“Poorer than You” is a blog geared to advising college-aged, or recent college gradates, about how to live a frugal life style and start making money.  The blog, which is kept by Stephanie, is filled with ways to cut back spending such as one’s social spending, or entertainment spending, while also providing tips for ways to make a few extra bucks here and there or plan-ahead saving.

 

In general, I would say the blog does not keep fantastic traditional ethics.  Many of the postings are personal accounts the weave in good advice for readers, or just personal stories.  She does, however, do a good job at integrating something with news value into each of her blogs, which make most postings useful to read.  She does not simply keep a personal diary.

 

However, her stories are not entirely well-researched, nor does she contact primary sources to tell her stories.  Still, the blog is captivating because she is a good writer and stays on topic.

 

I like the style of the page, and especially like that there is a green strip down the side which is a bit symbolic of money and investing.  I also like the blog is professionally kept.  She updates frequently, she has RSS feeds, links to other money-advice sides, and offers Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites of hers to follow.

 

She also has maintained a concentrated audience and provides information that people would want to know about. Her blog definitely fills a niche market.

 

Anyone could do it.  A small advice blog for college-aged folks wanting to make money.  I could do it. But she already did it. 

Role Reversal in New Media Ethics

The state of journalistic ethics is in as big of a crisis as the state of the news industry.  

My brother, Jack, reads the newspaper.  As a philosophy PhD student at Princeton University, Jack has an old spirit that compels him to continue the old tradition of awkwardly flipping and folding the (ever-shrinking) newspaper.  To him, the newspaper brings a bit of nostalgia; its a symbolic remembrance to a time when everyone turned to the morning edition for yesterday's news.

But the times are changing.  

Yesterday's news is no one's business anymore.  Gone are the days where businessmen and women tucked newspapers under their arms while boarding the train to work or catching a cab.  Pocket-sided iPhone and BlackBerries have replaced the conduit with which news in accessed.  Now more than ever, new media allow for news consumers to access and produce information from anywhere, to anyone, about any specific topic, at virtually anytime.

A crazy influx of material is cascading onto the Web.

And with that influx -- specifically the ever-expanding blogosphere, increased twitter feeds, and a greater reliance on reader-comments even in large-scale media corporations -- the dynamics of journalism are making a necessary adjust.  The definition of journalism itself is in question these days, as ethics are re-evaluated and reconstructed to better fit the internet and other new media outlets.

Journalism ethics. 

To me, journalism ethics are long overdo for a good shake and reconstruction.  Today's society is no longer satiated with the archaic rules journalists follow such as objectivity, two-source stories, etc. Some ethic standards will remain.  Transparency, a loyalty to the people and readers and transparency, I believe, will transcend the times.  News consumers will still demand journalism that hunts for the truth.  However, truth, in all its glory, is quite imaginary.  Reporters print stories based almost completely on the opinions of interviewees and those people that reporters talk to make the news.

But now,  with an absorbent medium such as the Web, the truth can get a little closer, despite the fact that many standard ethical practices are getting tossed out the window.  In the world wide web everyone's opinion matters.  In effect, the potential to reach a truth is heightened because everyone's intellect is expressed freely, raising the communal potential for higher understanding and conscience. 

Of course, the downside is intermixed with the brilliant intellectual thought and opinion will be even more bullshit.  Because of the limitless nature of the internet, and every can do it web pages with, a lot of unnecessary commentary will fill part of the internet space. 

But I believe that bullshit will be pushed to the fringes of the Web arena, as stuff that is more meaty, more true and more real will sift to the top as user seek for things that are truthful, honest, and personally related to the consumer.

When Jack, my brother, finishes reading the newspaper and is ready to get the real information he needs from the world, he turns to a different media. 

Blogs and online journals.  

Jack says the best information for him on the Web is created by individuals who have the time and aspiration to teach others about what they are good at.  Philosophy Etc., for example, is one of the primary blog sites Jack utilizes to learn about important up and coming philosophical issues.  The blog is run by another Princeton philosopher who dedicates five to seven hours a day researching and publishing quality work in philosophy for his blog.  Quickly the blog has gained reputable support from other philosophers in the department, and is becoming an accredited source for good philosophy.

That stuff is Jack's real news, personally important to him.

And each individual in the world may find news in a different light.

But each individual should have the right to access important information to him or her, that is tailored and uncensored by traditional journalism ethics to help bring the search for truth closer to its objective by releasing conventional obstacles that have long stood in the way.  In simpler language, I believe journalism ethics have blocked truth by inhibiting the way in which information is presented.  Limiting opinion in writing, limits the power of thought and search for truth.

View the following video for more information on how and why blogs are influential: 

But what if the death of newspapers kills news?

Some, such as Tony Rogers of About.com Guide to Journalism, worry the death of the newspaper may be linked to the death of news itself.  Without a solid foundation for objective, investigative reporting done by folks who follow a strict guideline for news production some argue news itself will get lost.  

News is a critical component of a democracy, commonly held as the Fourth branch of our government.  Reporting news keeps power holders in check and accountable and gives the public a way to learn and hear about the giant power holders in a society.  Without news, the foundation of democracy sits on a slippery slope.

However, others, such as writers from the Online Journalism Review hold a different opinion that suggests perhaps blogging and the emergence of the digital newsroom actually heightens the integrity of reporting and brings to bear stronger, more powerful quality reporting because of the limited traditional standards.  People are going above and beyond conventional limitations such as ethics codes, in other words, to get the best story.

Digital Newsroom Rolls to a Start

Friday mornings, 8 a.m.

We sit in a hot room and learn about the various criteria and mechanics of this one semester, 15-week class that will hopefully teach me how to be a integral producer of online news using online and digital media.

It's called Digital Newsroom

cleaning my desk

It's almost time for me to clean my desk.

I only have one day, and one part day, left with my internship with the Daily Camera. My Monday ends in about an hour and a half.

Then my Tuesday begins one hour early at 1 p.m. tomorrow with a good-bye intern lunch. It ends sometime that night depending on how things go, probably somewhere at about 10 or 11 p.m.

And then it's: Jean Spencer, student at the University of Colorado. Not: Jean Spencer, reporter with the Daily Camera.

Last week, as Friday's shift came to a dark end at about 9 p.m. our editor, Kevin Kaufman asked me what the three most important things I've learned through this internship were and I answered (to the best of my recall-without-notes-ability):

1. You can write about things you want to write about if you are a good thinker
2. The night cops shift is better when you prioritize your time better
3. Not talking to all the people (meaning all the sources possibly involved with the story) doesn't cut it.

He then asked me what my best experience was during this internship and I answered (to the best of my recall-without-notes-ability):

• Chasing the bear with Paul Aiken, our photo editor, in a dress in the middle of the night in the mountains.

More later. Much love and happiness.

reflection on the internship

So right now I am the only intern working for the Daily Camera.

I have seen five interns, count 'em one, two, three, four, five, come and go during my time here - but now I man the post solo.

I have benefited greatly from working with a diligent staff and many editors determined to producing a quality newspaper each morning. I find that the aggressiveness in reporting here is a step above, and that when all the bases aren't covered, that simply doesn't cut it here.

I like the challenge of reporting and writing to those sorts of standards. I also feel as though I have a much better understanding about how to write about court and criminal issues, which have a very particular language, since becoming the Night Cops Reporter.

The internship ends soon, and yes, I am excited. But the end is bittersweet. I could see myself working for the Daily Camera. I like being in the know about local events, talking to interesting people, working on deadline and constantly feeling that rushed feeling of being a Type A person in a Type A job.

August 4th, week 12 with the Camera

Elmarr guilty for 20-yr-old murder

Kevin Elmarr, 52, will be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 40 years after a jury found him guilty for the murder of his ex-wife in the first-degree.

Although Colorado mandates life in prison without option of parole, Elmarr was sentenced Tuesday according to how the law stood when Carol Murphy died in 1987.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/aug/04/kevin-elmarr-carol-murphy-murder-trial-longmont/

It's been too long

Ah, it's been much too long since I've last blogged.

Sometimes I get caught up in how many updates this world demands and temporarily lost touch with some; tweets, Facebook status, pic, video and relationship updates, the community update of working in a daily newspaper, my personal archaically hand-written journal, phone conversations with out of state relative and friend updates, and of course this blog.

I apologize for the abeyance.

I have 11 more work days with the Daily Camera. They moved me to the primary night cops reporter in which my duties include following up with the day's police issues and responding to breaking news if it happens.

I also keep up with daily stories that are usually cutesie and relatively easy to do.

Here are a couple of my very newsy stories:

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jul/21/boulder-man-dies-poppy-pod-tea-overdose/

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jul/28/sen-rollie-heath-has-cancer-surgery/

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jul/14/boulder-police-responding-report-helium-leak/