SOCIAL MEDIA

The NEW news society...

SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED JOURNALISM

Readers once found stories and journalists by picking up a newspaper or

magazine, clicking on their TV or turning on a radio

NOW AUDIENCES FIND NEWS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

Now journalists and media companies who want to engage with an

audience need to be where those readers are looking for news:
SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
HOW HAS IT CHANGED?
 News and information is being shared in real time across the internet

 70% of Millenials followed daily news but receive it passively as part of

their social media feed

 Social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter have come to dominate the
news conversation BECAUSE news can be shared and discussed in real time

 Reporters can connect with sources and audiences

 Helps journalists develop a personal brand or identity in tandem with AND

apart from the rest of their newsroom
HOW DO JOURNALISTS USE SOCIAL MEDIA?
 To find stories

 To monitor developments in breaking news stories as they happen

 As a reporting tool to find eyewitnesses, sources and images

 To engage readers or viewers through continuous news updates

 To promote content both pre- and post-publication

 To develop an on-going relationship with the audience

SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT A
REPLACEMENT FOR TRADITIONAL
REPORTING
It can be used to provide you with notice of real time events and
access to potential sources, but, just like with traditional reporting

YOU MUST VERIFY WHAT YOU ARE BEING TOLD!

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
Determine your social media platform by what your audience is using

 FACEBOOK
largest user base, very complicated algorithm determines what readers see

 TWITTER
the news source for the social media world, YOU should develop a strong
Twitter presence (a JOURNALISTIC Twitter presence)

 SNAPCHAT
just temporary posts, but VERY popular among young audiences

 INSTAGRAM
image driven posts, considered a “service” for your audience
 FACEBOOK
THE GOOD THE BAD

 Obvious choice for sharing stories  Lack of guaranteed distribution of your

posts
 Huge audience base
 Because of the algorithm used in its news
 Allows for both breaking and longer
feed, not every Facebook follower you
form story presentation
have will be notified of your posts
 Users can like, share or comment on
 Facebook only reaches people who
your post
already follow you; this limits your reach
 Photo and video embedding allow to existing followers and their followers if
seamless integration and fast they choose to share you
downloads
 TWITTER
THE GOOD THE BAD

 The go-to for breaking news  Speed and ease can be a disadvantage

 Eyewitness accounts of news events in  140 character post limit does not allow
real time for complex ideas

 Reporters can use hashtags, keywords and  Hard to stand out because of huge amount
locations to find and follow breaking news of usage

 Comparing tweets and locations, reporters  Misinformation during breaking news

can find sources and verify accounts

 Good for promoting coverage

USING TWITTER JOURNALISTICALLY
YES… IT’S DIFFERENT FROM YOUR PERSONAL TWEETS

 Write like you are talking to a friend BUT not sloppy

 Talk like you are having a conversation - talk WITH but not AT

 Use @ mentions to cite your sources

 Include hashtags to make them easily searchable

NO MORE THAN TWO HASHTAGS PER TWEET

 Add photos - Tweets with pix and vid get twice as many retweets

 Use Bit.ly to shorten links or the URL could eat up your character space
WHEN TO USE TWITTER JOURNALISTICALLY
 Tweet before, during and after the event

 Use Twitter in newsgathering to crowdsource ideas and people

 Use Twitter to promote an upcoming event

 Tweet during the event - follow it from start to finish

USE THE FUNDAMENTALS OF JOURNALISM –

BE FAIR and ACCURATE
MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA

SO… you’ve got a personal account, a journalist account and an

account you manage for the publication or website you are

producing - HOW DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF ALL OF IT?

Social media management tools

Hootsuite

Tweetdeck

Storify
HANDLING YOUR PRO JOURNALIST ACCOUNT
 Don’t hide the fact that you’re a journalist - transparency

 Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of a newspaper

 Don’t say embarrassing things or hurtful things

 Don’t argue with an audience member

 Don’t tweet when you are angry

 Don’t steal information or post without sourcing

 Don’t just STOP in the middle of coverage - keep talking

 BE PATIENT and ENGAGING - give your audience chances to respond

 #Goals
Create a journalist Facebook page
for yourself
Create a journalist Twitter account

ACTIVITY for yourself

Create a journalist Instagram for
Creating and yourself
Experiment with Hootsuite and
managing our TweetDeck to decide which one
social media works for you
Get to know Storify and decide if
this is something we want for our
class media
 SOCIAL MEDIA
The NEW news society...