \u201cWhy would anyone blog?\u201d And before that, it was \u201cWhy would anyone go and use the Internet?\u201d<\/p>\n Get over it\u2026 and use it. Try it out. See if it works for your daily journalism routine. If you don\u2019t like it\u2026 stop. But then try it again.<\/p>\n This is the new world we are in, and fighting against it does nothing but hurt you. So, learn about it and try new things. Isn\u2019t that one of the reasons why you got into journalism in the first place? I hope these are useful guidelines. If you think there are incomplete or inaccurate, or if you think these are perfect, comment and send me feedback. Let\u2019s have a dialogue about this new world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NOTE: This originally was posted to my professor\/class blog: http:\/\/www.elprofe.me\/2010\/07\/08\/the-web-journalism-rules\/. Seeing that these are a constant in many of my posts, I am re-publishing them here and on the Online Journalism Review site: http:\/\/www.ojr.org\/ojr\/people\/webjournalist\/201009\/1889\/ For some time now I\u2019ve been preaching the Real-Time Reporting gospel, harnessing not only social media but all tech to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,17,22,24,26],"tags":[244,81,250,101],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webjournalist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nFor some time now I\u2019ve been preaching the Real-Time Reporting gospel, harnessing not only social media but all tech to advance journalism.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\nRule #1. Journalism first, technology second<\/h2>\n
Rule #2. If your mom
says<\/strike> tweets she loves you, check it out<\/h2>\nRule #3. Web\/tech, including Social Media, does not<\/u> replace in-person or phone interviews<\/h2>\n
Rule #4. Citizen, Brand and Journalist<\/h2>\n
Rule #5. BE OPEN<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/p>\n