Photojournalism Still Does the Job

First, look at this.


Freelance photojournalist Jodi Bieber won top prize in the 2011 World Press Photo awards for the striking pose of Afghan woman Bibi Aisha. 


Aisha, 18, suffered Taliban justice when she left her abusive husband. Her punishment for wanting out of the violent marriage? Her husband cut off her nose and her ears. The photo is arresting because it is sickening in a way that cannot be ignored. 


I am completely unable to put the whole story into context; I will never be able to comprehend the deeper meaning, to understand how a society exists that respects the "justice" of the act of violence that made this photo possible. 


This is why photojournalism exists. 


Some messages cannot be conveyed in words.


As I contemplated the winning photo, my head started spinning. Back in the dark ages when I went to J-school (and film was developed in darkrooms) I learned that a good photo could be worth a thousand words; a great photo worth a thousand inches. Of newsprint. 


What is such a photo worth now?


The world has changed; journalism has changed; the world has changed journalism and journalism has   changed the world. (Still spinning.) I believe, and I want to believe, that journalists will continue to work and some of their work will change the world. For the better, I hope. 


Back to the story, the one about the photo. Buried deep, because it can't be the lead - not with a photo like that - is this quote from David Burnett, jury chairman for the awards:

"A lot of the best work is done by photographers who went out and did it on their own. They didn't wait to be sent."

In other words, they were freelancers. In some cases, freelancers commissioned by (the remaining few) powerful corporate news organizations. But they went out and did it on their own.
  
Burnett's statement leaves me both encouraged and even more worried about Journalism's present and future. 


Unfortunately, as with the photo, I'm left with a only tiny bit of insight, and absolutely no answers. Anyone?


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Jodi Beiber's photo
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//110211/481/urn_publicid_ap_org4165ff90a563409d9fc4dfe4e3a2118a/


World Press Photo 
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/
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Ohio's Best Journalism: the SPJ Awards

This isn't news; the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Awards I'm referring to were presented last year. This is love letter, to SPJ and all the journalists that are, really and truly, professionals.

Each year when it's time to renew my SPJ membership, I have some qualms. They're fueled by feelings of inadequacy. Oh, on paper, I look pretty good. I have a journalism degree in my hip pocket, 20+ years of professional writing experience and clips a-plenty. But dare I stand shoulder to shoulder with REAL JOURNALISTS? When was the last time I made some muckety–muck quake because of one of my investigative reports? (sigh - never) And the last time I sweated a daily deadline in a newsroom? (same answer - repeat sigh.) 


I renew anyway. The real journalists who produce Ohio's Best Journalism, according to Ohio SPJ, deserve my support. Plus, I get to sit back and read their winning pieces, and bask in the glow of their excellent work. 

Links to a few samples of the most recently winning work are below. A complete list can be found here. 

The winners' circle wasn't full of just the usual suspects, by the way. Columbus CEO picked up three awards, Angie's List was honored for its consumer reporting, and the capital's entertainment publication, The Other Paper, garnered investigative honors for Lyndsey Teter's Tarmac Transgressions. (No wonder John Kasich doesn't like pesky newspaper reporters - he's surrounded. Thank goodness.)

Best Healthcare Reporting, first place:
How Valuable is Your Child's Brain. Tom Groeschen of The Cincinnati Enquirer delves into new laws designed to protect young athletes from additional concussive injuries.


Best Investigative Reporting, first place:
A Raid at Fair Finance. Jim McKinnon, Cheryl Powell, Akron Beacon Journal. (Original article not available; read McKinnon's follow-up here.)

Best Consumer Reporting, second place:
Utility Choice: Company Promises Easy Cash. Dan Gearino, The Columbus Dispatch.

Broadcast journalists are well-represented by SPJ, and many of the honored pieces can be heard on their respective stations' websites. (Like Vivian Goodman's Dana and Desiree, which took first place in Best Minority Issues Reporting for Goodman's employer, WKSU.)


Besides being impressed with the reporters' outstanding (and important) work, I like to support SPJ because I believe it's a highly professional organization, providing clues for new journalists who want to cover the system the right way, offering scholarships and contests for blossoming young people who will no doubt reveal things about our world that may not be pretty, but should be uncovered. 


Mired in my copywriting assignments and surrounded by the family commitments that I've allowed to push aside (some) career ambitions, I am not the "real journalist" I planned to become. But I'm thrilled to stand on the periphery, ever grateful those professionals are out there, doing their jobs. 


Write on.

Words & Pictures & the Blurred Lines of Communication

I've written often and recently about (my perception of) the state of journalism and the blurring of the lines between marketing communications and "trusted" editorial content. 

As journalism continues to change, sometimes I cringe; more often I say "hmmm." 

Three articles that have given me a lot more food for thought this week:

How National Geographic spots altered photos

Is Chris Arnade a journalist? I say yes. 

Was the disclosure enough in this newspaper "article?" I say no. 
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What do you think about journalism circa 2016? Do you agree with or bristle at the continuous barrage of insults Donald Trump hurls at the press? I'd love to hear your opinion. 

From Facebook.com/HeavenNow

What Ghostwriters Write (Hint: Everything)

A lot of titles in the business world are misunderstood. Most of them, I would argue. That said, if you ever meet a copywriter with a big chip on his or her shoulder, I hope you'll cut her (OK, me) some slack. 

Most copywriters could also be called "ghostwriters," and although neither is a particularly lofty title, in our information-laden world, writers of all ilks* deserve some more…consideration, for starters. (More compensation, too - but I'll leave that topic for another day.)

What Do Ghostwriters and Copywriters Write? Everything

In the past year or so, I've written about employment placement services, OSHA regulations, e-parking apps, replacement windows, agricultural dust control products, hand-crafted jewelry, landscaping services and bulk mulch products, mobile pet grooming services, PeopleSoft implementations, escape room games, marketing automation, keratin hair straightening processes, online accounting services, floral arrangements, appointment-setting software, lead paint remediation products, snow plowing and ice management techniques and a variety of medical conditions, surgeries and treatments, and reimbursement systems affecting both patients and providers. 

Over approximately the same time period, my work has also appeared in three Forbes blogs, The Huffington Post, and a couple of other places I can't mention.

Do Ghostwriters Create Policies and Procedures? Some Do

I've written policies and procedural manuals for employees of companies where I've never been employed. And by written, I don’t mean wrangled someone else's words, but written meaning created and developed the policy (after discussions with several company principles or department head) and then re-written, for stakeholder approval. I have not written public policy but many a hired-gun copywriter has. Sorry if that ruins your romantic notion about politicians and other public servants but hey, they're busy people. (Do you have any idea how much time it takes to raise enough money to run for office?)

My point? Information is a tricky thing. Regardless of the expert's name on an article or the name of the publication, it's quite possible the piece you're reading was written by a copywriter with a basic journalism degree in his (or her) back pocket, an unimpressive balance in his (or her) bank account, and a whole lot of secrets. 

Professional Ghostwriters are Not in the Fake News Business

This rant about ghostwriting/copywriting is absolutely not intended to be a jab at journalism, public relations, corporate information, business blogs or any other form of writing. Quite the contrary. Journalists are trained to research, investigate, interview and quickly disseminate information - real, helpful information. Not "just the facts," but the facts plus context. 

When you need to provide accurate, clear, helpful information to a particular audience, you need a professional communicator. Now, maybe you won’t be afraid to say “ghostwriter.”

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*Like copywriters, ilk is a word that doesn't get a lot of respect. (While many modern spell-check programs don't recognize it, Merriam-Webster does.) I love how internet retailer Woot uses "ilk" in an ad for a bag that's definitely not elk. 

As long as I'm using Woot's image, I should point out that the company appears to "get" copywriting and all forms of marketing/communications. Kudos to Woot, Ghostwriters, and Elks everywhere.  

Journalism Lives!

I dare you to read John Kroll's post about the five 5 Ws and H and tell me you don't agree.

He's right about the fact that expecting professional writers to apply this Journalism 101 principle to the concept of fact-checking should NOT require a half-day seminar, too. But damn. I got all goose-pimply reading this, and remembered why I wanted to be a journalist in the first place.

Sigh. So much for righteous dreams; I ended up as a freelance copywriter and taxicab driver. But hey, at least I can still get all goose-pimply.

Side note from copywriter me: I wonder how this page will rank for "goose-pimply."

~Diane Stresing

Google Tips for Freelancers, and a Warning for Journalism Junkies

Google's gorgeous, uber-accessible Tips page is like so many other Google releases - so simple, you simultaneously salivate and say, why didn't I think of that?

Arranged like flashcards on a clean white table, the tips feature screenshots that walk users through the basics of getting and using Google products that are not new - Drive, Keep, Calendar, Maps to name a few. What is new is the uber-organized presentation and boiled-down-to-the-basics instructions.

Why Every Freelancer Should Play with Google's Flashcards

If you're a contract or freelance worker, you've been there: the office where everyone does everything the way they've always done it. While employers usually seek out freelancers to bring specific talent and experience to a project, freelancers also bring fresh perspective and can-do attitude - both of which, I think it can be argued, are worth a couple of hours worth of consulting fees. But I'll leave that to the accounting department.

Next time you walk into a work group that seems to be doing things the hard way, pull up the Google Tips site and you're likely to find a solution, or at least a work-around.

Users are Everywhere, Power Users are Rare 

From A history of Windows, windows.microsoft.com

Many of Google's tips amount to a nudge to learn (slightly) advanced features of familiar tools. Gajillions of people use Google Docs, but how many know how to manage multiple revisions in a single document?

Now, Google's got the heat and light today. But I'm going to point out the same principle holds for plain old MS Word. Spend a couple of hours with your help screens, take an Advanced Word class at your local library, or just for heaven's sake, Google it, and you're going to "discover" some features in that have been available, like, forever. Ever had to make a bibliography and found out after using APA style that the assignment specified MLA? It's not quite accurate to say "there's an app for that," but there IS a feature to fix that (and create the bibliography for you in the first place) and it's been built into Word for ... well, longer than I've been reaching for reading glasses, at least.

And the principle to remember is: knowledge is power.

Speaking of which...

Google News Scares Me

Customizing your news feed sounds like a great idea, but if you understood what's been happening to journalism around the world (ok, nobody completely understands) in the past 20 (or 30) years you're probably scared too. I'll save my lecture on this topic for another day and just suggest that you learn how to use the other Google Tips before that one. Get your news and information from as many different sources as you can. Heck if you learn how to use all the other Google Tips, you'll save so much time you'll be able to read an extra book every week! Then I'm going to ask you to guest blog for me.

#seewhatIdidthere

Now go on, Google Tips are waiting to help you out.

Journalism That Makes You Feel Better

Have I mentioned lately that I love CRJ? I love CRJ.

Have I mentioned lately how I worry about what we don't know because of journalism's continuing/eminent demise? I'm worried.

That said, CRJ's always a bright spot, even on my darkest days. Read Trudy Lieberman's excellent piece at CRJ's site - all of it, for free.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love CRJ?

~Diane Stresing

Stories Set to Song, and Storified, and other Social Media I Haven't Tried Yet

Today I thank Tommy Tomlinson for doing many writers a great service, delivering a lecture on good writing structure without making it sound like a lecture. Rather, it sounds like a classic ballad. It's The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

It's not the first time Tomlinson has waxed lyrically on Nieman's Storify Storyboard.

(Yes, that's the correct spelling, as it belongs 

to the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at 

Harvard, not the high-end department 

store. Although I must say, Neiman 

Marcus is doing some interesting 

stuff with social media, too.)

While I'll admit that I'm really glad Tomlinson did it, and he did it really well, I'm kicking myself for not doing it - or something like it, just not as good - because I've always thought songwriters make the best storytellers. Elton John, David Bowie  (Ziggy Stardust), Billy Joel, James Taylor, and John Denver are the first that I think of, and there are many more. 

But instead of focusing on one thing I haven't done yet, why not worry about two or more? "Learn how to use Storify" hovers near the top of my lonnnnnnnnnnnng list of "things to do." (I haven't figured out what Pinterest is good for yet, either, but Storify is a much higher priority, at least for me.)

When I searched for a "Storify primer" Google coughed up one on the Harlem Shake, which didn't exactly make me feel like dancing. 

So now that another deadline is looming and I have to get back to my "real" job, I ask you, dear readers:

What do you use Storify for? where can I find a free, Storify 101 course online? Is there a Storify for Dummies?

You know where to find me....

~Diane Stresing

Bye Bye Blogs, So Long to Standards?

Today I read that blogs are passe, dead, a waste of time. When the question is, how can I get readers? apparently, the answer is Twitter. Hm.

I can digg (in fact, I really Digg it!) but I'm not ready to tweet.

Assuming there's some momentum and truth (or real worth) to back up the tweeting on Twitter, and Digg lasts longer than most of my web-crushes, then (you know what's coming) what does it mean for writers? and for writing?

I'm not sure, beyond the fact that it's acceptable to start a sentence like the one above with a lowercase "a."
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I believe writers are really, really important in any civilized society. Seriously. And not just the legal specialists who write the plethora of contracts, disclaimers, and warranties.

But it's been a long day.
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I spent part of it on a conference call with about a dozen eager writers who were, I was led to believe, all ready to jump at the chance to write for the website of a "major brand" in the medical space for ... ready? $70 per article. The articles should take about two hours to complete, we were told. (I suspect more like five.) Writers on the project are instructed to conduct one interview and use it to create 5+ articles on a given topic. And/or to source quotes from the host website - with attribution to the folks previously quoted on the host website.

Is anyone besides me nauseous at this point?

If we, the professional writers, are to repurpose and essentially regurgitate the same material, the same quotes, over and over and (I really HATE this part) reuse OTHER writers' material (even from "approved" websites - in this case, a partner site, but one with separate ownership and a separate staff of writers) how long will it be before what we read has no meaning?

Not very long, my friends; webspeed is roughly equivalent to the speed of light.

And the ugly twist in the wild-web-world is that while we can crank out "new" material with a few keystrokes and cut-and-paste commands, it's damn near impossible to to determine the relative age, or accuracy, of anything we read.

What if I repurpose a quote from a doc who was an expert in his field last year but who recently was indicted for having sex with his patients, prescribing drugs based on kickbacks, fiddling with research results to further his career at the big-name clinic?

I won't know and readers won't know, if I didn't do the interviews firsthand.

So for $70 you can get a pithy article on pinkeye, and say "goodbye" to journalistic standards.

That's a very costly mistake.

I'll admit that news of the death of the blog may be grossly exaggerated, and not at all related to the demise of journalism, however, there's a lesson to be learned in both.

I think it's this: While you don't always get what you pay for, even more often, when the price tag is low so is the quality.

In the case of the $70 medical article, you, dear reader, don't know if you're getting the story straight from the horse's mouth, even if the horse is quoted and the website looks like a thoroughbred.

Caveat emptor, dear readers. Writers, good luck. And fact-checkers, raise your rates. I hope you'll soon be in great demand.

Guest Post: Salvo or Salve?

Salvo or Salve?
One vowel. Big Difference.

The words we say or write can hurt or heal. Whether we lob a salvo or offer a salve is our choice. 

In the era of cell phones, texting and other immediate communication, quick responses are expected. But, hasty, knee-jerk reactions have consequences. To skip an intermediate step to contemplate the impact of our words, and instead allow our raw emotions to shape what comes out of our mouths or appears onscreen unedited, can be costly to our personal and business relationships.
 

Do we intend to demean a subordinate by spewing an insult?
Do we intend to reassure a child with a calm explanation?
 

Whenever the opportunity arises, we can choose to use statements that empathize, not terrorize; expressions that heal, not hurt.
 

Why? Based on our own experiences, we know that positive salves and negative salvos can have lasting, residual effects. Each of us probably can recall vividly the caring or damaging exchanges we have had. When Word Hugs™ were shared or pains were inflicted, those memories lingered. Both repeated kind and unkind remarks are particularly unforgettable.
 

We should be aware of whether our speech or writing helps or harms others.

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I'm delighted to have this guest post from Carmen Ambrosio! I met Carmen in May, when she was enjoying some well-deserved recognition at a meeting of Ohio Professional Writers.

After earning a journalism degree from Michigan State University, Carmen gained extensive experience in corporate marketing communications. Now, she pursues her own writing and art full-time. Her first book, Life Continues: Facing the Challenges of MS, Menopause, and Midlife with Hope, Courage, and Humor, was published in 2010. 

 

 Learn more about Carmen, her work, and Word Hugs™ at http://www.ambrosart.com where she also shares a little about her writing philosophy, and life.
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"We all need the daily emotional nutrition provided by positive, supportive communications of friends, family and others we encounter on our paths." ~~ Carmen Ambrosio