Studying the intersection of journalism, interactive communications and public discourse
Online comments sections are our modern day venues for collaboration, for public discourse, for democratic deliberation. The internet was supposed to even the playing field for participation. But for many women, wading into the incivility of online comments or social media exchanges is like walking alone down a scary back alley, or into an angry …
The contentious post-election climate has left many Americans wondering how our democracy became so spiteful. I think it’s time to heap some blame on online comments. The ability to say offensive things online on a daily basis without consequences has led to new, and more harmful, norms for civic behavior. Toxic fuming online, ad hominem …
“My mood, I say, was one of exaltation. I felt as a seeing man might do, with padded feet and noiseless clothes, in a city of the blind. I experienced a wild impulse to jest, to startle people, to clap men on the back, fling people’s hats astray, and generally revel in my extraordinary advantage.” …
What is social media? It’s a billboard a live broadcast channel an archive and a library. It’s also a conversation. Unscripted and unpredictable. A customer service feedback line and a crowd-sourcing tool. It’s a polling center a debate arena an angry mob and an echo chamber. Social media is a snark machine. It offers publishing …
Back in mid-November 2015, I attended the Association of Opinion Journalists Minority Writers Seminar on a fellowship. During the four day workshop at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, I banged out a rough personal essay about what happened the first time I assigned my journalism students to use Twitter. It was a commentary …
I spend a lot of my time mulling over ways for journalists to elevate online discourse on news stories. Below is a presentation I gave at the 2015 Excellence in Journalism conference in Orlando, FL on September 18. Joining me was Talia Stroud of the Engaging News Project. My prepared script for “To Comment or …
One of the best aspects of working as a journalist is the profession’s unanticipated path of discovery — and opportunity. My newly found knowledge of drones is a recent example of this. It started in late July 2014 when an editor/friend at The Hartford Courant asked me if I’d be willing to write an essay …
Is freedom of expression a universal and inalienable right? What about free expression posted on the Internet? On April 6, 2015, the UConn Global House Learning Community invited me to participate in a timely panel discussion on how ideas of free speech and freedom of expression vary across the world and how the 21st century …
Below is a presentation I gave at “Data Driven Connecticut 2014: Progress and Possibilities | Moving from Data to Action: A Connecticut Data Collaborative Conference” on Friday, November 24, 2014 at Yale School of Management, Evans Hall, New Haven, Connecticut. I joined a panel of professional journalists to explore new developments and trends in data-driven …
A journalist’s professional reputation hinges upon credibility. Journalistic credibility is a recipe with five ingredients: Your published body of work, the organization you work for, the company you keep (friends, colleagues, followers, fans), what others may say about you, and, lastly, how you conduct yourself in public. Nowadays, “public” includes any online posts accessible by an …