Reuters hook up with bloggers
I was intrigued to read that Reuters, who was accused of bending over backwards to be objective when its global head of news instructed Reuters staff not to use the word terrorist to describe those responsible of 9/11, is the latest media network to sign on bloggers.

After 9/11, Steve Jukes, Reuters' global head of news, famously wrote in a leaked internal memo: "We all know that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter and that Reuters upholds the principle that we do not use the word terrorist ...To be frank, it adds little to call the attack on the World Trade Center a terrorist attack."

Despite the initial controversy over Jukes' memo, the policy had little effect on Reuters actual coverage if we are to believe this survey, which shows that Reuters' "use of the word dropped off drastically after the first two days, but remained at above-average frequency even after that".

Now Reuters has hooked up with Global Voices Online, an international network of bloggers co-ordinated through Harvard University, which "seeks to amplify, curate and aggregate the global conversation online - with a focus on countries and communities outside the U.S. and Western Europe."

It's fair to predict that this will fuel new theories of the biases of this proclaimed scion of objectivity, which, according to Wikipedia: "more than similar organizations like the AP and UPI, has been accused by American right-wing and conservative people of showing left-wing or liberal bias. It has also been alleged that the agency's sympathies lie with the Arab and Muslim world. Similarly, Reuters has been accused by the left of exhibiting a pro-west and pro-corporate bias, being itself a western multinational corporation."

NYT Freelancers to sign disclosure forms
Remember how Jayson Blair's fabricated stories rocked the boat at The New York Times? Well, the newspaper is now making freelancers fill out a questionnaire “about their affiliations, work history, financial and personal connections and any past instances when questions were raised about the accuracy or originality of their work.”
Link via Jeff Jarvis

Converging media platforms
Main Stream Media is suffering a bit of an identity crisis these days as they're struggling to get to grips with declining revenues and a new technological landscape. Most understand that they have to climb on board the web-tech bandwagon, and some understand it better than others, just listen to the Miami Herald's new editorial policy: "Every job in the newsroom — EVERY JOB — is going to be redefined to include a web responsibility and, if appropriate, radio. For news gatherers, this means posting everything we can as soon as we can. It means using the web site to its fullest potential for text, audio and video. We’ll come to appreciate that MiamiHerald.com is not an appendage of the newsroom; it’s a fundamental product of the newsroom."
Story via Jackie

Blog coverage of NUJ conference
Another sign o' the (changing) times that I enjoyed tremendously, was The Guardian's reporter blogging from this year's National Union of Journalists (NUJ) conference in Liverpool. It offered a marvellous insight into both the workings of the NUJ, bless them, and the state of the media. It was so good that I, as a former or "sleeping" member of NUJ, almost felt I was there when I read it...