Journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran, under the pen name Nellie Bly, once said “energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything.”
In celebration of Nellie Bly’s 151st birth anniversary last May 5, Google presented a Doodle tribute showing her milestones that left a legacy in the field of investigative journalism and in the world.
The field of journalism has changed drastically over the last two decades, particularly due to the Internet. The emergence of social media platforms will have an impact on the future of journalism and communication as the new source of news and as the vital tool for information dissemination. Examples of social media-influenced journalism in the last two weeks include:
- In Philippine news, Mary Jane Veloso was granted a last-minute reprieve on her execution for the crime of drug trafficking in Indonesia. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the top three newspapers in the country, however, published an article with an erroneous headline implying that Mary Jane had died. Here is a blog post reflecting on how this incident shows what is happening to journalism today.
- The Baltimore riot has been the topic of major U.S. headlines because of the violence, the looting, and the city’s state of emergency. Here is the back story and timeline on Freddie Grey’s death, the investigation on six police officers involved, and the alleged police brutality that led to the riot.
- Al Jazeera used their social media app unit AJ+ for real-time reporting on the Baltimore riots.
Here are other posts in our reading list:
- In the wake of the retracted Rolling Stone rape story, a columnist who had been a Pulitzer Prize juror discusses the relationship between fear and good journalism.
- The 12 rules of Facebook etiquette to keep in mind.
- 15 helpful charts that creative (and non-creative) people need in their lives according to Buzzfeed.
- Are you always a Negatron? Thinking about the worst case out of one failure? It’s probably cognitive distortions which can harm your career. Know how to recognize and stop them. Ask these questions when you are facing a difficult situation.
- Check this Proust Questionnaire, written by Marcel Proust himself, designed to discover new things about old friends or other people’s character.
- Since 2011, The New York Times has produced amazing opinion documentaries or “op-docs”. Here are 10 amazing op-docs from The New York Times.
- Are you looking for new books to read? Here are the bestseller lists in Europe for the month of April.
- Pew Research Center’s director of journalism research Amy Mitchell published an article regarding the state of news media this 2015.
- If you’re looking for some motivation to get you started on that long-delayed novel, take a look at Buzzfeed’s 27 pieces of wise writing advice from famous authors.
- This is how social media is ruining your chances of getting a job, but not in the way you think.
- A former assistant vice president of a banking institution left her position to pursue the opportunity of becoming a full-time freelance writer. This article contains tips on how to make such career a sustainable one.
- A British backpacker blogs about his series of adventures in the Philippines “in the hopes of inspiring others to ditch their desks” and travel around the country. Here are some reminders on the travelling dos and don’ts.
- The Daily Egg’s five tips for writing web copy that will help turn readers into customers.
- An experiment conducted by researchers from the U.S. shows that the next time you are nervous about a presentation or are in an intense emotional state, a “linguistic shift” – using the right pronouns or addressing yourself by name – may help calm or psych you up. You can also follow this technique to conquer your nerves before your presentation.
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