16

Nov

How The AP Is Improving Citizen Journalism

Citizen journalism is a divisive subject. For many online users it is the fastest source of news from someone in the midst of the action. However, for the media it can prove to be a quagmire of fact checking headaches.

The authenticity of user-generated content (UGC) came into question most recently as Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc. Social media helped users share their accounts in real time as the storm tore up the east coast. As quickly as updates were posted, some were verified and others debunked as hoaxes. (If you think fabricated photos are a new phenomenon, check out this article on The First Hoax Photograph Ever Shot.)

In our tightly connected world of information sharing, how can we ensure that each of us, and the organizations we represent, do not fall victim to false reporting?

A Model
The answer is simple yet can prove challenging for even seasoned fact checkers. In a Poynter.org article published earlier today, Regret the Error founder Craig Silverman spoke with Associated Press editor Fergus Bell, the recently appointed Social Media and UGC Editor, International at the AP charged with confirming all UGC prior to dissemination by the news organization.

As you can imagine, the AP has a process for sourcing and verifying information. According to Bell the process is fairly straightforward hinging on confirming both the source and the content directly. (Having experienced this process on many occasions for photos, video, and written content, I can vouch for the AP’s tenacity for source confirmation prior to issuing content that I generated.)

The AP provides a standard, described in detail by Bell, for verifying UGC that I wish more organizations and online users would follow (I urge you to read Silverman’s article and take notes). However, during this interview Bell touches upon a more intriguing by-product of his verification process: user adoption.

Activism
Accurate news is only as good as its reach. You never feel quite as impotent as having news that never makes it further than your outbox. Activists are in the business of spreading information and the successful users have found partners in the press. But how can the verification process be followed as riots and battles erupt, online connections break down, and content is anonymously posted for fear of reprisals?

The answer lies within a shared responsibility between the users and the media. Activists are now taking it upon themselves to assist in the verification process. As Bell tells Silverman:

“We’ve definitely seen an evolution from Egypt to Syria. In Syria the activists may have a Facebook page [for their content] and they will have ways to communicate with them; in Egypt we didn’t see that. It was raw material being pumped out as quickly as possible, and it was really difficult to get in touch with them.”

As the activists engage with the journalists Bell stresses the need to uphold the integrity of each report by strictly adhering to the established process.

“Even if something is incredibly compelling and it doesn’t pass one of our steps, then it doesn’t go out. That’s how we stop from being wrong, which is tough sometimes, especially when it’s something that’s really great.  But we just don’t put it out, because the [verification] system has grown organically and it hasn’t failed us yet, and so we trust it.”

Organic Adoption
Bell provides us with an important lesson when it comes to verifying a story. The AP process is organically changing the content it receives. As users meet the needs of journalists they begin to strengthen the integrity of their own pieces. Perhaps Bell has finally found a way for citizen journalists to adopt his industry’s Code of Ethics.

Is it time for you to review your own processes for verifying authenticity from either internal staff or external users? What steps do you currently take to confirm those annual report numbers or news reports from satellite facilities?

Read more about this topic in my previous post 6 Reasons to Check Those Facts.

12 years ago Short URL Comments

Communications/Social Media

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20

Sep

Saving the Bats

(The following was recalled after reading Cave Builders’ Crusade for Bats, AP 9/16/12)

I have always been anxious around bats and I know why. It all started with a fireplace.

Even before I was old enough to crumple the paper and stack the kindling I knew they came from the fireplace. My sister and I never saw them during the warmer months. They always came in the autumn when a chill came to the Berkshire Hills.

I remember the ritual that was played out before me every night until the following spring. My father would finish stacking the thin wood, precariously placing it on top of the balled up stories from weeks before. He would grab the box, rattling the matchsticks as he slid it open. The match would ignite in one smooth strike punctuated by a pop.

As he lit the corners of the paper the fire would lick the wood, building in strength until it was intense enough to catch. The smoke would rise slowly disappear for a moment, building under the closed flue. My father knelt with one arm dangerously close to the growing flames, holding the metal chain. For a brief instant you could smell smoke as puffs flowed back down the chimney trying to escape into the room.

My father pulled the chain, opening the flue and suddenly the smoke was gone. In that moment I always held my breath, waiting for a signal that I could settle in to watch that evening’s programming or whether I would run.

Occasionally my father might open the flue too soon and stun a sleeping bat seeking shelter in our chimney. The flames would startle the creature as it fell quickly to the wood or ash. If I heard a soft thump or better yet saw one fly across the room I knew to take my position.

I preferred the high ground when the bats came. I would run trough the dining room up the stairs to my room, grabbing protection long the way. Sometimes I wore a football helmet but I found it obstructed my view. I almost always wore a baseball glove and gathered my tennis racket as I made my way to the balcony.

Below me I saw my father watching the flight pattern of the bat as it swooped in diving arcs. He was yelling to my mother to grab the vacuum cleaner. My sister usually ran with me and I could hear her screams occasionally interrupted by a fit of laughter no doubt brought on by the absurdity of life in the woods.

Although I had my gear I never came close to striking a bat as it rose in preparation for another dive. I was and still am protective of animals, something that we all learned from the bats.

We waited until the bat settled, eventually to rest on a nearby curtain. They rarely took flight more than once and seemed to know that they did not need to worry. The vacuum handle would suck them up quickly, pulling them one by one, night after night, into the bag of dust in the guts of the Electrolux.

I was never sure of how they spent the rest of night, hoping that they slept and weren’t scared. The next day my father would kiss us goodbye and drive the bag to a field by his work. I never saw him cut open a bag or witnessed these re-locations firsthand. I always felt a sense of relief that they were gone. I also knew that the flue could not be closed until the fire died down much later, leaving a window of opportunity open to an adventurous bat looking for a rest.

12 years ago Short URL Comments

Animals

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29

Jun

When First Is Last

Credit: CNN.com

CNN and Fox News scooped other media outlets early yesterday when the Supreme Court announced its landmark health care opinion. Unfortunately in their rush to the break the news both stations simply got it wrong. What took an hour to correct on air would quickly become a side-story for media pundits and comedians throughout the day and would shed new light on the battle to be first in a 24 hour news cycle.

CNN later apologized in a statement saying it ““regrets that it didn’t wait to report out the full and complete opinion regarding the mandate.’’ Fox, however, stuck by its reporting according to an Associated Press interview with network executive Michael Clemente who stated, “Fox reported the facts, as they came in.”

Gameshow

So what happened? In short, news became a game show. It was a scene pulled straight from The Family Feud. Teams were ready, hands on the buzzer, as staffers poured over the 193-page document, searching for clear cut statements and only finding endless legalese. Who would be first to decipher page after page of legalese and hit upon the nugget that stated the opinion? CNN and Fox buzzed in together and gave their answer as President Obama was glued to the television.

As the news was incorrectly reported, other media outlets held back. According to the AP, they and Bloomberg News first reported the correct opinion just after 10AM EST, followed by Reuters and the SCOTUSblog as The New York Times blogged that they were further analyzing the opinion until they were satisfied that they could report it correctly. That came at 10:20AM EST.

The Scoop

In the news business the scoop has historically been the ultimate prize. Viewers of Aaron Sorkin’s new HBO drama, ‘The Newsroom’, will be familiar with the scoop after watching last week’s episode when the fictional staffers are the first to realize and secure interviews regarding the extent of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Edgar’s face was reattached by a reconstructive veterinary surgeon. PHOTO: Brian Adams

Public relations professionals are also familiar with the scoop as they work to tie their clients’ stories to breaking news. When an earthquake struck Boston last summer, evacuees from the downtown buildings were milling about while I was on the phone to the AP explaining my first hand account while working at United Way. When it was announced that Steve Jobs had passed away, I was drafting a quote from my CEO describing how iPads were helping children learn in and out of school. When the world was focused on the upcoming face transplant of a female patient at a Boston hospital, I was with the AP the day before, in a surgical suite as one of the national’s leading veterinary surgeons reattached a cat’s face that had been peeled off in a horrific accident. It was when, as a young reporter for a weekly paper, I had the only interviews to uncover a major embezzlement case at a nonprofit, and sat on it until press time to finally beat out the regional daily.

If you are in any way part of creating news media, you felt that rush when you own the scoop and with one eye on the clock you package the information for consumption. You also felt the gravity of being the first to file the report, share the story, and take center stage. Having been there hundreds of times, I understand the balance between filing first and accurate reporting. Yesterday we saw what happens when the competitiveness takes center stage. Fortunately, we also read accurate reports filed by multiple outlets that took the extra minutes necessary to better inform the public.

What are your thoughts after watching conflicting news reports yesterday?

12 years ago Short URL Comments

Animals/Communications

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