Conflicts of interest, Tara data and baseline studies: Katherine Marchment reports

[clear] By Katherine Marchment CSG is suspected to have negative impacts on the environment (water, air and soil), as well as economically and on human and animal health. The information that can be accessed about this is too abundant for one article. Therefore, for the purposes of this article, I will concentrate only on the […]

Emerging democracy and the No Fibs Vision: @stephaniedale22 reports

By Stephanie Dale No Fibs – we’re a citizen journalism experiment emboldened by the success of our coverage in the 2013 federal election campaign. And we’re turning our attentions to the robust CSG movement that has emerged along Australia’s east coast. It’s true. We’re upstarts, punching above our weight. During the recent election we had […]

The definition of ‘data’ – Katherine Marchment reports

By Katherine Marchment I am finding it hard to understand the argument that there is ‘no data’ available for the impacts of CSG in regions around Australia. Farmers who have bores have always constantly checked them. In Central Queensland, this task is usually carried out on a regular basis by jackeroos. This is done to […]

Wandoan – thriving or dying? Either way, a new name is in town @AnnieKia reports

By @AnnieKia It took a while for me to realise what ‘unconventional gas’ meant. When I heard Metgasco wanted to extract gas at Casino, I thought it would be a couple of gas wells. Then I saw saw the Gaslands documentary – and the aerial photo of the Tara gasfield in southern Queensland. Unconventional gas mining involves […]

CSG: something for everyone @molessarah reports

By Sarah Moles I’m not directly affected by unconventional gas development. The nearest wells are 2 or 3 hours drive from my home, on some of the finest farming land in the world. I’ve been a greenie for about 20 years. Whether it is in creeks or lakes or rivers or wetlands or even under […]

How to write a news story

The art of reporting is the art of simplicity. And as with the art of anything at all – it looks soooooo easy. Which is what makes it an art. Writing a news story is like writing a country music song – it’s deceptively complex. And a fantastic skill to master if you’re willing to […]

No Fibs style

Every organisation has its presentation style and No Fibs is no exception. No Fibs uses standard news style and we ask all our CJs to pay attention to the basics. The reasons for this are twofold: 1. our readers – consistency ensures readers are free to read our stories and reports without having to concentrate […]

Assumptions are death

Assumptions – we all make them all the time. As a citizen journalist, however, your assumptions can destroy reputations – your own, your interviewees’, No Fibs’. Journalists – MSM (mainstream media) and CJ (citizen) – train themselves to question assumptions. It’s a trait that makes us very boring at parties. “Really? Is that true? Where […]

Accuracy rules!

Accuracy is a key component of every single aspect of your life as a citizen journalist. It is the foundation stone of your work – and your reputation. It is relevant to the presentation of your stories and their content and your relationships (to readers, interviewees and professional contacts). Spelling and grammar There is no […]

Everyone has an agenda

Make no bones about it, everyone has an agenda. Sometimes we are conscious of this, mostly we are not. In our modern times, just about everything that makes the news has been stage managed to get there – everything. Even what can appear to be ‘slip ups’ are often stage managed, sometimes to test public […]