EJTA Student blogs: DIT journalism students Niamh Geoghegan and Laura Larkin blogged from the conference all weekend, here are their reports

Slow Journalism

Reporter Laura Larkin

SLOW journalism does not simply mean taking one’s time- there are a number of characteristics that point to slow journalism.

Dr Megan Le Masurier delivered this year’s keynote speech at EJTA Dublin 2014 and explained the meaning and the impact of slow journalism. Slow journalism could be considered the antithesis to news journalism- it is not scoop driven. It is often narrative rather than expository. It generally shows a more ethical treatment of its subjects. Slow journalism is usually but not always presented in Longform. There are many stellar aspects of this type of journalism, some publications tackle just one story a month.

Among the examples presented Dr Le Masurier talked about The Retro Report- a New York based publication, available online. The mission of The Retro Report is to return to a news story long after the news cylce has trundled passed it. “It goes back to remind us,” she said, “that the first draft of history can be wrong”. This is one of the most important aspects of slow journalism- she explained, it takes the time to ensure that facts are, in fact, facts.

“Otherwise myth can replace truth if mistakes aren’t corrected,” she warned.

The incessant torrent of news has been brought on by the advent of the internet, and then the smart phone. “It’s an illusion that we can tap into all of the news if we just keep checking,” she said. Many examples of slow journalism, such as Delayed Gratification, a London publication, strips away that notion.You know before you open it that there has been a strong editorial hand on what you are about to read- but there is power in knowing that.

“Information alone cannot inform us,” according to Dr Le Masurier. “Slow journalism will never replace news journalism but it does offer us a critique of events,” she remarked.

More needs to be done to protect those who blow the whistle.

WHISTLEBLOWERS get short shrift everywhere but in Ireland the ‘whistleblower reprisal’ can be especially acute- and more needs to be done to protect those who blow the whistle.

Dr Tom Clonan(DIT) told his own tale of whistleblower reprisal which came when his doctoral research lifted the lid on rampant harassment and bullying of female officers in the Irish Defence forces.

The research, undertaken in Dublin City University, was denied publicly for two years before an independent government investigation vindicated his findings.He became the subject of threats and harassment.“Unfortunately for me I was a member of the tribe which was under investigation- I had nowhere to run,” he pointed out. “What’s unusual about whistleblower reprisal in Ireland is that it experienced by almost 100 pc of workplace samaritans,” he said and added:“In Ireland if you say or do the right thing you are very likely to be punished or sanctioned or ostracised”.

“Whistleblowing has entered the public lexicon this year again, we have high profile whistleblowers from within the Garda Siochana,” he explained to a room of visiting and irish journalism academics.

He was referring, of course, to allegations of garda corruption by Sgt Maurice McCabe and former Garda John Wilson.

Many political and crime correspondents in Ireland revealed a systematic over reliance on official sources as this story unfolded, Dr Clonan added.

“Our professional journalists, who rely almost entirely on official sources, said ‘there is no story here, these whistleblowers are suspect’,” he noted.

The problem is manifest, it can be seen in any newspaper or bulletin,.“Between 85 and 90 pc of the product is attributable to official sources,” according to Dr Clonan.

The myth that investigative journalism is divorced from academic inquiry needs to be dismissed- in fact they have a lot to learn from each other.

This could go some way toward abolishing the trend that sees the official line taken most often in Irish media, he believes.

Asylum seekers

THE story of asylum seekers in Ireland is being explored in a new way- which works outside of previous dialogues.

“Direct provision statistics are almost boring to people in Ireland,” according to Bryan O’Brien of the Irish Times.

We have heard them trotted out many different times but by changing the way the stories of asylum seekers in Ireland are told it is possible to see the real story behind the numbers.

O’Brien presented Lives in Limbo a multi-layered Irish Times exploration of the conditions of the some 4,000 people living in ‘direct provision’ centres across the country.

The piece was anchored by powerful short bursts of video allowing the subjects to tell their own story.

A three part series Lives in Limbo was presented alongside a powerful image of a grid of faces- it was a motif to represent imprisonment. For many people direct provision is a type of ‘soft incarceration’ O’Brien pointed out.

Collaboration is a good way to work on extensive projects, the photographer-turned-videographer pointed out, because everyone brings something different to the table.

Limited access to these 34 centres dotted around the country posed something of a problem but there was a willing among asylum seekers to turn up at a hotel room and tell their tales.

Roisin Boyd, radio producer and PH.D student at DIT, has a long history working with those in direct provision.

She warned against the dangers of allowing the stereotype to become the story. The danger with stereotypes is not that they are necessarily untrue but they are incomplete.

What is just one story becomes the entire tale.

As journalists working with asylum seekers it is important to appreciate that some revelations may be dangerous for them. It is necessary to understand that many are coming from traumatic backgrounds.

“We must ask ourselves the hard question before we ask them,” she said.

Data Journalism

Reporter Niamh Geoghegan

“Data journalism allows for more powerful journalism as data journalists really feel that they could tell better stories by using this information” During the seminar titled ‘Teaching Data Journalism’ lecturers at EJTA Dublin explained the meaning and the impact of data journalism among the various mediums.

Frederik Marain, lecturer at AP Hogeschool in Antwerp, warned that more emphasis was needed in finding new formats to convey data journalism to the public, saying college studies were ‘not in the lead here’. Marain also pointed out that to create an interactive infographic or a multimedia platform, seven characteristics and expertise were needed. These included: story idea, data, format concept, design, scripting, animation and social conversation analytics. However he warned that this concept of a “black swan”, an individual who is educated and talented in all of these specific areas, does not exist in reality. Finishing his presentation Marain questioned whether colleges, ‘should teach our students to programme and become more technologically savvy?’ Alongside Marain during this session were Pascal Guenee, Head of the Paris-Dauphine School of Journalism and Tom Felle from City University London. Guenee also reiterated the need for collaboration between journalism and fields such as computer science, statistics and design, and was keen to show the work that Master journalism students from IPJ produced in partnership with a group of math students. Their projects focused on topics such as crime figures and the effectiveness of social policy , with one lighter example showing the correlation between previous American presidents’ heights and their success rate. Tom Felle emphasised the importance of using data journalism as it leads to “better audience engagement”, and answered the ‘why questions’ of journalism. Felle also said that there was clear evidence that industry members looked more favourably towards journalists who were educated in utilising data information. “We’re hearing from the industry that data is one of the key skills that they want”, he said. However he was quick to add that due to the quickening of technological advancements in society, changes to the journalism curriculum may need to be addressed. “Companies and industries want multi-functional and multi-skilled journalists, they want analytics, but we simply don't have enough time to teach them.”

“Why students need to learn the art of long-form story-telling”

Kate Shanahan, Head of Journalism in DIT, delivered a speech during the EJTA Dublin conference explaining why teaching long-form story-telling is vital in the journalism curriculum.

Shanahan argued that long-form journalism enabled students to venture outside of the newsroom and gain contacts and valuable experience.

“Why do we need to teach students long form journalism? It’s real journalism that involves leaving the classroom and involves long working hours,” she said.

She explained that last year’s DIT Master students had to complete a multimedia story over several weeks, and she felt that throughout the process the student’s sheer determination to produce a piece was evident, as she claimed, ‘they were battling for their story on a daily basis’. However she also warned, that while it was important that the students didn’t become too attached to their subjects, ‘the ethical question had to be mentioned constantly’.

According to Shanahan, the students were able to establish their interviewees as human beings, gaining a sense of empathy and a more approachable nature.

“Long-form story-telling enables them to distinguish their subjects as human beings, not as mere objects of curiosity,” she explained.

The main goal of the project was for each group to pitch their stories to industry experts, and as Shanahan explained, what the expert’s found most engaging was the student’s positivity.

“The one thing industry experts noticed was the students enthusiasm, which long-form journalism encourages”, she added.

For more information regarding the European Journalism Training Association and its various objectives, visit their website at www.ejta.eu.