Annotated Bibliography

 

Baran, S.J. (2021). Introduction to mass communications (Eleventh edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.   

The term is defined by the ability to receive some piece of information and parse it down to its meanings and whether or not you should trust the source or not. Besides teaching how to become a media literate and productive member of the conversation, the book has amazing history explaining how we got to where we are today. The book has been an excellent resource for the entirety of my master’s program. Besides the history and the literacy components, the book looks at various ethics and how those have changed throughout the years and technology has changed and what it might look like in the future. Baran also considers the importance of including everyone in the discussion, (specifically he is referencing democracy which is about debating and converse and exchanging ideas) but those that do not have access to technology cannot participate so we are missing some important idea exchanges not because this demographic has poor ideas, but because they lack access. This is key in today’s day and age, and something that is frequently forgotten or not considered.

Stanley Baran is an educator in the field of mass communication and a term he uses throughout his book about media literacy.

The book is a textbook so is for anyone studying media and digital technologies and their usage. It is a good all-round reference on the topic for a beginner or for someone doing a deep dive into digital technologies.

Bushwick, S. (2022, December 15). 10 ways AI was used for good this year. Scientific American. Retrieved https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/10-ways-ai-was-used-for-good-this-year/

There seem to be two groups when considering AI, those who are amazed by it and all for it, and those who are terrified of it. There are some scary things about AI, like robots taking over the world. Ray Bradbury and Hollywood notwithstanding, there are some incredible things about AI that I do not believe are common knowledge. Bushwick’s article is a starting place to look at the good things about AI and what it can do (and has been doing) for humans. I want to take this article with the positives and look at Musil’s article along with Schoentgen and Wilkinson’s article about AI in other areas and what might need to happen to ensure that AI use remains ethical.

Bushwick is the editor of the Scientific American which gives her some clout as having informational knowledge.

The audience for this article is those who are interested in technology, but also who might fear AI as it is a good demonstration for all of the good things that AI is doing right now, even if we do not know it.

Drushel, B. E., & German, K. (Eds). (2011).  The ethics of emerging media. Bloomsbury.  

The book is twelve years old. I find it slightly ironic that the ethical questions addressed within its pages have really not changed in that time. That is why I selected it for this project. I wish to look at ethics and perhaps a history of ethics with some of the “older” new medias. One of the biggest myths that we possess (and I am as guilty about it as anyone) is the thought that we can be part of the conversation and of society by soaking up the information we are fed and not putting any real time nor thought into things. The various scandals involving Twitter and Facebook along with the “new” phrase fake news are all indicators that this is not true, and we (as a society) need to “step it up”.

Both editors are professors of communication.

The book is used as a textbook, so the audience is of an academic nature. That being said, it is a good case study for anyone who wishes to understand the ethical dilemmas that face users today with our current and those emergent technologies.

Filak, V. F. (2020). The current journalism landscape. In V. Filak (Ed.) Convergent journalism: An introduction. (pp. 1-6). Focal Press.  

This might be considered cheating; however, it is our textbook. Originally, I was not going to include it, however, in the last several assignments I have been using it heavily. I have not read it completely yet, but it has good, helpful information about how to be a better, more conscientious communicator whether you are in the journalism field, or another field of communication. It is hard information to just ignore.  Journalism has become more of a two-way channel for communication, and it is important that journalists understand it is not just about sending the information out, it is also about accepting information back. The tenants of communication remain the same as ever: telling a good story and engaging those you are telling it too. Now, it is a matter of telling the story that your audience wants, not necessarily telling the story for your own sake. Filak, the editor teaches writing and editing as a professor of Journalism making him a knowledgeable source to quote.

This is also a textbook, so academic, but it could also be a “self-help” for someone trying to break into the journalistic world, or someone who has been in that field for awhile and needs some pointers for remember what it is all about and how to enjoy the work again. I have not completed the book, but that is the sense that I get from it so far.

Lyndersay, M. (2022, May 30). The robots in journalism's future. TNT&T. Retrieved  https://technewstt.com/bd1356-robots-automating-journalism/ 

The article discusses robot journalism which is something I learned about from Musil’s article. While Musil just touches on the topic as that is not his focus, this article discusses how AI is helping, not taking over, journalistic stories. This technology is being used now, today, by resources like Forbes.  It is hard to argue that computers are much better at finding patterns than humans are. Let’s face it, they are made to be. I did not realize that the grammar system being used to correct my mistakes is considered AI. I do not know that I agree with that, however there is definitely some “brainy” coding that goes with it. I also do not agree (regularly) with the solutions that my grammar check comes up with. My spell check is much more accurate. That being said, within Lyndersay’s article, the robots that are writing with news companies now are programed to write with the “voice” of the agency the AI are “working” for making it difficult to tell who (or what) is doing the writing. AI is perfect use on topics like sports, traffic, and weather leaving the human journalist to write the stories that require thought and interpretation.

I did not find anything on the author so this would not be a stand-alone article to use.

The article appears in a technical journal but is for anyone that is interested in AI and journalism.

Martin, N. (2019, February 8). Did a robot write this? How AI is impacting Journalism. Forbes. Retrieved https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolemartin1/2019/02/08/did-a-robot-write-this-how-ai-is-impacting-journalism/?sh=294cefce7795 

Martin is a Digital Consulting company as well as a podcast host, making this article a bit more reliable than the previous.

Understandably journalists are worried about their jobs. They are also worried about the brand reputation. Will an AI journalist cover a story with heart? With empathy? AP suggest that this will not be the case but rather that AI journalists can cover the numbers (sports again, but also financial news) freeing up the human counterparts for quality work, and perhaps they will not have to rush as much so will produce better products increasing the storytelling aspects and making it not just about the numbers.

While I do want to do a blog post about AI, it will not just be about robot journalism. That will be a piece. The three articles that I have should serve well for a general blog post about the topic. Rather a hey did you know sort of post. I find as I read these articles that I am actually looking forward to writing the piece.

In Forbes magazine this is an article that could stand out to anyone because of the magazine (even if it is digital). It brings light to the AI issues and concern for humans being replaced by robots doing the same job.

Mehdi, S. (2023, June 6). How content management systems shape SEO and web traffic. LinkdedIn. Retrieved https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-content-management-systems-shape-seo-web-traffic-syed/ 

I did not click on any of Mehdi’s other articles however, he apparently has fifty-seven of them so at least writes prolifically. I met SEO in the last term. I still do not get it. I understand what it is supposed to do for a website or blog site, and from a marketing perspective it is a must, but it is not something that I would have considered before last term. I was under the impression that traffic came to your site by luck and hope. I suppose some of that is true, but help can come in the form of SEO. The article itself gives an overview of what the scary words are that make up SEO and how to go about creating it as well as monitoring and adjusting as needed. I am not one hundred percent dedicated to either this article or the topic itself. It is important and I think that knowing about it will help get other voices with important things to say heard, at the same time I am kind of “meh” about the topic. On the other hand, one of the best ways to gain knowledge about something is to write about it. The site is for a very techy type of audience, as is the topic. However, many of the good “how to blog well” articles discuss the needs for SEO. From that perspective, this is a good explanation for those just learning about SEO.

Musil, S. (2020, May 30). 25 technologies that have changed the world.  CNET. Retrieved https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/25-technologies-that-have-changed-the-world/ 

Musil has wide and varied experience as a journalist and is a self-proclaimed “techy”. He is one of the editors of CENT which is a tech industry publication. I enjoyed this article so much. It was extremely useful in this module’s short paper, and I believe it will be useful in a blog post about the history of technology and what is up and coming. I am not “techy” so I did not know that many of the things that Musil talked about were in existence at all. Or really, some of it I knew about (RIFD for example) but I did not know what it did or why that annoying bit of plastic was stuck in the middle of my book ruining the binding. Musil and Baran will be great sources for this post, Musil adding in things that Baran does not include, like AI and face recognition. I am really interested in the VR aspect as well. It is possible that I changed my mind about SEO and go to VR instead. Musil includes things that I definitely did not consider as technology, like E cigarettes and ransomware, but these things are tech and have definitely changed how we act and interact with things. This is another article that is for those who really like tech, however I found it very interesting and had not thought of some of the examples as tech. This is something that a casual reader would enjoy and get information from if at a doctor’s office. Those who are interested in the tech are more likely to seek out articles of this nature.

Peiser, J. (2019, February 5). The rise of the robot reporter. The New York Times. Retrieved  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/business/media/artificial-intelligence-journalism-robots.html 

This is an order article but provides a nice contrast for what is predicted to happen with what seems to be happening. It is a nice both sides story with the reporters being worried to editors appreciating that there are no typos. AP’s director suggests that what reporters should be doing is the creative storytelling and holding governments accountable, the use of AI reporting provides them with that opportunity. Mostly this is a nice addition to the other articles that I have on the subject.  I was unable to get back into the New York Times without paying for a subscription, I am not going to read it often enough. Peiser comes off as knowledgeable about the topic as she should, she is a reporter after all. This is an article for the general public about what could be the plight of the journalist. It reads well and explains where directors and editors are coming from, as well as the reporter side allowing the reader to form their own opinion.

Prezly Academy. (2023). 26 Best Digital PR Tools (incl. Monitoring) for 2023. Prezly. Retrieved https://www.prezly.com/academy/21-pr-tools-that-will-make-you-say-yay

There are so many social media platforms that need checking and posting and making sure that you are actually communicating with those that are taking time out of their busy schedule to comment on your blog, or post, if you checked them all you would quickly be overwhelmed. There are a number of tools out there for the PR professional and they are good to be aware of. This strikes me as a post with SEO, or similar to that post. Many simply don’t know about all the options out there to assist with managing all of the platforms and hence time. I did not realize that Prezly did so much (the translation feature is really spectacular.) This is well enough researched for a starting point if I were to pick a few of the selections to help with PR, however it is a soft sell for Prezly and why shouldn’t it be? It does come from the Prezly Academy for anyone looking to make their lives easier with social media platforms.

Schoentgen, A., & Wilkinson, L. (2021). Ethical issues in digital technologies. International Telecommunications Society Conference. Retrieved https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/238052/1/Schoentgen-Wilkinson.pdf

This is an article about ethics and technologies, globally. This article rounds out the post on ethics nicely as there is so much on what other countries are doing to ensure ethical tech. The article covers types of ethical values and then various types of technology including AI and some of the ethical concerns that come up when this topic is mentioned. It speaks to what some of the academic research has discovered, what was recommended and what have become laws.  It also speaks to how various companies self regulate those sticky ethical issues. It encourages training, and perhaps international governance and oversite as these sites and platforms are used globally but not every country has the same rules and expectations or definitions of ethics, so how does that get solved fairly and inclusively for everyone?  There are offerings of some of the challenges that need to be thought about and overcome in order to offer global ethics. The authors are well versed with the various ethical challenges in the digital age. This is a scholarly article and while written for the scientific minded, it is something that anyone working with digital technologies can look at and consider for taking some of the ideas presented and improving how those technologies are dealt with from within that particular company. The same goes for students getting ready to enter the work force and what they might meet in the world, but also what can happen within academia.

YANIKKAYA, B. (2015). A Discussion on Teaching & Ethics And Teaching Communication Ethics in the Digital Age. Global Media Journal: Turkish Edition, 6(11), 532–553.  

This is an academic paper on the changing definitions (broadly) of ethics in the upcoming classes of students within higher education. Part of the change in what is considered ethical – black line wrong- by one group is considered a means to an end by the upcoming students making teaching ethical communications challenging for their instructors. Rather than beating heads upon unchanging walls, it might be better if teaching strategies were changed to meet those who are using digital media. The paper discusses other issues that are arising with the ability to download and use any data one can get their hands on without attribution, not that it is o.k., but rather that it is incredibly simple to do in this day and age and those doing it really do not understand the problem with just using the information they find. There is a case study that demonstrates a troubling (to my mind) trend of others in power to hear something negative about one employed by them and rather than give that person an opportunity to speak for themselves and to get the other side of the story, the story is simply believed at face value with the other person having no recourse to speak up for themselves or to provide another interpretation of the story so are guilty immediately rather than innocent until proven guilty.  It is an interesting article that I think will fit nicely into an ethical post with some of the other articles that I have chosen.

The author has experience firsthand as a higher education instructor and what is being seen in the classroom. The article’s audience is that of the scholar and the academic, and those that are in the digital communication field with knowledge comes power for those that are looking to come into the field and the changes that may need to come to include ethical standards, but also, that they might be different than what has been true in the past.