DailyMirror.lk:
“If newspapers are to be relevant in today’s context of Citizen Journalism, they should learn to integrate with new platforms of social media such as Facebook. Twitter and YouTube.”
These observations were made by senior British Journalist Claire Fry who works for a UK – based regional newspaper – Worcester News at a recent presentation at the Auditorium of the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI). Ms. Fry is part of a five-member group Study Exchange Team visiting Sri Lanka from Rotary District 1100 UK.
In his introductory address SLPI CEO Imran Furkan said the power of social media was evident in the people power movements that have led to the downfall of leaders in some African and Middle East countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in the recent past. The vetting process of information that comes through social networking goes through various personnel in the chain of custody like friends and family friends of friends that make it trustworthy to many.
Mr. Furkan went on to add that at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism (SLCJ), which is administered by SLPI, a key theme for 2011 and beyond will be the education of Journalists in Social Media and how to incorporate them into existing reporting platforms.
Speaking to an attentive audience of Journalists and other guests, Mr. Fry said, Social Media and Citizen’s Journalism is all about feeding news in any form and the use of modern technology to enhance or add value to stories.
White Social Media can break the story, newspapers can be used to effectively expand on the news item. She stressed the importance of professional training for journalists once they have secured a degree and have selected journalism as a profession. In the UK, Ms. Fry said, if a person was to practice journalism by working for newspaper he or she had to posses a certificate from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). They also should be able to work with shorthand since voice recorders are not encouraged at Government meetings and legal proceedings.
In an interactive question and answer session on copyright and privacy issues, Ms. Fry said that breaking news has no copyright, it all depends on who gets in first and with today’s citizen journalism “anything goes’. She also stressed the importance of a journalist, writing stories with the correct balance and integrity.
Commenting on the increasingly dual role reporters play in both writing the text for print version of newspapers and shooting video for the newspaper websites she stated that it is an inevitable trend and while newspaper photographers might fear job losses she as a person does not resent the dual role she has to play.
Claire was Highly Commended in the Newsquest Media Awards – a U.K. National award scheme two years ago.