The Great Debate UK
from For the Record:
Dim view of media? Try more transparency
Dean Wright is Global Editor, Ethics, Innovation and News Standards. Any opinions are his own.
This week brought more distressing news for journalists, as a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found the U.S. public more critical than ever of the accuracy and independence of the media.
Only 29 percent of Americans believe that news organisations generally get the facts straight, the survey found, the lowest level in the survey's near quarter-century history.
It gets worse:
--Just 26 percent said the media are careful that reporting is not politically biased.
--Only 20 percent believe news organisations are independent of powerful people and organisations.
--Barely a fifth believe the media are willing to admit mistakes.
from For the Record:
A is for abattoir; Z is for ZULU: All in the Handbook of Journalism
Dean Wright is Global Editor, Ethics, Innovation and News Standards. Any opinions are his own.
The first entry is abattoir (not abbatoir); the last is ZULU (a term used by Western military forces to mean GMT).
from For the Record:
Counting quality — not characters — in social media
Dean Wright is Global Editor, Ethics, Innovation and News Standards. Any opinions are his own.
Are we too connected?
In recent days and weeks I’ve been wondering if our mobile phones, Blackberries, text messaging and constant access to email and social media have brought us too close together for our own good.
from For the Record:
Flu outbreak: Walking the line between hyping and helping
Dean Wright is Global Editor, Ethics, Innovation and News Standards. Any opinions are his own.
There’s nothing like a disease outbreak to highlight the value of the media in alerting and informing the public in the face of an emergency.
from The Great Debate:
Trust: the commodity in shortest supply
Where do I put my money?
What do I read?
Who do I listen to?
Who saw it coming?
Who made money from it?
Who will make money from it?
Who can I trust?
As Davos gets under way, my feeling from chatting with contacts and listening to conversations around me is that one thing the world economy is really suffering from right now is a crisis in trust.
from Davos Notebook:
The shift in power from West to East
One news theme I've asked our journalists to be alert to this year is the shift in power and emphasis from est to East.
The rise of China's economic power during 30 years of reform and opening to the world is just one manifestation of this; the knowledge and service powerhouse that India has come in a globalised world is another. At Davos this year I'm moderating a panel on Asian innovation that will surely highlight software advances in Japan, Korea and Thailand as well.
from For the Record:
Reporting in Gaza: Striving for fairness
Dean Wright is Global Editor, Ethics, Innovation and News Standards. Any opinions are his own.
Let’s say it up front: Almost all of you will find something in this column to take issue with.
from Reuters Editors:
And the band played on: covering the economic crisis
I recently visited one of the most frightening sites on the Web—the place where I look at my shrinking retirement account.
As I calculated the investment loss since the steep decline in the markets began, and particularly since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in mid-September, some questions arose (in addition to: Will I ever be able to retire?).
