Using Social Media as a Powerful Reporting Tool - Karen Workman - Las Vegas NewsTrain - Oct 10-11,...

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Karen Workman, social media staff editor at The New York Times, helps journalists use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Forms as reporting tools. This presentation -- Using Social Media as a Powerful Reporting Tool -- was part of the Las Vegas NewsTrain on Oct. 10-11, 2014. Please see an associated handout: Using Social Media as a Powerful Reporting Tool. NewsTrain is a traveling workshop for journalists sponsored by Associated Press Media Editors. For more information, visit http://www.apme.com/?AboutNewsTrain

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REPORTING

TODAY

Presentation by

@KarenWorkman Photo Credit: DaveLawler via Compfight cc, bit.ly/1oLxbBb

HOW Follow people and brands that make sense for your beat. Don’t overwhelm your feed by following too many people. Follow the right people and organize everyone else into lists. Look at profiles and feeds before deciding to follow.

Search a person’s name and modify your search for “people” to get started. Take a good look at whom other people follow (e.g., colleagues, sources, other journalists). Competitors’ lists of staff are a good place to find other journalists in your market. Like what someone else retweeted? Follow the source of the tweet.

WHO

To have a list is to have a plan.

SPEND TIME

CREATING

LISTS It’ll pay off. I promise.

EXERCISE 1. Find a list created by someone else

that will be useful to follow.

2. Brainstorm a list you want to create.

3. Identify a time you could have used a list, but didn’t have one ready.

Be ready to say why these lists will

be/would have been helpful.

TWEETDECK It’s for more than just organizing all those great lists you made.

SEARCH • Add column > search

• Exclude keywords

• Exclude retweets

• Signal high-performing

tweets

• Use Boolean logic (AND

& OR) with valuable

keywords (e.g., Fuck OR

WTF AND earthquake AND

Napa)

bit.ly/tdadvancedsearch

Swear words & missed

opportunities

Looking for a specific tweet? topsy.com

• LinkedIn for Journalists – join the group.

• Premium service: free for journalists who do a 35-minute webinar.

• Keep your profile current and robust so potential sources can find you.

LINKEDIN SEARCH

CALLOUTS Spread rumors.

Use general hashtags.

Be specific about what you want. Keep requests simple, Explain how you will use contributions. Give incentives. Cast a wide net and often.

Don’t: Do:

Using Google Forms

Everyone knows how to use them. Expectation of privacy = more willing to share. Get as detailed information as you need. People “opt in” to become sources.

Why forms work

GANGBUSTERS Definition: Outstandingly excellent or successful.

Community: Mt. Pleasant, MI (i.e., Middle-of-Nowhere)

Population: 26,000

Newspaper: Morning Sun

Print Circ: 7,000 daily/8,000 Sun.

Facebook likes: 13,300

March Madness, pet-style Views on the Facebook albums where voting was hosted ranged from 10,000 to 62,000.

Community building? Pet owners began talking to one another in comments.

The bracket even pulled in some advertising dollars with sponsorships. bit.ly/MS-pets

Breaking News

Lesson:

Verify, verify,

verify.

Hurricane Sandy: Which one is real?

STORIFY: ADD READERS’ VOICES

Collecting tweets? There’s a widget for that.

twitter.com/settings/widgets

Don’t steal. Embed.

How to be a jerk ✔ Steal someone’s photo off Twitter and credit

“Twitter.com”

✔ Do the same with Facebook, Instagram, etc.

✔ Quote what someone said on Twitter, Facebook etc. but don’t link to it.

✔ Screen grab a tweet, post, etc. instead of embedding it.

✔ Don’t ask permission before using something.

✔ Don’t vet content before using it.

Have fun,

do great

work and

don’t be a

jerk!

FINAL WORDS