Journalism in the social media era

Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou@misEEgkolfo 60

Journalism in the Social Media Era

#BRollers #NewhouseSM4Spring 2013

Hannah McDonald@McDonald_Hannah 46

Jonathan Miller@jhmill 58

Jen Pittz@JenniferPittz 55

Why this Topic?

#BRollers @misEEgkolfo, @McDonald_Hannah, @jhmill, @JenniferPittz



We just tweeted you the responses…

Tweet @misEEgkolfo using #BRollers


Q: Do you think the journalists deserve this reaction? Why?

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/media-lab/social-media/198573/newtown-response-shows-perils-of-post-tragedy-interview-requests-via-social-media/

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/media-lab/social-media/198573/newtown-response-shows-perils-of-post-tragedy-interview-requests-via-social-media/

Traditional Journalism

● traditional journalist are highly trained professionals

● requires primary sources

● does not involve the audience contribution

● targeted to a mass audience

● editorial integrity, balance, accuracy, respect for others and fairness

4 Ways SM has Deteriorated Traditional Journalism

1. Lowered the standards

2. Anyone can be a journalist; citizen journalism

3. tarnished the credibility of traditional journalist

4. Blurred the line between opinion and fact





Source and Information-Gathering Tools !


http://trendsmap.com/

https://www.rebelmouse.com/McDonald_Hannah/

http://www.scribblelive.com/

Jeff Sonderman


http://jeffsonderman.com/about/

http://jeffsonderman.com/about/

Jeff How to approach sources"A lot of people spend most of the day actively involved with social media. Getting in touch with them that way is faster than email and more personal, probably more reliable too. But, similar to the idea of a cold call, or a door knock in the old world..the challenge with digital interaction is it’s hard to do it with human empathy. Sensitive, raw feelings, shock, grieving, can't gauge body language through social media. So, how do we approach? It's important to be patient. Try to have a simple exchange. Try and take actual conversation offline. Human conversation allows for more discussion." - Jeff Sonderman (@jeffsonderman)

Tips:- Be empathetic - Lay off the exclamation points- Make sure you're following the people you reach out to- Respect source's decision to share information- Follow up offline- Build it into your routine


Stay away from exclamation points!!


Don't push & respect decision not to share:

Make it routine...


Follow up, offline

- courteous and more respectful move - get a better story

"Nothing wrong with citing or quoting a tweet in a story, but the big question is is it true? Is the avatar who they say they are, where they are? Hard to verify. Were they at the scene? Must check against other reports, and what else you know from people who definitely were there. Ask very specific questions to get this kind of confirmation. Make them walk through, create narrative." - Jeff Sonderman (@jeffsonderman)


Twitter Era Challenge...

@bydanielvictor

Case Study: Twitter's Place in Reporting- July 4, 2011- word of a shooting at a crowded Philadelphia fireworks show spread like wildfire on Twitter- local reporters were criticized for not reporting the events being tweeted


Anyone notice a pattern?

"Twitter is a tip line, not a reporter"

@mjenkins


Evaluate Credibility. Evaluate Importance. Evaluate Urgency.

So, what do you do when the official "@ccount" of an event is at odds with dozens, or even hundreds, of

people reporting the opposite?


And so seeing as how this was the only evidence socially available, "in the absence of such proof, reporters cannot mistake quantity for reliability." - Victor


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P84A2G2ubm8

Crowdsource Information

"Journalists are no longer the gatekeepers of information"

Standby Task Force (SBTF)- Those who aren't necessarily journalists, but tell stories through social media platforms

Anahi Ayala Iacucci (@anahi_ayala) - 'The importance of crowdsourced mapping in journalism'



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSrpZ8UXyzw

Mandy Jenkins, social media editor at TBD.com


Silver Spring, Maryland

“I was trying to find people who were either tweeting from inside the building or near the building,” she said. “Try to get an idea of how we could get sources

that were already inside of there."

Event- Gunman in Silver Spring Maryland (Discovery Channel Building)

�Problem- Reporters were NOT allowed to enter even within the vicinity of the building

�Question- How do you inform the public of the ongoing events?

�Solution- Make connections with sources within the vicinity!!!


Mandy Jenkins"We need to get them on the phone or in-person to hash out the details and see if they line up. I always warn journalists not to just take someone's tweet or status update at face value and run with it for a story. We wouldn't do that with a phone-in tip or if we heard it from a stranger on the street, so why would we do that with social media? Crowdsourced information is not a story, it is merely the genesis for a story."


The Arab Spring●The most popular Twitter hash tags in the Arab region in the first

three months of this year were #Egypt #Jan25, #Libya, #Bahrain and #protest.

●�Facebook usage rose in the Arab region between January and April and sometimes more than doubled

●�30 per cent to 27.7m, compared with 18 per cent growth during the same period in 2010.


Paul Prescott PHD,

Visiting Assistant Professor,Department of Philosophy,

Syracuse University

No twitter No Klout

Facebook: prescott.paul

Ethical Issues● Behave professionally on personal accounts

● Verify facts

● Identify yourself as a journalist

● Never obtain information illegally

● Public information is fair game

● Never defeat passwords or other security measures


Leigh IsaacsonMultimedia Journalist, News Channel 9


@lhisaacson (not connected to Klout)

Changes in the Newsroom

● Historical Changes in the Newsroom News ● Channel 9 dropped Associated Press

● Expensive● Focus on Social Media


Leigh’s Experience


This is how you get interviews!

Leigh’s Experience

“If they put it out there already, it’s not wrong to reply”

● Be respectful● Same standards of sourcing, identification,

and verification apply, sometimes people forget

● Gets stories, shares stories


This Is What You Think...

QUESTION

S?

Documents

Journalism in the social media era