Journalists & Social Media: Embrace the Responsibility like Russ Spencer!

First, I want to start this post out by stating that I am first and foremost a marketer. While I do dabble in content marketing, I am by no means a journalist. SO as I am writing this post, I feel that because I am a marketer, I am looking at the content through more of a marketing lens than from a journalistic standpoint. With that being said, there is a lot of marketing involved in journalism and vice versa. Social media has allowed journalists to have more direct contact with the audiences they are trying to reach and these audiences have more options regarding how and when they want to receive these news stories. Journalists now have to take social media into account in order to be relevant, as the audience may not be tuning into the 6 o’clock news cast on their televisions anymore.

One example of a journalists who I feel really embraces this responsibility is Russ Spencer of Fox5 News Atlanta. According to his Facebook profile, Russ began his career in journalism in 1983 after he graduated from Princeton University. In 1995, he started in career with Fox5 in Atlanta and has been here ever since. When I was growing up, I remember my Dad watching Fox5 every night and seeing Russ Spencer. I honestly never remember watching the news without him being there! To me, he has always been the face of Fox5. In the past 20 years that Russ has been at Fox5, there have been a lot of changes occur in journalism, including the one that I feel is most important- the rise and evolution of social media.

Russ is my favorite journalist to follow on social media because I feel like he appropriately and effectively uses social media to enhance his journalism. For example, he will use Facebook and Twitter to start a conversation about a news story that he will be talking about on the TV broadcast. During the broadcast, he will even mention what some of his followers on social media have been saying about the subject. I feel like this adds to the story and gives a broader perspective regarding the opinions of the views. When I comment on his stories, he is really good about responding and I feel that he genuinely listens to my perspective. This has created a more engaging and interactive form of journalism in my opinion.

I also feel that social media has helped make journalists more relatable. Although a majority of Russ’s articles are about news stories and hot topics, there are also several posts that are more personal. These posts, which include photos of his daughter Ella and his family help me relate to him. I feel like by showing this human element, I am able to trust him more and be more interested in the stories that he has to share. I follow many other journalists and have found that I am less interested in the ones who don’t show their personal side like Russ does. Good job, Russ!