Class Activity (07/09/2005)
1. What good online journalism can you find reporting on the Katrina disaster. Think particularly about the important information that people want and need.
MSNBC's website provides a section on their site devoted to citizen journalism surrounding Hurricane Katrina. At the top it advertises "send your story, video and pictures", which provides immediate, intimate and accurate accounts of Hurricane Katrina which mostly cannot be found within mediums other than Online Journalism.
2. In groups, find a piece of law, regulation or a legal decision that affects online journalism. Summarise what the case is about, who is involved and what it means for Online journalists.
Me and Paul Riordan have chosen the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
For a more condensed version of the bill (including info on who is involved and what it is), check out this link.
As for what it means for Online Journalists, the new methods of protection toward the distribution of copyrighted materials are being pushed forward as being necessary to protect material from being pirated or misappropriated, sites have reported the provisions "undermine individual ability to make "fair use" of digital information", leaving negotiations behind and leaving the terms and conditions in the hands of the copyright owners. This means the law is rather narrow, leaving scientists, software engineers, journalists in the dark.
To journalists specifically, one site reports the DMCA means journalists would be prosecuted if they simply provide hypertext links to software code. But this is really a two way street. On one hand, it reduces the complexity of software installation, while on the other, it can lead to inappropriate use and piracy. In short, the law is a huge grey area, and will always have opposition.
MSNBC's website provides a section on their site devoted to citizen journalism surrounding Hurricane Katrina. At the top it advertises "send your story, video and pictures", which provides immediate, intimate and accurate accounts of Hurricane Katrina which mostly cannot be found within mediums other than Online Journalism.
2. In groups, find a piece of law, regulation or a legal decision that affects online journalism. Summarise what the case is about, who is involved and what it means for Online journalists.
Me and Paul Riordan have chosen the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
For a more condensed version of the bill (including info on who is involved and what it is), check out this link.
As for what it means for Online Journalists, the new methods of protection toward the distribution of copyrighted materials are being pushed forward as being necessary to protect material from being pirated or misappropriated, sites have reported the provisions "undermine individual ability to make "fair use" of digital information", leaving negotiations behind and leaving the terms and conditions in the hands of the copyright owners. This means the law is rather narrow, leaving scientists, software engineers, journalists in the dark.
To journalists specifically, one site reports the DMCA means journalists would be prosecuted if they simply provide hypertext links to software code. But this is really a two way street. On one hand, it reduces the complexity of software installation, while on the other, it can lead to inappropriate use and piracy. In short, the law is a huge grey area, and will always have opposition.
posted by Manny Tsigas at 10:51 AM
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