Media Insider: Historical News Footage Released, The Ethics of Using Hacked Documents and This Week’s Media Moves

Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s round up of journalism, blogging and freelancing stories from the week.

Photo by aftab used under CC BY-NC 2.0

AP to Put Nearly 17,000 Hours of Archival News Footage on YouTube (Variety)

The Associated Press, along with newsreel archive British Movietone, plan on uploading more than 550,000 video clips to YouTube, totaling more than 1 million minutes of film footage. Released material will date as far back as 1895 and will include major world events such as the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor as well as celeb footage of Muhammad Ali, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Salvador Dali, among many others.

In the Wake of Ashley Madison, Towards a Journalism Ethics of Using Hacked Documents (Online Journalism Blog)

Here, the author explores the “ethical framework for dealing with hacked documents,” and journalists’ responsibilities when obtaining and using them. He uses examples like the Ashley Madison website takedown and the recent hacks of Sony and Hacking Team to discuss how information taken from these hacks is different than evidence given by whistleblowers (e.g. Edward Snowden). The author clarifies that this is just a starting point and not a definitive framework. His conclusion: “Ultimately all the above comes back to that recurring ethical balancing act: does the public interest outweigh the impact of reporting on a company or Individual?”

Learning from Gawker’s Attempt to Erase the Past (Society of Professional Journalists Blogs Network)

Another big story this week was Gawker’s ill-fated attempt to “un-publish” a story about a publishing company executive who allegedly mailed money to an escort for a rendezvous. Two of Gawker’s lead editors resigned in the aftermath. This article attempts to inform journalists on the best approach when it comes to deleting a story, keeping in mind that anything posted online is usually archived and that “the internet is forever.”

Why Research Will Make or Break Any Journalist’s Career (Contently’s the Freelancer Blog)

This is an informative and useful article on the necessities of researching before one begins to write. The author portrays several examples of careers being destroyed by not digging deep enough. He also provides several resources that journalists can use in order to find existing information and archived articles on nearly every topic. The author concludes by sharing the story of a journalist who did it right, ultimately creating a distinct name for himself in the news industry.

Media News and Moves for the Week of July 20 (PR Newswire’s Media Moves)

Media Moves keeps you up to date with who went where in the world of media. In this issue two prominent ESPN Radio Network hosts are leaving the station, a prominent journal shuts down print and The New York Times gains a reporter.

[blog_subscription_form]

Stephanie de Ruiter is an audience researcher with PR Newswire keeping up with media moves throughout the nation with a focus on blogs and online publications.