http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/07/12/getting-sourcey-time-to-apply-ethical-standards-to-bad-journalism/
The writer mentions the popularity of http://www.sourcebottle.com.au which serves as a middle man between the journalist and the scatted mediums of Twitter and Facebook.
I agree with the writer that this can be a useful tool for journalists but I think the potential for laziness to is too big a risk to take. It is better than a journalist cyber scouting their own friends and families for contacts, so it may be the lesser of two evils.
Very interesting article- I even read all the comments.
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of thoughts in reaction to it, the two biggest being:
1. "Money" will be a recurring problem for journalists for a while. It's too easy for people to take shortcuts in things such as research, especially since the social sites are free. But I'm optimistic that journalistic integrity will survive.
2. I also see the day when some sort of licensing will be issued for journalism outlets. I'm not saying it will be a government-issued license, just that a person or news agency will have to earn (and probably pay) for the rights to say they are licensed by some sort of "ethics committee" in order to stand out from the rest.