Links of Note: May 7, 2007
Blog Law:Proposed federal shield law would protect bloggers (OJR)
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) is spearheading a shield law effort that would extend to bloggers. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press notes:
"The bill ... defines journalism as 'gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public.'Bloggers would be covered under the law as long as they're engaged in newsgathering, but that begs the question: What is newsgathering? Does "newsgathering" only apply to original content, or does it encompass the repurposing and commenting many bloggers employ?
Web Journalism:
Copy Editors: The Missing Link in the Online Newsroom (Poynter)
I've never understood the "first draft" mentality that infects many Web efforts. Sure, the centralization of Web content lets editors correct mistakes on live copy, but shouldn't we still try to get it right the first time?
This piece from Poynter struck a nerve with me because I have long admired copy editors. They're the last line of defense in journalism operations and, more often than not, they make writers look much better than they actually are. Yet, on the Web, copy editors are often left out of the content equation. It's time to rethink this, especially since the "publish, then fix" model is blown to hell when you add RSS feeds and search caching to the equation. Those flimsy first drafts are now widely disseminated, so do you really want your punctuation-deficient missives to represent your news organization (or yourself)?
Comments:
More Recent Stories:
• iPods and Violent Crime, Together at Last
• The Real Format War Has Yet to Begin
• New Currency in a Free World
• Web Analytics Stay Ridiculous
• Time for the "Oh My God It's Cold" Stories
• Memo to Jerry Yang: Use Your Shift Key
• Tutorial: Create a PDF with a Web Browser
• What's Behind that Multimedia Presentation?
• Microsoft Courts Yahoo with $44.6 Billion Deal
• Wi-Fi Comes to Boston Commuter Rail
