Crowell Learning publishing and business management all over again in Vietnam

Browsing the web does not make you a good reporter. Damn

Published on 15/09/08
by Collin

Duy (pronounced “doo”), began New Media Newsroom quickly today. We were in a hurry and had to go over Google Maps and each team’s profile assignments.

He started with an example of crime statistics in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Crime rate in the neighborhood had doubled and many residents and rookie journalists were quick to assign blame to the rash of new bar openings nearby. But a crosscheck of the location of the bars against the reported crimes revealed a weak link. Most of the bars were due south of the reported crimes. A journalist who actually went to the location discovered that the areas where most crimes were occuring were actually inside or near contruction lots. “This is not Wikipedia reporting. We hit the streets,” said Duy. Point taken, but it seems to me that we could have also reviewed the type of crimes reported in the police precinct report as well. Right?

We spent the rest of the class going over the ridiculously easy and simple My Maps feature on Google Maps. This is where I 100% agree with anti-new media advocates, it’s the how you use the tech here than the tech that matters. I hope not to waste any more time on Google Maps. Sadly, we won’t be going over how to make a map mashup this year.

After reviewing our profile pitches, Jennifer Preston, of the New York Times, followed with advice true to that of my own and my esteemed colleagues back in Beijing and Shanghai heart:

Editors need to work with their freelancers upfront. The better you understand the story together, the less work you’ll end up having to do later.

That's it. What Next?

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