It's All Journalism

Here's a little tease to our upcoming podcast interview with Ryan Teague Beckwith and Amber Phillips of Digital First Media. Our recording was interrupted by an unexpected guest.

Here's a little tease to our upcoming podcast interview with Ryan Teague Beckwith and Amber Phillips of Digital First Media. Our recording was interrupted by an unexpected guest.

Willow Brugh is the director of Geeks Without Bounds, an accelerator for humanitarian projects. In times of crisis, the group deploys teams of hacker volunteers and humanitarians to provide technology solutions to troubled areas.

In October 2012, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall, the Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed its Field Innovation Team, which included Brugh and members of Geeks Without Bounds.

"The Field Innovation Team was about how we could start to bridge different groups in figuring out what they need and having a better response system in general," Brugh said. "It was very much  around field response organizations, NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and NPOs [non-profit organizations] to help them often only support the official responders. What we're finding is that that's not a scalable approach. So, if you only set up network for the first-responders, the Office for Emergency Management, the police department, etc., they're better off, but they're still trying to deal with a massively messy situation."

By shifting the focus to the affected population, the technology volunteers were able to help the general populace help themselves.

"Because Geeks Without Bounds does so many hackathons, people trying to build technology for humanitarian and disaster response situations, and because we run this accelerator for six months, which provides mentorships and things like business development and human rights and security, we have a really high exposure rate to a lot of new and interesting tools that are out there and also people who are technically adept at making what's out there work better," Brugh said.

This expertise allowed Geeks Without Bounds the adabtablity to identify and deploy the most appropriate technological solution to the crisis, even if it wasn't something that the first responders or other groups had previously used.

Brugh and others like her have much to offer individuals around the world, including journalists, who want to learn more about Open Data privacy and anonymity tools to help protect them and their sources from online surveillance or censorship. One of the best places to access this information is at a hackathon.

"Hackathons are work-focused events, mostly around technical challenges, where people with a varied skill set get together around a shared objective, and they have a time limit, the production of something," she said. "I really like the Open Source approach of we're going to sprint on an existing code base, so you're not really starting anything from scratch."

On Saturday, Jan. 11, Brugh will be the facilitator for the DC Internet Freedom Hackathon in Washington, D.C.

"This particular one is about taking a look at how a lot of crypto tools that we have are not really friendly for the user," she said. "You have to be pretty well entrenched in some nerd communities in order to be able to make it work. By looking more at the frontend and how people use these tools, we hope that more folk will, which makes everyone safer."

Willow Brugh is the director of Geeks Without Bounds, an accelerator for humanitarian projects. In times of crisis, the group deploys teams of hacker volunteers and humanitarians to provide technology solutions to troubled areas.

In October 2012, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall, the Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed its Field Innovation Team, which included Brugh and members of Geeks Without Bounds.

"The Field Innovation Team was about how we could start to bridge different groups in figuring out what they need and having a better response system in general," Brugh said. "It was very much  around field response organizations, NGOs and NPOs [non-profit organizations] to help them often only support the official responders. What we're finding is that that's not a scalable approach. So, if you only set up network for the first-responders, the Office for Emergency Management, the police department, etc., they're better off, but they're still trying to deal with a massively messy situation."

By shifting the focus to the affected population, the technology volunteers were able to help the general populace help themselves.

"Because Geeks Without Bounds does so many hackathons, people trying to build technology for humanitarian and disaster response situations, and because we run this accelerator for six months, which provides mentorships and things like business development and human rights and security, we have a really high exposure rate to a lot of new and interesting tools that are out there and also people who are technically adept at making what's out there work better," Brugh said.

This expertise allowed Geeks Without Bounds the adabtablity to identify and deploy the most appropriate technological solution to the crisis, even if it wasn't something that the first responders or other groups had previously used.

Brugh and others like her have much to offer individuals around the world, including journalists, who want to learn more about Open Data privacy and anonymity tools to help protect them and their sources from online surveillance or censorship. One of the best places to access this information is at a hackathon.

"Hackathons are work-focused events, mostly around technical challenges, where people with a varied skill set get together around a shared objective, and they have a time limit, the production of something," she said. "I really like the Open Source approach of we're going to sprint on an existing code base, so you're not really starting anything from scratch."

On Saturday, Jan. 11, Brugh will be the facilitator for the DC Internet Freedom Hackathon in Washington, D.C.

"This particular one is about taking a look at how a lot of crypto tools that we have are not really friendly for the user," she said. "You have to be pretty well entrenched in some nerd communities in order to be able to make it work. By looking more at the frontend and how people use these tools, we hope that more folk will, which makes everyone safer."

It's All Journalism producers Michael O'Connell and Julia O'Donoghue discuss some of the big stories that have been in the news lately about the state of journalism.

Here is a list of the stories referenced in our discussion.

Obama’s Orwellian Image Control by Santiago Lyon, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013

The Obama Administration and the Press by Leonard Downie Jr. and Sara Rafsky, Committee to Protect Journalists, Oct. 10, 2013

Bloomberg News Suspends Reporter Whose Article on China Was Not Published, by Edward Wong and Christine Haughney, The New York Times, Nov. 17, 2013

Against 'Long-Form Journalism' by James Bennet, The Atlantic, Dec. 12, 2013

The Guardian experiments with a robot-generated newspaper with The Long Good Read by Justin Ellis, Nieman Journalism Lab, Dec. 3, 2013

Â

It's All Journalism producers Michael O'Connell and Julia O'Donoghue discuss some of the big stories that have been in the news lately about the state of journalism.

Here is a list of the stories referenced in our discussion.

Obama’s Orwellian Image Control by Santiago Lyon, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013

The Obama Administration and the Press by Leonard Downie Jr. and Sara Rafsky, Committee to Protect Journalists, Oct. 10, 2013

Bloomberg News Suspends Reporter Whose Article on China Was Not Published, by Edward Wong and Christine Haughney, The New York Times, Nov. 17, 2013

Against 'Long-Form Journalism' by James Bennet, The Atlantic, Dec. 12, 2013

The Guardian experiments with a robot-generated newspaper with The Long Good Read by Justin Ellis, Nieman Journalism Lab, Dec. 3, 2013

Â

Rob Pegoraro is one of a dwindling number of journalists who has been able to make a living as a freelance journalist.

Pegoraro, who specializes in reporting on the technology, appears weekly on USA Today’s website. A few days ago, he also announced that he would be writing a column for a tech news site run by Yahoo.

Of course, Pegoraro’s 17-year career at The Washington Post helped his freelancing prospects when he left the paper a few years ago.

“My first and least useful bit of advice to somebody in this is if you can first spend 17 years at a major American paper and, you know, 11 years as their flagship technology columnist, it’s much easier to look for work. Work will look for you in that case,� said Pegoraro in our interview with him. 

First and foremost, it is important, as a freelance journalist, to know that you have some regular work every month. Almost immediately after leaving The Post, Pegoraro set up three contracts that provided a relatively nice “floor� to his income.

In terms of compensation, Pegoraro said that most of the work he does comes at a “set rate� per story.  He has some arrangements where he gets paid by the word, but not many.

“Travel expenses pretty rarely â€" they’re not covered all that often,â€? he said.

Pegoraro also said having personal control over your brand and name is essential, not just for freelancers, but for all journalists. He recommends everyone set up a personal website. 

“You want to make sure the first Google result for your name is a site you control, preferably not something like a Facebook page,� he said. 

The freelancer also recommends engaging readers. Journalists should monitor and participate in the comments section of their posts or articles when possible.

“I think readers will give you credit for showing up,� said Pegoraro.

Investments in small things, like creative business cards, can also make a difference. Pegoraro said people compliment him on his cards â€" which are slightly smaller than most â€" all the time. 

Finally, Pegoraro suggests that freelance writers form a limited liability company, which adds a little protection damaging lawsuits and an air of seriousness to his business. 
“I think it is a little bit more professional if you can say, make the check out to my LLC,â€? said Pegoraro.

Rob Pegoraro is one of a dwindling number of journalists who has been able to make a living as a freelance journalist.

Pegoraro, who specializes in reporting on the technology, appears weekly on USA Today’s website. A few days ago, he also announced that he would be writing a column for a tech news site run by Yahoo.

Of course, Pegoraro’s 17-year career at The Washington Post helped his freelancing prospects when he left the paper a few years ago.

“My first and least useful bit of advice to somebody in this is if you can first spend 17 years at a major American paper and, you know, 11 years as their flagship technology columnist, it’s much easier to look for work. Work will look for you in that case,� said Pegoraro in our interview with him. 

First and foremost, it is important, as a freelance journalist, to know that you have some regular work every month. Almost immediately after leaving The Post, Pegoraro set up three contracts that provided a relatively nice “floor� to his income.

In terms of compensation, Pegoraro said that most of the work he does comes at a “set rate� per story.  He has some arrangements where he gets paid by the word, but not many.

“Travel expenses pretty rarely â€" they’re not covered all that often,â€? he said.

Pegoraro also said having personal control over your brand and name is essential, not just for freelancers, but for all journalists. He recommends everyone set up a personal website. 

“You want to make sure the first Google result for your name is a site you control, preferably not something like a Facebook page,� he said. 

The freelancer also recommends engaging readers. Journalists should monitor and participate in the comments section of their posts or articles when possible.

“I think readers will give you credit for showing up,� said Pegoraro.

Investments in small things, like creative business cards, can also make a difference. Pegoraro said people compliment him on his cards â€" which are slightly smaller than most â€" all the time. 

Finally, Pegoraro suggests that freelance writers form a limited liability company, which adds a little protection damaging lawsuits and an air of seriousness to his business. 
“I think it is a little bit more professional if you can say, make the check out to my LLC,â€? said Pegoraro.

Interviewing is the baseline skill of a reporter.

I don't remember the first interview I ever did, who it was with or what it was about. It was probably in ninth grade, when I was writing for the Craig Junior High School newspaper in Indianapolis. Maybe something to do with the chess club or the cafeteria.

I do remember being an interview subject back then, though.

We were playing floor hockey in gym class. We weren't wearing any protective gear and I was the goalie.

When the puck shot in front of the goal, I dove on it just as one of my opponents' sticks came slapping down. I took the full force of the stick in my right eye.

There was an explosion of electric sparks in my head. Putting my hands up, liquid poured between my fingers. I thought my eye had split open.

Everyone around me was frozen in shock.

The gym teacher came up, looked at my face and said I had a gash above my eye. They took me to the nurse's office and my parents came and drove me to the doctor.

Three stitches closed the wound.

To this day, the iris of my traumatized right eye opens and closes more slowly than my left, which makes it difficult sometimes transitioning from the bright outdoors to a dark room.

For a few days afterward, the incident was the buzz of the school and one of my classmates interviewed me for the paper.

It was all a long time ago and I've probably interviewed thousands of people since then.

Delinda Fraizer, though, can easily tell you who her first interview was with and when it took place. It happened in November and it was with me.

In her day job, Fraizer is a meeting planner at the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C.

After 13 years in the working world, she decided to change her career path.

"As I was looking around at all the jobs that appealed to me, they all looked like you had a degree in either journalism or in English," Fraizer said.

She recently entered the weekend Interactive Journalism Program at American University with the goal of becoming an Internet content coordinator or a Web editor.

This podcast is the audio from Fraizer's first-ever interview.

Interviewing is the baseline skill of a reporter.

I don't remember the first interview I ever did, who it was with or what it was about. It was probably in ninth grade, when I was writing for the Craig Junior High School newspaper in Indianapolis. Maybe something to do with the chess club or the cafeteria.

I do remember being an interview subject back then, though.

We were playing floor hockey in gym class. We weren't wearing any protective gear and I was the goalie.

When the puck shot in front of the goal, I dove on it just as one of my opponents' sticks came slapping down. I took the full force of the stick in my right eye.

There was an explosion of electric sparks in my head. Putting my hands up, liquid poured between my fingers. I thought my eye had split open.

Everyone around me was frozen in shock.

The gym teacher came up, looked at my face and said I had a gash above my eye. They took me to the nurse's office and my parents came and drove me to the doctor.

Three stitches closed the wound.

To this day, the iris of my traumatized right eye opens and closes more slowly than my left, which makes it difficult sometimes transitioning from the bright outdoors to a dark room.

For a few days afterward, the incident was the buzz of the school and one of my classmates interviewed me for the paper.

It was all a long time ago and I've probably interviewed thousands of people since then.

Delinda Fraizer, though, can easily tell you who her first interview was with and when it took place. It happened in November and it was with me.

In her day job, Fraizer is a meeting planner at the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C.

After 13 years in the working world, she decided to change her career path.

"As I was looking around at all the jobs that appealed to me, they all looked like you had a degree in either journalism or in English," Fraizer said.

She recently entered the weekend Interactive Journalism Program at American University with the goal of becoming an Internet content coordinator or a Web editor.

This podcast is the audio from Fraizer's first-ever interview.