My Reflections on Storify

Credit: Flickr.com/EstherVargas

Tech writer, Lianne Cassavoy, describes Storify as a mixture of many different social media platforms: "a dash of Tumblr, and mix in a cup of Pinterest.  Sprinkle it with Facebook and top it off with Twitter, and you'd have Storify".  The new journalism platform was launched five years ago by Burt Herman and Xavier Damman, who had the vision that there are voices on social media that deserve to be published on mainstream media; Storify users curate these voices and turn them into stories.

Defamation and Libel on Twitter

Credit: Pixabay.com

One part of my university course that has really grabbed my interest was when we studied the legal and ethical aspects of journalism, in particular, defamation and libel. Having never studied this side to journalism before, I was shocked by how common it is for people to be sued for publishing harmful information about another person, especially on social media sites like Twitter.

The Importance of Photojournalism in News Articles

Could Photojournalists be becoming more important than traditional Journalists?

Whoever said that a picture can say a thousand words was definitely not wrong.  Today, you rarely see a media piece that isn't illustrated by at least one image; pictures are the deciding factor that make or break an interesting article.  Photojournalism has been an integral part of journalism ever since the camera was first invented.  You only have to type 'photojournalism images' into Google for evidence that the profession has absolutely no signs of slowing up.

Is Print Dead, or Just in Decline?

Are newspapers dead, or just in decline?

If I'm honest with you, I can't actually remember the last time I physically picked up a newspaper as opposed to just flicking through the numerous news apps I have on my smartphone.  Why would I waste time fiddling around with huge pages filled with stories that might not interest me, when I could have everything I need, filtered to my personal interests on one single screen.  This is the issue. The newspaper industry is dwindling because everything you could read in a UK newspaper or magazine is also readily available online, along with countless other points of views on many different stories.

Twitter- A Powerful Network for Everyone.

Microblogging is the act of posting brief, frequent pieces of digital content on a blog or social-media website.  This can vary from photos and videos, to simple written text and can be posted on a variety of platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Storify and even Instagram.  Twitter is currently the best-known and most-used microblogging site with 307 million active users.  As an avid Twitter user, I am continually amazed with its ability to connect users and create online conversation about a smörgåsbord of topics.

Is Youtube Becoming a Reputable Journalism Source?

My last blog post mentioned that I heard about the peaceful Muslim protest against terrorism through a video by "The Michalaks" on Youtube.  This really got me thinking about the possibility of Youtube becoming a reputable news source, especially with the ever growing popularity of digital journalism.

Bad News is Good News: Who's Choice is it?

Photo Credit: Mohammed Al-Sharifi.

2015 has been a busy year for news.  We have seen numerous terrorist attacks, namely those on Paris, extreme weather conditions such as the recent floods in North-West England and violent protests like the one against the Cereal Cafe in London.  But did you hear about the peaceful Muslim protest against terrorism? What about the new homeless walking tours around London, or the 'other side' to the Migrant crisis story?  No, I didn't hear about them either because sadly, only bad news makes good news.