Poynting out one’s online identity

Mallary Jean Tenore wrote a great article on Poynter Online called “Journalists Develop, Dismiss Digital Identities,” which offers several perspectives on the topic from journalism professionals, young and old. Click the link or image (linked from Poynter) to read the article.

I thought the timing was great because in the past few months I have been more actively working to shape my online identity. For instance, I became very aware of the concept of the “digital legacy” after attending an ethics session by Poynter’s Kelly McBride at UM, during which she discussed this topic in reference to journalists and people named in articles. Paul Conley‘s remarks as part of a resume-writing panel at the national ACP/CMA in Washington, D.C. also spurred me to reevaluate my presence on the Web.

“A digital identity is your presence on the Web — the sites and accounts you register for and create that help determine who you are and what you do online,” Mallory Jean Tenore explains in the the article.

Though my online identity is something I am proud of, I wanted to even better represent myself and demonstrate my Web-savyy. Some ways I have molded it are through buying my domain name using GoDaddy, creating this blog, posting comments on other blogs and creating a LinkedIn page.

Bottom line: Anyone going to journalism or in journalism should be very aware of their online identity and be proactive in establishing and shaping his/her online identity.

Weigh in: What do you think about having an online identity? Do you do anything to shape it?

Back to (high) school!

I went back to my high school, Cypress Bay, for the third time in less than a week on Wednesday. I’ll count both of Friday’s trips separately because one was a visit to the newspaper class and the other was a teacher concert, which I attended to see the talented Brian Franklin.

For this most recent visit, I came in conjunction with one of my journalism professors from UM, Sam Terilli, speaking to The Circuit‘s staffers. Be sure to check out their Web site. Props to Dan Suarez for his work on the site.

During Terilli’s discussion with the class, another Circuit alumnus popped in: Andrew Meyer. After class Andrew and I visited other teachers before going out for lunch.

My next planned visit to the Bay will likely be in early January, when I’m planning to bring Chris Delboni, another UM professor, to school to talk about online journalism and new media reporting. Chris has done a great job at the UM School of Communication and she will be a great speaker for The Circuit.

Talking dirty diapers

Today I finished reading Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive by Mark Briggs. I also began voraciously consuming his past blog posts. I’ve made it as far back as September 2007 as of now and, in the process, have opened many of the links provided.

I created a J-Lab user account and commented on multiple postings, but one post in particular spurred a longer thought. Here is my response to “A 12-step program for journalists,” from Oct. 1, 2007:

Mark, I agree. Journalism definitely needs better well-placed humor and humanity. Reporters and editors still need to take subjects seriously when warranted, but if news organizations want to attract younger audiences (a community to which I belong), they need to understand why people watch Jon Stewart.

Many young adults are growingly cynical when it comes to the news and politics, so the Daily Show and the Colbert Report take an angle they can identify with and find entertaining. Those programs succeed with humor, sarcasm, parody, irreverence and such. They question authority and highlight absurdities. They remove the “filter.” In all, they are fulfilling a journalistic role, all the while providing an enjoyable watching experience for the viewer.

“Infotainment” is something we as journalists need to avoid, but that doesn’t mean news should be drier than a fresh diaper. Let’s not be afraid to soil ourselves from time to time, as long as we keep our reputations clean.

Please feel free to weigh in to the discussion by commenting below.

Sidebar: I’ve also been digging into Poynter‘s Web site and surfing for other journalism pages online. Basically, I’m trying to give myself a self-taught, Internet-based intersession course during winter break. Stay tuned…

Fair comment? Where do you draw the line with user opinions?

Online article comments are being talked about more and more, most recently in Miami Herald ombudsperson Edward Schumacher-Matos’ column in today’s Herald.

The topic was also discussed at the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors conference I attended a two weekends ago. Two of the sessions I attended focused part of their discourse on this issue: A writing for the Web session with The Herald‘s Martin Merzer and a session on ethics by Kelly McBride from Poynter.

Here are some articles to check out:

When comments cross the line by Steve Meyers

Looking for ways to tame poisonous words on Web by Edward Schumacher-Matos

Trying to ‘survive and thrive’ in journalism

A crash course EVERYONE in journalism needs…

Last night I started reading a little, 128-page book that was sent to me in the mail early in the fall semester. “Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive” by Mark Briggs (assistant managing editor for interactive news at The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wa.) covers a range of topics that are pertinent to the modern reporter.

Some of the material has just been a review, but I have also gleaned many interesting facts and bits of advice that have spurred a number of ideas for The Miami Hurricane.

Here’s a list of topics I’ve leafed through thus far: RSS feeds, Web 2.0, tools and toys, new reporting methods, how to blog, how to report news for the Web and digital audio and podcasting.