Britni Petersen's Comm 361/Online Journalism Blog

C-SPAN Interview: Bob Schieffer

Fairfax, Va.– Bob Schieffer, political reporter for CBS and moderator of Face The Nation, joined students from George Mason University, University of Denver and Texas Christian University for an interview on the C-SPAN network.

Steve Scully, the political editor for the C-SPAN network, led the interview and gave students the opportunity to participate by asking Schieffer questions via video conference. This video conference is part of the C-SPAN distance learning course that streams online, or also airs on C-SPAN3 on Fridays at 5 p.m.

After 30 years of experience as a political journalist for CBS, Schieffer knows a lot about being a successful journalist. So Schieffer shared with the students some helpful tips for being a good journalist.

“Always ask the obvious questions,” says Schieffer. Such as, “What do you mean by that?” This allows a journalist to get the correct information he or she is looking for.

Schieffer believes it is not only important to ask simple questions, but also to use simple language when writing a story.

“The job of the journalist is to find the truth, and that means answering in a language that is understood,” says Schieffer.

Furthermore, a story doesn’t have to impress its readers with big words. It’s a good idea to “write your stories the way you normally would talk,” according to Schieffer.

Along with being asked about how to be a good journalist, Schieffer was also asked about his opinion on the future of journalism.

“The world of journalism is changing, and you now have to learn all of the skills,” says Schieffer. He believes multi-platform journalism is the future.

After the interview, a senior GMU communication major, Chanel Dority, had a positive opinion about Schieffer’s discussions.

“I particularly liked all the helpful advice he gave to the classes,” says Dority. “I will definitely keep his tips in mind when I enter the field.”

Class Speaker: Jim Iovino

Fairfax, Va.— Jim Iovino, managing editor for the NBC Washington D.C website, discussed the changing role of journalism with students in Professor Steve Klein’s online journalism class at George Mason University.

Iovino started off his career in 1994 writing and publishing for an online hockey site called, LCS Hockey. Iovino says, “it was basically a blog” at its simplest form.

After leaving his first job, Iovino took some online editing jobs at a few different news sources before he landed his present job at NBC Washington.

As a current managing editor, Iovino says his duties are editing and posting stories, and also getting videos for the stories from the video platform.

Videos are an important component to online stories. Iovino explained how new technologies allow videos to be embedded on to another site. This is good advertising because it “pushes out the content over the web,” says Iovino.

Allowing reader comments and discussions is also an important component to online stories.

Iovino says, “The way media works today is by providing a two-way conversation.” In other words, today’s journalism is interactive. Readers now have the ability to start discussions on a news source’s page and post pictures or video.

Because it’s so easy to put anything online in today’s world, anyone has the ability to be his or her own publisher. So, Iovino says it’s important for journalists to have a basic knowledge of all media platforms.

Learning how to use a simple video camera to shoot your own video is a good and easy skill to acquire. Iovino used his simple flip cam to take footage of the Washington DC snowstorm that took place during the beginning of February 2010.

“I just turned it on and started recording and talking about what I saw.” The video was not professional quality, but it didn’t need to be. It was still effective in providing visual news online to the public quickly.

By the end of his discussion, Iovino left students with a clear message:

All aspiring journalists should be fully prepared for a future of online journalism because everything in the media is changing.

One junior GMU online journalism student, Gary Cuesta, found Iovino’s words to be helpful.

“Online journalism is what appeals to me the most,” says Cuesta. “So I thought it was great to hear more about how online news sites work.”

Credits to: www.core.org.cn

Class Speaker: Claudia Holland

Fairfax, Va.– George Mason University’s copyright officer, Claudia Holland, came to GMU’s Online Journalism class to discuss copyright and fair use.

Claudia Holland began by saying, “Copyright starts the moment when the work is fixed.” The majority of works online are protected under copyright laws, but there are a few exceptions. These exceptions include: Ideas, principles, public domain, names, facts v. compilation of facts, titles, or usually anything published prior to 1923.

Holland discussed with students about how mostly everything online is copyrighted, and copyright owners have a bundle of rights. These rights are “reproduction, derivative, public distribution, public performance, public display, and public performance,” says Holland.

However, there is a term called “fair use” that allows the public to use some copyrighted materials without permission of the author for particular and limited purposes.

Holland says fair use is used when it is a “benefit to the public.” And generally, there are four definite factors when looking at fair use. Holland says the factors include: “Purpose and character of the use, nature of the work, amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect of the use on the potential market.”

Holland recommended to the students that they use the Columbia University Fair Use checklist, which says, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research are all protected under fair use.

After finishing her discussion on copyright and fair use, one GMU online journalism student, Donald O’Mahony, thought Holland had given the class a lot of valuable information. “The most important thing I learned is that you must assume that everything is copyrighted,” says O’Mahony. “With any type of information you decide to use online, you should take the proper steps to make sure the original author is credited.”

Credits to: www.whatsnextblog.com

Class Speaker: Amy Gahran

Fairfax, Va.—Amy Gahran, a successful journalist most well known for her development of Contentious.com, shared her knowledge of online journalism and media via Skype with George Mason University students enrolled in Professor Steve Klein’s online journalism class.

In 1997, Gahran’s career launched when she decided to quit her current job and build an online publication called “Contentious.” “I decided I was a really bad employee and it was time to be my own boss,” says Gahran.

And this proved to be a great decision. Now, Contentious is more popular than ever before. It is effective in providing readers with information on web-content issues and online media.

Along with Contentious, Gahran told the students that she now has a local news and info-based site based in Oakland, Ca. It averages about 35,000 new visitors a month.

Because of her success and knowledge of online journalism, Gahran provided the class with tons of tips and helpful information.

“If you don’t already have a domain, you should,” says Gahran. “People will not hire you if they can’t find you.”

This piece of information was beneficial for one online journalism student, Gary Cuesta. “The advice on how if Google can’t find you, your job outlook wont be good is important to me,” says Cuesta. “I now plan on making myself known online.”

While making yourself known on the web is essential for online journalism success, Gahran also discusses how gathering and keeping a loyal audience is just as important.

“You need to learn how to promote stories before, during and after,” says Gahran. “Also, you must learn how to integrate social media in order to find and connect with people.”

She recommended that aspiring journalists use twitter, because microblogging is usually the most effective way to connect with others and gain valuable sources.

At the end of her discussion, Gahran left GMU students with an inspirational message about achieving future success with online journalism. “Learn to think for yourself, says Gahran. “The best opportunities are ones you make for yourself.”