Journalism
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!
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!
The Social Potter 
