Comments for Clare Dickinson's Blog

Comment on The European Union: elections and problems by hittingrabbit

hittingrabbit — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:25:40 +0000

You are not alone in the lack of knowledge of how one’s government functions.Here in the U.S it is much the same students are dumbed down from knowing the real important aspects of their heritage.One of the greatest documents ever written The United States Constitution is seldom a subject to be studied in schools from pre-school through High school years,this document provides one with the knowledge to make sure that a government is operating as it should for the people.But people in the U.S simply have lost faith in the candidates it’s a show now and will not result in any satisfaction despite whom will be elected.For those wh have become tired of the same old lies they sit quietly on the sidelines reminiscing of the old days while hoping tommorow will come as the yesteryears,but that never comes,they are satisfied to the extent that they are resolved in the beleif that they will not make a difference when the whole picture has become so skewed that even the fiction seem’s reality.

Comment on Reporting G20: a new way of covering news by chrisjeff

chrisjeff — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:04:56 +0000

Twitter reports today were indeed brilliant – I was lucky enough to be there in person.
Unfortunately I think the rise of Twitter will lead to journalists being increasingly chained to their desks, closely following citizen journalists’ 140 character updates, but not doing the real reporting themselves.

Comment on Talking to the winner of The Apprentice by Shonika Proctor, TeenBizCoach

Shonika Proctor, TeenBizCoach — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:40:37 +0000

There is no box.

I have usually found that the very people who encourage others to think outside the box are the ones who created them.

@teenbizcoach

Comment on Online at The Hackney Post by claredickinson

claredickinson — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:09:34 +0000

Hi,
we used wordpress to create ours but got a different template from the internet. Try woothemes.com. WordPress has worked quite well for us as it allows for comments and is easy to update.

Comment on Online at The Hackney Post by spatialcontext

spatialcontext — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:37:23 +0000

Hi, I am interested in putting together something similar in a rural area of central Maine. I would like to pick your brain on website setup. Did you use templates , wiki or such, or is it website from scratch? I have built my own website but am looking at which format will allow for interactivity and ease of changes. nice job. Sandy Olson

Comment on Social media: is it all too much? by cybersoc

cybersoc — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:19:51 +0000

You’re right to be asking these questions. For me, it’s a fine line between revealing personal details online. For example: I’ve revealed that I’m an American ex-pat, that I voted, that I got excited about the inauguration, but I’ve never once said who I voted for.

Personally, I think that it is important for journalists to make any potential sources of bias they may have open to scrutiny by their audiences. But you are right – not all journalists are going to want to, or even should, tell everyone what they had for dinner, that their relationship status has changed, or that they’ll be in Durham tomorrow. Along with concerns about their own privacy and safety, they’d probably bore some people to death as well.

I guess you need to look at what you are trying to achieve, both as a journalist and through social networking, then figure out where the two overlap in a way that isn’t problematic for you either personally or professionally.

Do keep raising these questions – those of us who bang the drums about this stuff tend to forget about the very real problems and dangers!

Comment on Animal testing: the reality? by Lara King

Lara King — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:13:15 +0000

I completely agree, Clare – the hardest thing about this task is trying to separate facts and fiction. Both sides of the story are pushing their own agendas and with such an emotive issue it’s really hard to take a non-partisan line. I guess this will be a challenge we face time and time again in our careers – it’s a good one to start facing up to now, but I have a funny feeling it might not ever get much easier.

Comment on What is really happening in Mumbai? by Si

Si — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:12:49 +0000

Citizen journalism should be a positive tool for journalists if it is used in the right way. The best sources aren’t the big fish. They’re the people who work for the big fish: the cleaners, the taxi drivers, the waiters etc…Obviously their stories have to verified, and their facts checked. Journalism practices need to adapt to fit this growing form of information. Not question its existence ipso facto.

Comment on Freesheets do have some value by Lara King

Lara King — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:30:23 +0000

Clare, I agree with you on this. I looked along my carriage on the tube tonight and every single person was reading either thelondonpaper or the London Lite. I don’t believe for a second that all (or anything approaching a majority) of these people would be buying The Evening Standard/The Times/The Telegraph if the freesheets disappeared tomorrow. They may not fulfill our journalist ideals (and frankly neither do all of the newspapers/magazines that people do pay money for), but surely it’s better to have people reading some form of newspaper than none at all?

That said, given the incredible power the freesheets have of reaching a large audience in London, I would love to see the creation of a more upmarket and higher-quality freesheet to give those two a run for their money (and their market share).

Comment on Freesheets do have some value by davidmchristopher

davidmchristopher — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:03:09 +0000

Freesheets are the embodiment of a disposable culture: instant rubbish, full of rubbish, and they dupe people who might otherwise buy a real newspaper into thinking they’ve been informed. I’m glad they don’t make money.