For gathering and disseminating news

Social Media

How can journalists get news?

First “sort out the noise.” According to figures from Marchmore than 1 billion tweets were being posted every three days, so how can journalists sort the social media chaos and find contacts and stories? •Organize the chaos with RSS feeds, joining groups on Facebook and on Twitter.•Create Twitter lists with Tweetdeck or the like. (for places, people)

How can journalists get news?

• Create Facebook lists• Set up searches on Tweetdeck.• Use keywords and hashtags• Employ Google Translate if necessary• Use contacts to find contacts• Search by image• VERIFY, VERIFY, VERIFY

How can journalists Trust news?

• Can we geo-locate this footage? Are there any landmarks that allow us to verify the location via Google Maps or Wikimapia?

• Are streetscapes similar to geo-located photos on Panoramio or Google Street View?

• Do weather conditions correspond with reports on that day?• Are shadows consistent with the reported time of day?• Do vehicle registration plates or traffic signs indicate the

country or state?• Do accents or dialects heard in a video tell us the location?• Does it jibe with other imagery people are uploading from

this location?• Does the video reflect events as reported on Storyful's

curated Twitter lists or by local news sources?Finding the Wisdom in the Crowd, by Mark Little, Neiman Reports, Summer 2012

Here’s how it works

The conversation on the desk usually goes like this: "Wow. Did you see this iReport? Incredible."Join the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #NRTruth"Yeah, no kidding. But how are we going to vet it?”iReport, CNN’s platform for citizen journalists.•Everything that’s posted is fact-checked.•Eight full-time producers oversee this.•It starts with a phone call.•CNN also invited participation.•What if the submission comes from a participant?

“Vetting citizen journalism,” by Lila King, Neiman Reports, Summer 2012

What about Disseminating?

What’s the fine line between informing about and highlighting your media work…and promoting it?•A Facebook status update about this month’s cover story? Like.•A Pinterest board that showcases staff photos from homecoming or prom? Let the pins begin.•A tweet cheering the basketball team on to victory in this week’s big game?•Hold off on counting those retweets.•Is it appropriate to cheer the team on to victory in a news story? Of course not.  Then why do it with social media?

PR versus journalism: What’s the difference?” Marina Hendricks, Social Media Toolbox website, Nov. 2012

State of the News Media Report

Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, March 18, 2013

For example, a vast majority of reporters use social media to report and to promote.

State of the News Media Report

Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, March 18, 2013

It’s no longer just Facebook and Twitter.

A conversation:

• Marc Zazeela • 19 days ago • Geoff,• Interesting to watch the evolving landscape. My burning

question is how to differentiate between reporting and promoting?

• The lines seem to have become a bit blurred. • Cheers,

Marc• 1 • Reply • Share › • geofflivingston Mod Marc Zazeela • 19 days ago −• I agree, and as we see more brand journalism and a smaller

and smaller journalist corps, it becomes harder and harder to distinguish quality information.

• 0 • Reply • Share ›

What about Future Issues?

• Media outlets say they “own” the social media accounts of their reporters• Reporting has always in some ways been a

collaborative process between journalists and their sources. But increasingly, there's a merger between the source and the content producer• Facebook’s new HOME – monetization through

ads eventually.