NewsTrust - Blog Archive

NewsTrust Tutorial Video

One goal we've had at NewsTrust is to identify ways to explain our services visually. Below is our first crack at a NewsTrust tutorial video. If you were brand new to the site - this might be an easier introduction into what NewsTrust is about and how it works. In the future a video like this will be integrated into the about section - for now, if you ever wanted to explain to someone what NewsTrust is about but didn't want to type out a long explanation, perhaps this video will help.

To learn more about reviewing stories on NewsTrust, check out our Quick Review Tips.

Fabrice Florin On the Future of News Media

NewsTrust.net founder Fabrice Florin is in perfect form in the interview below. The interview was conducted by Johanna Huybers and Kayla Dubchansky, students at the University of Reno during their "Journalism Week", and their question was "What is the media of the future going to look like?"

To be sure - that is a loaded question, but Fabrice systematically described how the news media is fracturing, how the lines are blurring between news, opinions and entertainment, and what all this means for the consumers of news. He also offers helpful advice to aspiring young journalists on how to combine new media values with some of the core principles of journalism -- and if you listen close, makes a reasoned argument for how NewsTrust as a tool can help.

 

Featured Topic - The Iraq War

Today's featured topic is the War in Iraq. As the war enters its sixth year, media coverage has dropped significantly — and perhaps as a result, the war increasingly appears to be fading as a primary issue in the minds of many Americans. Help us find good journalism about the war, the media, and the American people -- and review our recommended stories on the War in Iraq.

That's right, we are entering our sixth year of the war. Regardless of your political ideology - it's safe to say that war is bad. If we can avoid it, we should. But as the news reminds us this week, we are in a war in Iraq. With five years under our belt, news organizations like the New Haven Independent, are taking a well deserved look at where we are in this war.

The breaking news today, of course, is that the American death toll has now reached the 4,000 mark. Both the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times have news articles about this milestone. If you are in the mood for contrasting, read and rate both articles - to help us determine who had better coverage of this important and sad statistic.

News, like the NY Time's article about 13 more killed in Iraq will continue. There does not appear to be an end in site to the war. Which means that the media will continue to play an important role in feeding the public quality news and information about what is happening to our soldiers overseas. This week, help us find the best journalism about the war in Iraq.

A Look Back at U.S. Economy Stories

Let's be honest - there is a lot of fear in the atmosphere right now when talking about the U.S. economy. As I stated in the blog post on Monday, I am no economist. But I do recall stories my grandfather told me about the Great Depression, so when the U.S. Economy section in NewsTrust has articles, highly rated articles at that, titled "Our Three Decade Recession" from the Los Angeles Times,  "Can't Grasp Credit Crisis, Join the Club, from the New York Times and my personal favorite from today, "Partying Like It's 1929," I start to become concerned.

I looked at the reviews for the top six rated stories and found one similarity: They all were ranked high in the category of 'importance.'

In fact, all but one were ranked 4.5 or higher.

I quickly cross referenced some of the other factors that we use to measure a story: Context, accuracy, fairness, etc. Obviously they were all ranked relatively high (these were, after all, the top six rated stories), but some were rated high in accuracy and low in context, others were trusted a lot but didn't get a high mark in style.

The one aspect of these stories that seemed to remain throughout was 'importance.'

I imagine this is in part because the nation's gaze has been on two subjects this week: The economy, especially with news that the Iraq war will total around 1.2 trillion dollars when we exit, and the presidential election.

This importance is reflected in some of the comments of our trusted reviewers.

Gary Clark writes about the article "The crash in Republican economics,"

This is an insightful article dealing in detail with some of the challenges confronting the public, their financial masterminds and supposed regulators, who are or have been the very people benefiting from permissive fiscal policies. I'd like to know more about statements such as; "Today's economic regulatory apparatus is a far cry from what existed in the 1920's" without analyzing what they are and how effective they are proving to be in this specific situation.

Louise Auerhahn says about "Don't bail out those who put us here,"

Provides important background and context to the current crisis, going beyond blaming it all on subprime loans to talk about some of the deeper structures and philosophies that have led us down this road.

and Jack Dinkmeyer comments about "Can't Grasp Credit Crisis? Join the Club,"

Phrases the author uses like: "long, deep economic downturns;" and "could take out the whole global financial system," indicate there may be much more to this crisis than a mere short-term recession.

My concerns as a young adult continue. To some extent - they worsen from reading all the good material that the NewsTrust community has dug up. But, better to be informed than blind-sighted. That's a motto I think my grandfather, who lived through the great depression, would agree to. To that extent - if we are moving into a recession, we are better equipped, because of tools like NewsTrust, to look forward at the obstacles ahead.

The World Needs A Better News Filter

Chris Brogan, one of the web's leading thinkers on social media, writes "We Still Need Better Filters."

He says:

With billions of blogs and hundreds of thousands of podcasts and with Flickr and with site after site after site worth of data to consume, we have the “get it to my desk or phone” part of the problem fairly well managed. With services like Google Reader and Friend Feed, and del.icio.us to a lesser extent, we’re starting to find ways to collect all this information in one place (or a few places).

But what’s missing are filters. Twitter has no filtering mechanism, nor even a “bubble up the good stuff” mechanism. Google Reader lets friends share what they think are good blog posts, but obviously this works out that what YOU think is a good post and what I think is a good post might not always match up. There needs to be another layer of filtering such that I can choose to read your promoted posts, but I should then get the opportunity to bubble my best (and by “best,” I mean most closely informationally aligned) sharing sources to the top of the heap.

It’s all still too linear. Too boolean.

Who’s making the right kinds of filters to promote the best stuff? Who’s helping us suppress the drivel?

How would YOU like to see filters work?

What a way to state the problem. Particularly "we have the “get it to my desk or phone” part of the problem fairly well managed." There is a digital divide, but it is shrinking - and once on the web, access to information levels out for everyone (putting government censorship on the shelf for sake of argument).

Access is less and less the problem. What we are faced with is too much information and not enough media literacy.

By reading Chris' post I began to wonder about what exactly it is that needs filtering. Chris mentioned Google Reader and Friend Feed, both great services, but hardly "social news" sites. Both allow me to easily track what my friends are reading, but there is no collective wisdom. When I wake up in the morning and open up Google Reader, I view the articles Robert Scoble has shared and I trust them only so much as I trust Robert Scoble's ability to recommend good technology news. But this method just means I have to keep track of individuals as news recommenders, a task that doesn't scale up. Still - this kind of filter (human filters) is a good start if you feel confidant about the individual.

One step up from that is creating a social news site, like Digg or NewsTrust, where you are essentially aggregating news recommender and finding a way to weigh everyone's recommendations against each other. Of course, this opens a whole new can of worms, but it is scalable - assuming you get enough people with enough interests, you'd have an expert to recommend and review stories around every possible topic.

Is there a magic filter for the web? Of course not. But we are inching in the right direction. Sites like Twitter and Friend Feed will continue to empower individual news recommenders like Robert Scoble and we hope NewsTrust.net is moving towards a more powerful way to find news you can trust on the web.

Featured Topic - U.S. Economy

Today's featured topic is the U.S. Economy. Recent efforts to prop up financial markets have thus far failed to allay fears of broader instability in both the U.S. and world economies. How well is the media reporting the implications of this developing crisis? Help us find good journalism about this topic -- and review our recommended stories on the U.S. Economy.

I have never been an economy buff, but I remember when Alan Greenspan stepped down as chairmen of the federal reserve and I thought to myself: A giant is leaving the building. The U.S. economy would hang on his every word. Presidents must have greeted him with more respect than some foreign leaders.

Since taking over the chair Ben Bernanke has had a full plate. This weekend, the media turned their eye towards him and the U.S. economy, as reports began pouring in that we are officially entering a recession, perhaps the worst since World War II.

So let's take a look at some of the news articles that have been submitted to our topic on the U.S. Economy.

• J.P. Morgan Buys Bear in Fire Sale, As Fed Widens Credit to Avert Crisis - Wall Street Journal
• Oil hits record over $111 a barrel as dollar slumps - Reuters
• False promise of free lunch - Seattle Post Intelligencer

And more.

It's certainly one of those weeks where the business outlook is not very rosy. So what's our role as news consumers? We are being informed - but I believe we also have to help inform each other.

As I said in the beginning of this post. I am no economic buff. But I do follow the economics of the journalism industry. For example, in the Journalism.org article "The State of the News Media 2008:  Newspaper Content Analysis," pointed out to me by Beth Wellington, I can see the strengths and weaknesses of the article and its relation to economics. Yes, newspapers have covered the economy well - they've also been suffering from it as well.

Different industries are being affected by the looming recession accordingly. Everyone is an expert in their own right - and to the extent that the economy touches all our lives, we can help each other decipher good information from bad information.

So help us find good journalism on this topic. What are the nations economists saying about our growing debt, rising gas prices and now -- our recession?

And, just in case hard-core economics isn't your cup-o-tea, don't think this topic isn't for you. Everyone is an expert at something, and I'm willing to bet that your expertise, your niche corner of the world will be adversely touched by the downturn of the U.S. economy. We need your help to find good content that explains why.

A Look Back at Torture Stories

It has only been a few days since we announced, with our partner Mother Jones, a hunt for good journalism around the topic of torture. But in that short period you can tell, by looking at our topic page on torture, that it has been very fruitful.

We have found quality journalism in almost every medium from a wide range of publications including Link TV's "Tortured Words" clip, the Seattle Times' special report on the painful legacy of Indian boarding schools and Mother Jones' piece "Am I a Torturer," which reviewer Dwight Rousu rightly points out shows the aftermath of being a soldier who committed torturous acts, "the effect on their lives is well presented and often poignant."

The timing for this topic couldn't have been better with both Mother Jones and the Washington Monthly providing fantastic packages around the subject. My favorite piece from Washington Monthly, and the highest one rated by our community members, is "No Torture. No Exceptions, by Wesley K. Clark.

What we have collectively found, in just a few short days, are some of the most informative articles on torture that anyone can ask for. If you don't consider yourself to be knowledgeable in the topic, spend some time digging through what we've aggregated and we are confidant you will come out a more informed and equipped citizen.

For example, I humbly admit my previous ignorance about Bush's veto of a bill to ban waterboarding. Between the LA Time's feature article and the Associated Press' news release of this timely information, I am aware and have my own opinions of this news.

In addition to timely news, our search uncovered some deep thoughts about what it means that the United States, the strongest nation in the world, is now associated with inhuman practices and whether or not torture is something that fundamentally tears away from our founding principles. In fact, the highest rated article this week comes from Alternet, titled "Torture Still Doesn't Work," it is a look at the effects of torture throughout history and if the United States is really benefiting at all from engaging in it. If you are looking for context and information about the history of torture, this is the article for you to read, it garnered 4.5 on both counts.

Featured Topic - Torture

In partnership with Mother Jones Magazine, this week's featured topic is Torture  and related human rights abuses worldwide. Terrorist attacks — -- and the different ways in which national governments have responded to them -- have led to vigorous debate about what constitutes torture and abuse, and what are legally sanctioned responses to terror.

For a good introduction to this topic, read and review some of the featured articles in this month's Mother Jones . Then review other recommended stories that extend their coverage about this important human rights issue. Also, check out the reviews submitted by Stephanie Lowe (link), part of the Mother Jones editorial team.

It has been four years since the pictures of Abu Ghraib shocked the nation. While torture is admittedly not a rosy or "fun" topic, it is an important moral and ethical compass. How a nation and its citizens approach , define and react to torture says something about their collective values and view of human nature. Our partner in the search for good journalism on this topic is Mother Jones.

Not only is their community going to help us search the news for good quality journalism on this important topic, but their editorial team is leading the charge, with a dozen investigative reports, first-person accounts, audio, photos, and stats about the state of torture. To review these articles, just go to our source page on Mother Jones and check the stories that are up for review.

If you ever wanted an overview of torture - the Mother Jones story on "The Final Act of Abu Ghraib"  is a good place to start. From there - browse the other stories at NewsTrust in the torture topic and then scour the Web for more journalism about torture.

This is a difficult subject, both to focus on and to gauge how a news organization reports on it. Our best advice is read what you can, let it wash over you - and then use our review tool to guide you, that's what it is here for.

We can all wish that torture will never happen again, but on a long enough time line, the probability of that is most likely zero. So we should be informed and knowledgeable about torture and its history. We hope this news hunt for the best journalism on torture and human rights abuses will help us all reach the goal of making more informed decisions as citizens.

Featured Topic - Women's Issues

Our featured topic today is Women's Issues, in honor of International Women's Day.

While it is an exciting time for women in America (which might elect its first female president this year), women's rights are still often in jeopardy, or outright ignored, around the world. As our top rated article in this section states "The War Against Women Never Ends."

To that end, let's find and highlight the best news and information surrounding women's issues. The Women's Issues section of NewsTrust is loaded to the brim with stories about how our mothers, daughters and sisters are being treated around the world. Help us review the most informative articles - you might become more informed along the way.

A Look Back at Presidential Election Stories

Earlier this week our featured topic was the presidential election. On the even of another round of voting, the NewsTrust team thought it was a perfect time to take a good look at journalism surrounding the election.

One of the highest rated stories, and one that captures the looming questions for Democrats after the Texas and Ohio primaries, is from Slate: "Clinton has come back, but has she come back far enough?"

It's interesting to note that this article, one of the highest rated so far, scored very low on the issue of balance, perhaps because it is still framing the election story in relation to Barack Obama. There has been some recent criticism that the Obama campaign has had it easy in the media so far, perhaps that is a narrative that will change now that people have begun to call attention to this bias.

The match between Clinton and Obama is in a dead heat. But, considering Clinton's history, she was expected to sweep the primaries against Obama, the LA Times asks "how the Clinton campaign got here?" This was another highly rated article which trusted reviewer Barry Grossheim points out is an "insightful look into the Clinton campaign." Again, however, the election narrative seems to be told with a pivot around Obama. This is something that I think our reviewers caught from time-to-time while rating stories in the presidential election topic.

There was one rogue story, or I should say, a story that wasn't all about the horse race, which caught my eye: Candidates in favor of ROTC on campus from the Stanford Daily. This article about the fact that all the candidates support the continuation of the ROTC on campus program was rated fairly high and garnered thoughtful reviews from some of our most trusted community members. As Michael Hudson comments - this is a 40-year-old debate that is "in need of the the public's renewed attention." I can especially argue that case after yesterday's Times Square bombing which targeted a military recruitment center.

For me, NewsTrust certainly brought the issue to the forefront.  Much like Gregg Moneyhun, "I wasn't aware about this until I read the story." I've always had my opinion, which I won't go into here. The important aspect of NewsTrust isn't that we become a venue for stating your ideological belief. As Tish noted in a post - we try to check our ideology at the door. But, in this case, NewsTrust worked as a tool to get me informed and thinking critically about an issue.