For Future Journalism 225 Students

Welcome to Journalism 225.  In this class there will be some fun times, but don't let that fool you into thinking this class is easy.  This class requires work and dedication.  By now, most people in this class are journalism majors.  So you all have to know by now that journalism is not always easy.

The fun part of Journalism is that there is a variety of ways to get the readers attention: a picture, a video, a catchy headline, and more. This class is based a lot on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and newest one for news organizations to use, Instagram.  Social media has become a big part of journalism.
In this class I would suggest you take some time out of everyday to write your blog posts.  I made the mistake of waiting to the last minute to write a few of my last assignments in this class and I needed up doing really poorly on them, when I knew this simple stuff.  I made stupid mistakes and it cost me some grades to suffer.

Pay attention in the class to.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  If there is a technical difficulty with trying to upload something, tell the teacher right when you get into class or e-mail them.  Don't let them think you didn't even bother to do the post.

In this class the teacher will show some of your homework to the class and give feedback on it.  Don't be embarrassed.  The teacher is only trying to help you so you can do better with the next assignment or if you wanted to re-do it.  NOTE: If the teachers says you can redo any of your homework assignments, DO THEM.  Do not just shrug it off your shoulders.  Taking the teacher's feedback and then redoing your assignments can up your grade even if it is just the smallest increase.  Most teachers would not let you redo your old assignments.  Take this as a sign, redo them if the chance is handed to you.

Sources are a big part of journalism, even multimedia journalism.  Make sure you either have the name and title of your source or that the online source you are citing is creditable.  You do not want to just cite the first thing you find on the subject.  You must learn to dig for more information when research is required.

Make sure even pictures are citied.  You don't want to just use any old picture.  Somebody could find out that their picture was used and can go after you for copyrighting.  You want to learn now, that you either find a picture online make sure you give them credit or ask permission to use the photo.  Either that or you could go find one that is labeled for reuse or use a photo you took yourself.  Just don't use any photo you like online.

Make sure with whatever topic you choose to do for some of your blog posts, make it interesting.  You want to learn to grab the reader's attention.  Wording is everything. People are always on the go and most of the time they will get their news from their smartphone or tablet during their morning commute or lunch breaks. The key is to make your story interesting for people to want to read more about.  This is another reason why social media is so handy to have in

journalism.  Breaking news updates can be posted on Facebook or Twitter and can be distributed to more viewers at a faster rate; and since most people these days are on their smartphones and other technology devices, they are more likely going to read it right through there then they are with a newspaper. However, still be cautious with your writing.The good thing about multimedia journalism is that you can always go back and fix a mistake, but not always before somebody notices.  Before posting the story, reread the post and make sure everything in the story is correct and spelled right.
This class is informative if you put your mind to it.  Detail is key. With journalism entering into the social media world, everything in this class will be helpful for future jobs.

Instagram Entering the World of Journalism

As  news organization, it is already known that social media is running the show.  We have found in the past that Facebook and Twitter have been great ways to distribute the news stores to m ore viewers faster than ever before.  What about Instagram, the app that allows you to upload pictures and 30 second videos in an instant?  Would that be another beneficial tool to use in the news world?


Yes it would be a beneficial tool to implement in news organizations.  Instagram is an app that people can use to upload pictures and just recently, short videos.  Under these videos and picture a few sentences can be written describing what is going on it the post.

In my opinion news organizations should add Instagram to their social media list.  It is just another great way to grab user's and viewer's attention. Not only can you post this picture to Instagram, but Facebook just bought Instagram about two years ago and now Instagram gives the option to post a picture or video not only to its site, but to Twitter and Facebook all in one step.  This would be efficient because it would be reaching 3 different fan bases in one easy shot.

Journalists can be out in the field and snap a picture just as the news happens.  They can get a clear shot and upload it to Instagram within a few seconds; and with the teaser it should draw people in.

Guaranteed, Instagram cannot post a link for a full story, but it has enough room for a few teaser lines.  With the teasers and the picture, the viewer could then go and check out the story if they want to read the full version.

According to Pew Research, 73% of adults online use social media sites. As of September 2013, 71% of adults used Facebook,  18% use Twitter, 17% use Instagram, 21% use Pinterest, and 22% use LinkedIn. These social media sites give people the option to read the article, watch a video, and even have the option to participate in open-discussion boards.  From August of 2005-2013 the percentage of adults between the ages 18-29 went from 9% to 49%.

Graph of Social Media users- Pew Research (Note: site and data
are updated when new data is available.)

As shown in this graph, over 8 years the percentages have increased.  People are always on the go.  Many use their mobile devices (cell phones, tablets, etc) to catch up on the news happening around the world. Facebook and Twitter being the top ways social media that people check.  Instagram is starting to climb that ladder as well.

There is one question that many journalists have come in contact with as social media sites have developed: How are journalism professionals going to bring the traditional journalistic values into the constantly changing social media world?  It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. Facebook and Twitter has been shown to be beneficial to other organizations.  Instagram, through it is only used for pictures and short videos, can be vital to the journalistic field.


According to Sabel Harris, an author for TrackMavin, videos weren't always a part of Instagram.  On June 20, 2013 video was introduced to Instagram and within 24 hours gained some popularity with 5,000 videos uploaded.  However, they can only load 30 second videos; which would be good  for news.  And as of October of 2013, Instagram only being 3 years old, had over 150 million users, 16 billion photos shared, and one billion likes happening per day.

In my own experience, the only issue I have found with Instagram is the videos.  Being a journalist, videos usually need context and to be edited to look more professional.  I found it hard with videoing in Instagram to make it look more professional.  When taking a video with a cell phone outside of the Instagram app can be a little bit of a pain.  The video has to be edited into a square to fit Instagram.  However, I believe that journalists should just use videos on Instagram more for a breaking news story rather than something that has to be edited and modified to fit Instagram and still follow the rules and professionalism of journalists.

Instagram does have a web profile.  This was made for people to view their profile, but nothing can be posted through the web. It is just a mobile app.  While this may be good for journalists in the field, it doesn't seem necessary to have a web profile if there isn't an option to post from there.  However, the web-profile can be beneficial.


 According to Ryan Lytle on "10,000 words, Where Journalism and Technology Meet,"

"When Journalists or news organizations have shared Instagram photos to Facebook or Twitter for example, web users have only been able to see just that one image-so if a user wanted to see a full gallery of images , he or she would need a mobile device to see more. Leading users to exploring more content can lead to three desired outcomes: likes, comments, and shares.  News organizations are in Instagram to build communities and then to engage in these communities."

This would give users the opportunity to interact with a some platforms;which could lead to greater opportunities to new audience exposures.  Not only can journalists get a picture on the spot and tease their viewers, journalists can also use Instagram as an opportunity for crowd-sourcing.  If a Journalists isn't at the scene to get a good photo, but somebody of the public did, they could hash tag the news organization so they could get information on the public's view.
This Video below explains that especially in times of tragedy, people post more pictures.  For example, this video talks about Hurricane Sandy.  So many pictures flooded in of the storm and of the damages the storm had caused, this is a type of crowd-sourcing; and out of the many pictures there were only very few that were fake.  This is where the skepticism comes in.  We would have to be able to decipher whether or not the picture is reliable or not. Once that is established then pictures can show the story.

As a person who works with a news paper and from my own experience with using Instagram for news stories, Instagram can work out to be a beneficial way to distribute news to more viewers. Photos can tell a story. Although, Instagram is not where stories or links can be posted, it can be a good place for a teaser. People who don't use Facebook and Twitter as often as Instagram, it can open the floor for crowd-sourcing and open sourcing. Journalists will have to judge whether or not the picture is accurate, but it is a good way to get the people's point of view when a journalist isn't on scene. Instagram should be implemented into this news organization.

Jail N' Bail 15 Second Video

The 8th Annual Jail N' Bail occurred on April, 23rd, 2014.  Students yelled and begged for money from their peers to make their bail.Beta Mu Sigma and the Southern Police department put this event together every year for the past 8 years to raise money towards the Special Olympics.

The weather may have not been the best, but everybody seemed to be in high spirits. A few days in advanced students could purchase a warrant from a Beta brother, the police station, or the office of Student Life for $5.  Louis Fournier, a psychology major and a  senior at Southern, watched amusingly at the people being sentenced for ridiculous charges. 

"I have to say, every year this event is a blast.  I have never gotten arrested by anybody, and I wouldn't want to in this cold.  But the Beta Brothers and the police officers do an awesome job every year," Fournier said. "I hope they continue to do this event. It is for a good cause."

The event was held from 8 a.m to 5 p.m.  People took pictures of the people in jail and some even donated.  The Beta brother took turns yelling through a megaphone "Put your friends in jail.  Come warrants are only $5."

Later, after the event Mike Sampson, a Beta brother said, "This year we had another successful year.  We raised a little bit over $8,000.  This is a fun event.  I enjoy being a part of the Beta Fraternity and being able to be a part of this great cause."

Jail N' Bail

Southern Connecticut State University held their 8th annual Jail N' Bail event on April 23, 2014. The Fraternity Beta Mu Sigma and Southern police hold this event in the academic quad for people to see as they pass by on their way to and from class. This event is to help raise money for the Special Olympics.

Police officers don't just go searching for the people who have warrants, they have helped make this whole event possible every year.  They call other police stations to come help out as well as Southern's finest.  They help run this event as well at the fraternity. Warrants for people's arrest are only $5. Students could purchase the warrants from a Beta brother, from the Southern police station, or even from the office of Student Life, said Mike Sampson, a member of Beta Mu Sigma

photo credit: Jenna Wilson
Student at SCSU

Students lined up to put their friends, and even teachers in jail. "By the end of the day we raised a little more than $8,000," said Sampson.

In the past years,  this event has won awards, which include the largest charitable donation award. It started in 2007 and has been going on ever since.  It has been a big hit with the students, faculty, and police officers.  It is not only for a good cause, it is fun.

"I love going to this event every year.  It is fun to watch people ask for donations while locked up in jail.  I love to take pictures of the people's reactions. Everybody is a good sport.  I mean, what is a better excuse for missing class? It is for a good cause," said Jenna Wilson, a student at Southern who stopped by the event after class to take some pictures of the event.


The cold weather didn't stop this event from being successful.  As the day went on the jail started to fill.  The air may have been cold, but the smiles on everyone's face made the event worth while.

"People were yelling as I walked by on my way to class," Said Patrick Burton, a  Engineering major at Southern.  "It was for a good cause.  So I gave somebody in the jail $5 towards their bail," he said.

5 Shot Sequence

Nicole Labrecque, a History Major at Southern takes a break from studying to sit down and play her piano.

Breaking News Can be Messy

Breaking news is quick, on-the-spot information to inform the public about a situation or event that is unfolding. However, with breaking news comes errors.  As the story develops, events leading up to and after the incident tend to change and become more developed.
Breaking news is messy. Plain and simple. In this video below shows the breaking news coverage over the radio of President John F. Kennedy's Assassination.  As you watch it, you will see all the mistakes made during the rush of this breaking news story.


When there is a rush of information coming in there is a chance that the information can be wrong. Take the Sandy Hook Coverage for example. When the news first came out, the name of the gunman was wrong, the mother's occupation was wrong, and so was the details about the children who got killed was incorrect.  At first glance, it seemed as if the information that was given was correct.  A police officer found an Id and automatically thought that was the name of the shooter. It is understandable considering the evidence is right there on the floor.  However, that Id ended giving false information. The mother of the shooter didn't work at the school. Throughout the article above Andrew Beaujon, a reporter on the media on poynter.com and a previous managing editor of the Washington City Paper, writes about the issues with the breaking news reports from Sandy Hook.

Should breaking news be held back long enough to find out some solid details?  If so, how long is a reporter supposed to wait?  And if there is waiting, would be still be considered breaking news? Is there a certain All these questions should be taken into consideration when covering a story that is unfolding in front of your eyes.

Breaking news updates are great to have to keep the public updated while things are unfolding.  However, people should take it into account that the details can change in a story and the breaking news version isn't always the right version.
Social media gives journalists the ability to upload breaking news at a quicker pace. Breaking news mistakes have been happening throughout the decades.  Even though with Twitter and Facebook distribute the breaking news at a faster speed, doesn't necessarily mean that it is not appropriate to use in the journalism field.

Mathew Ingram a senior reporter for GigaOm.com, a blog that is one of the top leading technology blog in the United States, brings to light that critics have come down on the inaccuracy that social media has had on journalism. Critics are implying that social media is not an appropriate forum for journalism. However, Ingram thinks differently.  He believes that "this is the way journalism works now, and we better get used to it."

Southern's Crime Rate Increase. Raise a Voice Against Viloence

Crime has always been a fascination to some people to learn about.  However, would you want to hear that it is happening close by?  Data charts and information can be very useful when it comes to crime rare in a town.  Southern Connecticut State University is located in New Haven.  According to Business Insider, New Haven is rated the fourth most dangerous city in the United States.

According to Southern 's Uniform Campus Crime and Fire Safety Manual drug abuse and violations have gone top from 2010-2012.  Not only did drug related crime increased, but also sexual offenses and burglary increased. Does this mean Southern is unsafe? Southern Police officers have done their part in keeping the students safe.  Students that attend Southern know of the dangers that happen close to or on campus.


"I mean, I suppose it is to be suspected.  We are a college campus in one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.  So to not expect it would be naive," said Pat Burton, a freshman and engineering major at Southern.

The Southern police are required by state law to inform students and families of the crime rate.  They don't try and cover up or sugar coat anything that happens near or on campus; especially for families with children thinking of applying to Southern.

"We send out an e-mail every time a crime happens around campus. We want to keep them as safe as possible.  Some students have taken their own course of action and carry around pepper spray and things such as that to keep themselves safe," said Chief Joseph M. Dooley.

Southern offers an alternative option for students to have when they feel unsafe  "One of the things campus police do is have an escort service. All  a student would have to do is call our number 392-5275 with your name, location and destination and as long as the student is on camp grounds somewhere, a police officer will come and pick them up," Said Dooley.

Campus police also hold a program called R.A.D (Rape Aggression Defense), which is a program for women to teach them basic self defense moves if they ever find themselves in a bad situation.  However, it is not a Martial Arts class.  It is just a basic hands-on self defense class for women who wan to know how to protect themselves.  To learn more about the other services Southern campus police provide go to this website.

What more could the police do?  They can be found driving around campus at night making sure students aren't getting into mischief and are safe. However, what else can they do to get these crime rates down? There is only so much that can be done. If students have suggestions they should go to the police station and talk with one of the officers.  Don't be afraid to raise a voice against violence. Southern Campus Police are here to keep the students safe.