<![CDATA[Meghann Farnsworth · Storify]]>http://storify.com/meghanncirNodeJS RSS ModuleSat, 25 May 2013 03:11:48 GMT<![CDATA[TechRaking Resources]]>

Thanks to everyone who made the CIR/Google TechRaking summit such a success! To continue the conversation I've pulled together just some of the resources that were shared. Feel free to tweet at me (@meghanncir) or use #techrakingcir to suggest more.

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Wed, Apr 18 2012 11:38:04

First, here's everything from Fusion Tables to protecting your cell phone data.
Google's Richard Gingras: 8 questions that will help define the future of journalismGoogle's Richard Gingras: 8 questions that will help define the future of journalism
Editor's note: At TechRaking 2012 today - a conference at the Googleplex in Mountain View, sponsored by Google and the Center for Investi...
Mernit 2012 tech raker presoMernit 2012 tech raker preso
Presentation on the impact of Open Data on Oakland, CA's economic development, awareness for Google/CIR TechRaking conference 2012
And some tips for journalists . . .
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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/techraking-resourceshttp://storify.com/meghanncir/techraking-resourcesWed, 18 Apr 2012 18:38:04 GMT<![CDATA[If an Elected Official Talks Loudly in Public, Should Reporters Tweet?]]>

When California Watch's senior editor Bob Salladay took the train from Sacramento to Oakland on January 19, he didn't think he would be in a place to break news. But it's hard to ignore an Assembly candidate when she is talking loudly on her cell phone in a public space.

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Fri, Jan 20 2012 15:18:26

It's a common mistake almost all of us make. We think that our cell phone conversations, taking place on everything from buses, trains, cabs or walking along the street, are private. In reality, our conversations are taking place in public spaces and can be overheard by anyone who happens to be in ear shot.

On Thursday, California Watch's senior editor Robert Salladay was taking the train to Oakland when he happened to overhear the cell phone conversation of a woman he identified as Assembly candidate Michele Martinez, a Santa Ana council member. 
"I would say that about five or six people around her could hear her conversation," said Salladay. "I was sitting about five feet away and it was clear that she was an aspiring politician who was recounting her day in Sacramento, trying to collect endorsements."
In a new media world where news can be instantly broadcast on social media, Salladay's tweets showed the challenges facing reporters who happen to be in the right place at the right time. Should Salladay have made his presence known to Martinez? To let her know that he was planning to tweet about it? He was overhearing a conversation being held in a public space. What rules apply here? 

Whether or not you agree with Salladay's actions, this example also shows how social media has changed the dynamics of reporting. At the Center for Investigative Reporting and California Watch, we see social media as a crucial tool for distribution and news gathering. We watch what elected officials say on social media and use it ourselves for engaging with them and others. 

By definition, we produce stories that are indepth and take months to produce. But by using Twitter, Salladay proved that the medium allows us to break news without producing a full article. As an experienced editor who knows California politics well, he used his editorial judgment about who this person was, what he was writing and he quoted and sourced Martinez correctly.  

"After [Martinez] hung up, the woman across from her asked about the conversation and Martinez said that she was running for office," said Salladay. "So at least one other person around her was engaged in her conversation because she was talking in the middle of everyone." 

After Salladay's tweets, local news organizations in Orange County picked up on the story. 
Martinez slams Journalist for Tweets | The Liberal OCMartinez slams Journalist for Tweets | The Liberal OC
Assembly candidate Michele Martinez today blasted a reporter who overheard her phone call on a train to Northern California as "creepy" i...
Santa Ana City Councilwoman Caught on TweetSanta Ana City Councilwoman Caught on Tweet
Posted: Thursday, January 19, 2012 6:33 pm | Updated: 8:04 pm, Thu Jan 19, 2012. Once in a while, a journalist gets a scoop by being in t...
Martinez slams journo who tweeted overheard talkMartinez slams journo who tweeted overheard talk
Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, a candidate for state Assembly in the 69th district, responded today after a California Watch jo...
Santa Ana Councilwoman Gets Caught Talking About Political Dirty Tricks on Public Train, Cries Invasion of PrivacySanta Ana Councilwoman Gets Caught Talking About Political Dirty Tricks on Public Train, Cries Invasion of Privacy
SanTana City Council member and current 69th Assembly District candidate Michele Martinez has never been the smartest taco in the...
And soon after, Martinez responded to Salladay: "I don't know what's worse; someone secretly listening to a private conversation without consent or misrepresenting that conversation publicly.  It's disrespectful, dishonest and downright creepy.  Now, I'm even more motivated to bring integrity, civility and honor back to public service in Sacramento."
Those who saw Salladay's tweets seemed to agree that he was in the right in reporting what he overheard in a public space.
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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/assembly-candidates-talks-loud-we-overhear-and-twehttp://storify.com/meghanncir/assembly-candidates-talks-loud-we-overhear-and-tweFri, 20 Jan 2012 23:18:26 GMT<![CDATA[Fourth Open Newsroom is most successful to date]]>

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Thu, Oct 27 2011 00:33:55

The turnout was overwhelming. In San Diego, where distribution and online community manager Meghann Farnsworth was joined by members of the "San Diego Union-Tribune" and local ABC station 10News, more than a dozen residents lined up to share their stories. In Fresno, the Central Valley was well represented; web producer Suzanne Yada talked with residents about urban planning and youth advocacy, among other issues. And our friends at Patch promoted the event through write-ups and Twitter.  Read on for a more in-depth look at this Open Newsroom.

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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/cir-and-california-watch-host-fourth-open-newsroomhttp://storify.com/meghanncir/cir-and-california-watch-host-fourth-open-newsroomTue, 09 Aug 2011 15:16:40 GMT<![CDATA[Twitter Chat with @CaliforniaWatch and @PrepareLA on Emergency Preparedness ]]>

Do you know how to protect an infant during an earthquake? Or what commuters should take on the subway? How about what to keep in your emergency kit? Lisa Klink, preparedness education specialist with the Red Cross of Los Angeles, answered questions via Twitter in California Watch's first-ever Twitter chat. We used #quakeready as the hashtag. Find answers to earthquake preparedness questions and tips on what resources to stock up on below.

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Thu, Oct 27 2011 02:16:56

Lisa Klink, preparedness education specialist at the Red Cross, was the guest for our #quakeready chat. @CaliforniaWatch worked with her on answers offline and then tweeted them.
What kind of supplies should people stock up on in the event of a disaster?
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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/twitter-chat-with-californiawatch-and-preparela-onhttp://storify.com/meghanncir/twitter-chat-with-californiawatch-and-preparela-onThu, 14 Apr 2011 17:30:20 GMT<![CDATA[Third Open Newsroom draws biggest crowds to date]]>

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Thu, Oct 27 2011 14:08:56

In the past, small numbers had turned out to meet our team. This time, our reporters were greeted with people waiting to talk, give tips and share their stories. They spent the whole time discussing issues facing Californians and tweeting – when possible – about their experiences. 
David's interested in the cultural side of an SF school merger, and had a great dogs in parks map idea #opennews http://yfrog.com/h2b2g5j · mikejcorey
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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/have-coffee-will-chat-california-watch-hosts-thirdhttp://storify.com/meghanncir/have-coffee-will-chat-california-watch-hosts-thirdTue, 29 Mar 2011 20:58:18 GMT<![CDATA[A post-mortem on the "Post Mortem" social media outreach]]>

How many social media coordinators does it take to promote a year long investigation between four media organizations?

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Thu, Oct 27 2011 14:31:40

The project “Post Mortem”, which launched Feb. 1, was a yearlong collaborative investigation into death in America by ProPublica, Frontline, NPR, the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley, and California Watch.  Each organization dedicated top reporters to investigating what happens to us during our final exam.  Their findings were shocking.
While reporting out a project this large is challenging enough, it was an additional challenge coordinating the outreach between the partner organizations. 

Each of the news organizations agreed to promote the others' work on our corresponding websites - what needed to be worked out was how we would work with the public to distribute this content.

In a series of calls leading up to the publication date, California Watch, ProPublica, NPR and FRONTLINE social media coordinators worked out a couple of things:

First, each organization would use the hashtag #PostMortem to promote all of our work on Twitter.  See below for some examples of tweets.

2. Each of the main reporters would participate in a live chat
that FRONTLINE had already lined up after its show aired.
This would allow the public to be able to talk to all reporters from
each organization at once, rather than splitting our audience.

3. We would post not-yet-live links to a shared Google Doc, allowing us to plan out the promotion of partner content.

According to FRONTLINE, in the four days prior to the airing of Post Mortem on FRONTLINE to about three days after, the #PostMortem hashtag received 10,076,356 impressions, reached 1,504,738 unique Twitter streams, and was used in a total of 1,162 tweets.

So while partnerships between news organizations will always be challenging, bringing together the power of combined resources, staff, and social media outlets can increase the reach of everyone's story - and in the end bring the information more effectively to the public. 
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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/how-many-twitter-feeds-does-it-take-to-push-out-pohttp://storify.com/meghanncir/how-many-twitter-feeds-does-it-take-to-push-out-poThu, 10 Feb 2011 19:22:44 GMT<![CDATA[Belarus & Egypt: The Double Edge to Social Media]]>

By: Mark Schapiro, Senior Correspondent, Center for Investigative Reporting

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Thu, Oct 27 2011 14:32:47

While the world watches Egypt, another similar struggle is underway in a country that could not be more different--Belarus, sandwiched between Russia, Poland and the Baltic states, and facing a similar struggle for an independent media and freedom from an authoritarian regime.

This week, the fraudulently elected President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, faced an unusual joint action by the United States and the European Union, which coordinated their imposition of sanctions, freezing the assets of top government officials and withdrawing their visa privileges to pressure the government to ease its violent repression of independent journalists and opposition political figures.

The State Department released the new policy on its blog:



“The People of Belarus Deserve Better” | U.S. Department of State Blog“The People of Belarus Deserve Better” | U.S. Department of State Blog
Writing for the U.S. Department of State DipNote blog, DipNote Bloggers highlight the steps the U.S. government is taking in response to the measures taken by President Lukashenka and the Government of Belarus to respond to the brutal crackdown in the wake of the presidential election of December 19, 2010.
The action appears to have had some effect. On Monday, January 31, six opposition figures and independent journalists were released from prison, including former presidential candidate Uladzimir Niaklieyeu, and Irina Khalin, a Belarusian journalist working for the independent Russian newspaper Noveta Gazeta. 


Belarus Frees Detainees as EU Readies Sanctions | News | The Moscow TimesBelarus Frees Detainees as EU Readies Sanctions | News | The Moscow Times
Belarus on Saturday released seven detainees, including a former presidential candidate, who were arrested in December during mass street protests over the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Khalin's freedom was limited, though, as she was placed immediately under house arrest at her apartment in the capital of Minsk. At least three journalists remain imprisoned and are facing lengthy prison terms for their reporting on the anti-government protests, according to the  Belarusian Association of Journalists.
Belarusian Association of JournalistsBelarusian Association of Journalists
Description of your site
Neither the U.S. or the European Union ultimately, however, have as much influence over events in Belarus as Russia, as a World Press Review tweet points out.
A recent video by Amnesty International highlights the overall picture of human rights abuses in Belarus.
The resistance movement in Belarusia has unfolded in a sort of snow-bound counterpoint to the democratic revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. The parallels are particularly striking in the use by democratic forces of social media, which we wrote about last week. 


Global Digest: Resisting with social media in Belarus | Center for Investigative ReportingGlobal Digest: Resisting with social media in Belarus | Center for Investigative Reporting
A recent forum sponsored by Global Journalist Radio featured a discussion between New York Times reporter Scott Shane, who has been reporting on the diplomatic angle to the uprising in Egypt, AP reporter Elaine Ganley, who reported on the Tunisian rebellion, Alexander Lukashuk, the head of Radio Free Europe’s Belarus service, and Tunisian activist Fares Marbouk on the role of social media in Tunisia, Egypt, and Belarus.

RFE's Lukashuk Discusses The Role Of Social Media In BelarusRFE's Lukashuk Discusses The Role Of Social Media In Belarus
Lukashuk joined an "AP" reporter, a Tunisian activist, and a journalist from "The New York Times" for a discussion on social media and revolution hosted by the University of Missouri's School o...
While celebrating the use of social media as an organizing force--facilitating on the spot communications and a real-time view of spreading discontent--Lukashuk, a Belarusian exile based in Prague, suggested a profoundly dark side to social media as well: enabling the authorities to identify users and gather intelligence in advance of raiding their homes and offices. That dark side, it seems, is now emerging in Egypt as well, where new revelations suggest that British and American companies, which sold Egypt Internet and cell phone services, collaborated with the government in shutting them down.
Digital Darkness: U.S., U.K. Companies Help Egyptian Regime Shut Down Telecommunications and Identify Dissident VoicesDigital Darkness: U.S., U.K. Companies Help Egyptian Regime Shut Down Telecommunications and Identify Dissident Voices
Doing the regime's bidding, British-based Vodafone shut down Egypt's phone and internet service. The American company called Narus — owned by Boeing — sold Egypt the surveillance technology that helped identify dissident voices. We are joined by Tim Karr of Free Press and CUNY Professor C.W. Anderson. Karr outlines how communications was shut down in Egypt and discusses the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, a proposed Senate bill that could lay the foundation for blocking communications in the United States in the case of a "national threat." Anderson traces the activist roots of Twitter to U.S. protests at the 2004 Republican and Democratic conventions. [includes rush transcript]

Parallels in the use of social media are limited, obviously, with
the very different circumstances in the two countries--Lukashenka in Belarus, for example, seems at this point nowhere near as vulnerable to losing power as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt (and has already occurred in Tunisia).
But the Belarus president has also been given warnings that he should heed what is happening in Egypt.
Belarus president given stark warningBelarus president given stark warning
Poland's Foreign Minister has warned the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, that he could be ousted by his own people if they choose to follow the example of protesters in Tunisia and Egypt.
Mark Schapiro is the Senior Correspondent for the Center for Investigative Reporting. He has been an investigative journalist for more than two decades and has built an award-winning track record with a focus on environmental and international affairs. His work has appeared in Harper's, The Nation, Mother Jones, and The Atlantic Monthly. He's also been a correspondent on NOW with Bill Moyers, FRONTLINE/World, and Marketplace.
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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/social-media-coverage-of-belarushttp://storify.com/meghanncir/social-media-coverage-of-belarusSat, 05 Feb 2011 05:44:56 GMT<![CDATA[Thompson on Twitter]]>

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi launched a Twitter profile in late October. See the congressman's activity below. He's far behind New York Republican Peter King, who will likely take over as chair of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Thu, Oct 27 2011 14:39:52

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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/tsa-on-twitterhttp://storify.com/meghanncir/tsa-on-twitterFri, 03 Dec 2010 22:49:34 GMT<![CDATA[Cocaine and Militias: Are your tweets being monitored by the Department of Homeland Security?]]>

An average of 600 tweets appear on the Internet every second. This extraordinary volume of online content proved seductive to the Department of Homeland Security. It launched a recent initiative to search social media sites for dozens of key terms, such as "cocaine," "militia" and "radicals." CIR used Storify and a handful of these terms to collect just a few of the messages, images and videos that could feasibly cross the government's radar. View previous reporting here: http://bit.ly/akVo2b <br>

Storified by Meghann Farnsworth · Wed, Oct 26 2011 23:08:09

Search Term: Cocaine
Search Term: Militia

fellas I'm changin things up on ya and comin in on a THURSDAY! Thirsty Thursday with Militia and all the other Pole Kitties! Come in and play with one or more of us today, it's okay we like to share....each other. *wink*

— Militia Polekat · Thu, Nov 18 2010 11:10:03

Bringin the whole militia to get our flu shots today... Should be a great Ol' Time ;) ILMF <3

— Justin Henderson · Thu, Nov 18 2010 06:17:52
Search Term: Radicals
Adding and Subtracting Radicals - YourTeacher.com ·
The Flaming Lips-Free Radicals ·
Search Term: Afghanistan
Search Term: BART
Search Term: Weapons Charges
Search Term: Body Scanner
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]]>http://storify.com/meghanncir/agro-terrorism-cocaine-and-other-search-terms-dhs-http://storify.com/meghanncir/agro-terrorism-cocaine-and-other-search-terms-dhs-Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:10:16 GMT