Extra, Extra! Tweet All About It!

It’s safe to say that social media has drastically changed the field of journalism and how we communicate on a day-to-day basis. We no longer have to wait for the evening news or for the newspaper deliveryman to toss a paper on our doorstep. As individuals, the rise of social media means big changes in the way that we receive and interact with our news. We can choose what we want to engage with and when we want to engage. Try and think about the rise and evolution of social media from a journalists or newscasters perspective. There really wasn’t many changes made to the news industry for a few decades prior to the social media explosion. If print is still making money, why would journalists care about social media? After all, if they are still making money doing what they have been doing for decades, does it really matter if they engage with social or not? While not engaging with their audiences on social media may not mean imminent death to many of these individuals, there are some great benefits to using social media that will help these professionals gain a leg up on the competition.

How or why should you use social media as a foreign news correspondent?

• Allows you to connect with other news correspondents globally
• Allows for quicker transfer of information
• Position yourself as a thought leader for your country on a global scale
• Interact with citizen journalists and be among the first to break global news in your country

How or why should you use social media as a local beat editor?

• Allows you to know what your local audience is doing (watching trending hashtags)- what is important to them at this moment?
• Ask your audience what they want to hear! Conduct polls and get the pulse of your audience
• Build your brand on social media and encourage more listeners to your station- tease them on social media with upcoming segments
• Allow your audience to be engaged with your brand- you need to create brand advocates!

How or why should you use social media as a cameraman at a TV news station?

• Build a following and share behind the scenes photos from your news station- we know that people love behind the scenes footage
• Create a personality for your self as the cameraman and talk about upcoming features that you have shot
• Document pieces of your work and build your online brand on social media

Social media is constantly growing and changing. Some may not like change, but it is here. You have to build yourself as a brand and engage with your audience. It’s no longer about how great of a story you have- it’s about who sees that story and how they choose to engage with it!