Around the Wire: #SydneySiege in Realtime, Sowing Mayhem and The Week’s Media Moves

Welcome to the latest installment of Around the Wire, PR Newswire’s round up of journalism, blogging, and freelancing stories from the past week.

Image by Stephen Kelly Photography; used under Creative Commons 2.0 License

1. Reporting the #SydneySiege in Realtime: Verification Risks and Ethical Challenges (World News Publishing Focus by WAN-IFRA)

The idea of live coverage has evolved with the evolution of social media. Once upon a time, a helicopter hovering over a highway or building provided us with updates. Now, tweets from citizen commentators have begun to fill the gaps, offering us a new version of “live from the scene.” But it doesn’t come without consequence.

This week, as a cafe in Sydney, Australia was held hostage, the spontaneous coverage provided by social media was a mixed bag of success and fueled the debate about the ethical risks surrounding live reporting and social media.

2. Sowing Mayhem, One Click at a Time (The New York Times)

Journalism has evolved from the days of the man on the street interview. With the advent of social media, we have seen a type of citizen journalism evolve. Sometimes good, and other times not. In the case of Charles C. Johnson, many would argue the latter.

Mr. Johnson, the man who claims to have recently outed the UVA rape victim, is making a career of such actions. His GotNews website, while riling the feathers of many, adds just another wrinkle to what makes up today’s journalism landscape.

3. RWB Published 2014 Round-Up of Violence Against Journalists (Reporters Without Borders)

The past year has not been one without conflict. From Ferguson to the Middle East, journalists have been on the front lines reporting the atrocities of war, messages of protest, and tragedy. These stories do not come without risks as many times the best stories demand the highest consequences.

Here, Reporters Without Borders provides us with a recap of the violence against journalists in 2014.

4. The Year in Media Errors and Corrections 2014 (Poynter)

Well, nothing is perfect, right? Over the past 12 months there have been a number of unintentional gaffes made by members of the media. Poynter offers us some of the best from 2014 because it’s healthy to laugh at ourselves once in a while.

5. Media News and Moves for the Week of December 15 (PR Newswire’s Media Moves)

Media Moves keeps you up to date with who went where in the world of media. This week’s edition includes a new executive editor at Gawker, a few additions and subtractions at Bloomberg, and USA Today announcing it will no longer print its weekly insert USA Weekend.

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Ryan Hansen is an audience researcher with PR Newswire keeping track of the latest New York media moves. Follow him @RPH2004 for tweets about media, food, and his general take on something that may be irrelevant.