A New Lesson from @APStylebook

Posted by Monica Worsley

@APStylebook resumes tweets after hacking

The Associated Press Stylebook is full of valuable lessons for journalists. Its Twitter page highlights some of the thousands of entries found within this “journalist’s bible” and they regular appear as “AP Style tip” tweets.

However, the most recent lesson from the @APStylebook is valuable for more than just current and aspiring journalists.

A post on the @APStylebook Twitter account last Tuesday read “Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barak Obama Injured.”

The tweet was false.

Is breaking news breaking journalism?

Posted by Rachel Ward

The coverage of the events surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing created a

Photo from Brett Jordan

nightmare for journalists. CNN reported that a “dark-skinned male” had been arrested, when no such arrest had been made. Fox also reported that an arrest had been made. The FBI had to set the two outlets straight — publicly. While it is the network’s responsibility to fact check, these kind of mishaps are embarrassing for ALL  journalists and they discredit the entire profession.

“Breaking news, haven’t you heard, is broken,” writes Jeff Jarvis, the blogger behind Buzz Machine. Since we can’t change the past, or control how specific networks portray us, Jarvis thinks it’s time we learn from their mistakes.

White House on Tumblr

Infographic by The Official White House on Tumblr

Posted by Taylor Siedlik

New social media fads come and go, with some people jumping onto the bandwagon right away, and others taking their time to adjust. Tumblr has become increasingly more common amongst users of all ages, especially college students looking to procrastinate. Ranging from television fandoms to how-to blogs, the official White House is now able to be followed as well.

President Obama has officially been on Twitter, so why not move to Tumblr? One look at the The White House on Tumblr blog shows just how current the Obama administration is in keeping up with the technology savvy youth of today. The White House is no longer some long off arena only to be occupied by the most successful and influential people in the United States, but something that proves that the president, and anybody in the administration, are just like us.

Reporting Scientific Research

By Hali Ortega

The majority of journalists are not also scientists, but journalists do cover news developing out of scientific research. Often this leads to reporting not conveying correct information to readers, the one thing journalists do not want. These mistakes not only make journalists look incompetent but also degrades the scientific aims of the research.

From Image Editor

David Freedman of Columbia Journal Review gives the example of New York Times Magazine writer Tara Parker-Pope. Freedman says that in an article titled “The Fat Trap” by Parker-Pope she, “…laid out the scientific evidence that maintaining weight loss is a nearly impossible task—something that, in the words of one obesity scientist she quotes, only “rare individuals” can accomplish.” Freedman remarks in response to Parker-Pope’s claim that

Pathway to Citizenship Guarantees an Uphill Battle

Posted by Bianca Olvera Lopez

The 844-page Senate Immigration Bill includes new border security measures, changes to the current legal immigration system, and a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

In a recent article, Immigration reform: The 1986 amnesty vs. the 2013 path to citizenship: How they compare, Rojas states unauthorized immigrants who qualify for legal status under the Senate’s immigration reform proposal should expect a 13-year path to U.S. citizenship. Which is interesting because according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), immigrants who are in the U.S. legally, face a six to nine months path to citizenship under the current laws. But whether it’s 6 months or 13 years, the process to gain citizenship is difficult.

Writers: Bilingual in one language

posted by: Rylee Maxwell

photo by Rylee Maxwell

I’ve always found this topic intriguing but have been considering it more recently while working on the Midwest Living project alongside multiple creative writing essays for the English department. Journalists and writers are two very different beings. To do both, one must be, in a sense, bilingual.

Sure, both species of writers work (and play) with words. Both must consider grammar and spelling, monitor subjects and ideas, and have mentors and coaches. But the similarities end there. 

The World of Digital Portfolios

Posted by Stephanie Kocer

We all know that it is important to walk into a job interview with examples of your work. In today’s ever-changing, technological world journalists usually have their entire portfolio on their own website. A recent Poynter article by Susanna Speier called “Digital Portfolios for Journalists: What are Your Options?”  explains that more and more journalists are using portfolio platforms to help them create this personal site.

 Photo courtesy of theother66.

Here are a few tips the article highlighted about some of the portfolio sites out there that I found useful for building a personal portfolio site: