CHAPTER 15
	Social Media and News

SOCIAL NETWORKING

According to a brief article in MediaJobsDaily, a typical social media manager works from 5:30 A.M. to 7 P.M. and tweets, blogs, records video, networks and teaches others. What she doesn’t do much of is sleep.

“If I’m awake, I’m on the news cycle,” KING-TV’s social media manager, Evonne Benedict, told Lost Remote’s Cory Bergman.

While KING-TV in Seattle and USA Today recently added social media editors, the New York Times just eliminated the position. At issue, at least in part, involves the definition of the job. At the Times, the social media editor viewed her position as evangelizing for social media among the reporters and editors. By the end of 2010, she and the paper apparently felt that task had been accomplished. More and more, the notion in the industry is that everyone needs to be involved with social media.

Social media involves a station reaching out to members of the audience. That reaching out could include efforts at gathering news and information, such as pictures or news or crowdsourcing, or it could mean promotional efforts to boost newscast or website audience, or it could mean efforts at building a dialog with the audience to bring them into the decision-making process.

A study by Deloitte LLP, a business consulting firm, released in 2011, found that watching TV was still the public’s favorite media activity and that social media channels were actually helping to drive that. The survey found that nearly three-quarters of Americans are multitasking at least some of the time while they watch TV: 42 percent were online at least some of the time, 29 percent were talking on cellphones or mobile devices, and 26 percent were sending out texts or instant messages. At least some of those online or person-to-person communication sent others to the TV to watch what the sender was watching.

Facebook and Twitter are the best known, but there are plenty of other programs that stations use as well. Foursquare is a meet and locator program. Gowalla is useful for sharing places and events. Stations use Quora as a question-and-answer site that can be used for crowdsourcing. MySpace still exists (and is mainly used for music).

It’s not simply that television and radio stations are doing more with social media these days, it’s also that—at least in the case of TV—they’re doing something different. Those are the latest findings from the RTDNA/Hofstra University Annual Survey. More and more, at least at TV news operations, social media is about connecting with and having conversations with the audience. Radio, in contrast, looks more like television did a year earlier.

 

WHAT IS YOUR TV STATION DOING WITH SOCIAL NETWORKING? 2011

	Covering the topic in newscasts	Incorporating it into storytelling	Integrating it on the website	Nothing
All TV	78.9%	68.8%	86.2%	7.4%
Market size:
1–25	77.8	75.6	86.7	8.9
26–50	81.3	79.2	85.4	4.2
51–100	86.3	76.7	90.4	5.5
101–150	78.9	65.8	84.2	7.9
151+	67.9	48.2	83.9	10.7

 

The percentage of stations doing nothing in social media fell by just 1 percent, but all the other numbers rose 10 percent or more in the last year. The laggards are the smallest stations, mostly in the very smallest markets. The percentage doing nothing among newsrooms with 11–20 staffers is more than eight times as high as the percentage doing nothing in larger stations. And the percentage doing nothing at the smallest shops, 1–10 staffers, is double the 11–20 group.

As I did the previous year, I asked what stations were doing with social media, and there’s been a change in the most recent data. Although this open-ended response is really more anecdotal than empirical, there appears to have been a shift in the last year from using social media primarily as a promotional tool to using it heavily—if not primarily—to have conversations with the audience. Most news directors noted seeking comments, feedback or interaction. Some talked about livechat and crowdsourcing, but most of the comments dealt with conversations.

Radio has made dramatic strides in the use of social media, but it still remains well behind television.

 

WHAT IS YOUR RADIO STATION DOING WITH SOCIAL NETWORKING? 2011

	Covering the topic in newscasts	Incorporating it into storytelling	Integrating it on the website	Nothing
All Radio	32.4%	28.4%	54.9%	32.4%
Market size:
Major	72.2	44.4	72.2	5.6
Large	40.0	40.0	70.0	30.0
Medium	17.5	25.0	57.5	32.5
Small	26.5	20.6	38.2	47.1

 

Led by larger stations in large and major markets, radio soared in the use of social media in the most recent survey. Overall, the percentage of stations doing nothing in social media dropped in half from the previous year’s 61 percent to 32 percent in the most recent survey.

I asked radio news directors what they were doing with social media, and the answers look a lot like TV did the year earlier. Most are either posting new stories or providing links to the station website. A couple noted stories on new media or using new media. Only one news director mentioned encouraging listeners to send content to the station. A plurality of news directors simply wrote Facebook and/or Twitter.

FACEBOOK

All told, over 94 percent of all TV stations have a Facebook page. The concept is simple enough: If that’s where people are spending an increasing amount of their time, then that’s where stations need to be. Still, what stations are doing there—and whether it’s accomplishing anything—varies a great deal.

For many stations, it appears that they’re on Facebook because they feel that they should. Typically, stations post photos of talent and events, upload videos of recent stories, promote upcoming stories, newscasts and events, run discussions and so on. That’s much the same material that stations also put on their websites, and in that sense, the Facebook page is mostly another extension of the web.

For many stations, Facebook is more helpful at locating people for news stories than providing a lot of other tangible benefits.

 

DOES THE TV STATION OR NEWSROOM HAVE A FACEBOOK PAGE?

	Station only	Newsroom only	Both	No
All TV	24.9%	32.0%	37.4%	5.7%
Market size:
1–25	21.8	25.5	43.6	9.1
26–50	28.3	34.0	37.7	0
51–100	22.6	34.5	39.3	3.6
101–150	23.2	32.9	39.0	4.9
151+	30.0	31.7	26.7	11.7

 

The percentage of TV stations saying they have no Facebook page fell from 14 percent the previous year to 6 percent in the most recent survey. But the changes aren’t just whether—it’s who and how many. The percentage of TV news directors reporting that only the newsroom had a Facebook page actually fell 7 points. The percentage of news directors reporting that just the station had a Facebook page rose by 56 percent, and the percentage reporting that both the station and newsroom had pages rose by more than 10 percent. I found no stations with 31 or more newsroom staffers that didn’t have a Facebook page. Other commercial stations, noncommercial stations and those with 1–10 staffers lagged behind all the others.

 

DOES THE RADIO STATION OR NEWSROOM HAVE A FACEBOOK PAGE?

	Station only	Newsroom only	Both	No
All Radio	61.9%	0	11.5%	26.5%
Market size:
Major	72.2	0	22.2	5.6
Large	63.6	0	27.3	9.1
Medium	68.9	0	2.2	28.9
Small	48.7	0	12.8	38.5

 

In radio, the use of Facebook rose 10 percent in the most recent survey. Generally, the bigger the staff, the more likely that there was a Facebook page.

TWITTER

Howard Kurtz reported my favorite line about Twitter from CNN’s Tom Foreman: “It’s as if you could just parachute into diners around the country and listen to what people are saying.”

But you do need to remember that the people in that diner may not be representative of the larger population. In the most recent survey, Pew Research found that only 8 percent of online adults say they use Twitter, and only a quarter of those, 2 percent, say they use it on a typical day. Since a quarter of Americans aren’t online at all, that means that only 6 percent of American adults use Twitter, and even fewer use it on a daily basis. Women more than men, young (18–29) twice as much as older, minority much more than white, urban more than suburban or rural. And as low as the Twitter usage rate is, Pew found that it was twice the rate of location-based services like Foursquare and Gowalla.

 

IS THE TV NEWSROOM ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH TWITTER?

	Constantly	Daily	Periodically	No
All TV	35.8%	31.9%	20.3%	11.9%
Market size:
1–25	37.5	28.6	17.9	16.1
26–50	48.1	31.5	13.0	7.4
51–100	39.3	36.9	19.0	4.8
101–150	37.0	28.4	21.0	13.6
151+	16.7	33.3	30.0	20.0

 

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the annual RTDNA survey was how little had changed in the most recent Twitter numbers. The biggest stations are doing a lot, but outside of the top 25 markets, the numbers drop substantially, and the overall picture is little changed from the previous year.

 

IS THE RADIO NEWSROOM ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH TWITTER?

	Constantly	Daily	Periodically	No
All Radio	11.0%	17.4%	11.0%	60.6%
Market size:
Major	36.8	26.3	10.5	26.3
Large	18.2	18.2	9.1	54.5
Medium	4.8	14.3	11.9	69.0
Small	2.7	16.2	10.8	70.3

 

Overall, use of Twitter in radio rose 12 percent from the previous year. Interestingly, use of Twitter appears more a function of market size than staff size, although the bigger the staff, the less likely that a station was doing nothing with Twitter.

In a number of respects, Twitter could actually be extremely important for a station. Almost 90 percent of TV stations participate in the 140 character (per tweet) universe, commonly sending out breaking news information, promotion on specific stories coming up on air or online and sending out links to stories and video posted on the web.

Probably more critical for stations, Twitter allows a station to monitor what’s going on in the community to be able to respond quickly to potential news stories. The assignment desk and various reporters (and others) should be monitoring the various community news, tipsters and columns that you can find almost anywhere these days.

Twitter is a great way of communicating with a segment of your audience, but no one likes constant chatter. Be selective. Not everything is breaking news. Always include links to stories. Most experts are now saying that you’re better off posting news to the web first, and then linking to it in Twitter—rather than tweeting the information first.

Although stations tend to use Twitter more for distribution (sending material, promos, information and links) out, it’s also a great news search tool and aggregation tool.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Facebook and Twitter and the various other social networking tools all have potential value, although far more traffic goes to station websites from search engines than anyplace else. But the best people in the business will tell you that the best way to get people to your station and website is to produce the best content … and then let people know in as many ways as you can.

SUMMARY

Stations’ use of social media is steadily increasing. Most stations use Facebook and Twitter, TV much more so than radio. Station use of social media is changing, especially in TV, where more and more stations are using social media to conduct conversations with their audience. Radio tends to lag in this area, where most use remains promotional.

KEY WORDS & PHRASES

social media

social networking

Facebook

Twitter

crowdsourcing

EXERCISES

A. Compare the Facebook pages for your local newspaper with those of one of the major local television stations. How are they different, and how are they similar? Compare how each handles a major local news story that both are covering. Which does a better job on local, national and international news? What differences do you see in terms of philosophy or approach to social media? Support your views with concrete examples.

 

B. Compare the Facebook pages of the local television stations within your market. How are they different, and how are they similar? Compare how each handles a major local news story that both are covering. Which does a better job on local, national and international news? What differences do you see in terms of philosophy or approach to social media? Support your views with concrete examples. How are they different from the station websites?

 

C. Examine the various websites and Facebook pages for the stations in your market to determine what other social media the stations are using and how they’re using them. Make a list for each station, note specific examples, and evaluate the effectiveness of what they’re doing. Which station seems to be on top of the technology race. How does that compare to the ratings race and station viewership?

THE RADIO-TELEVISION DIGITAL NEWS ASSOCIATION (RTDNA) SOCIAL MEDIA AND BLOGGING GUIDELINES*

In 2010, RTDNA’s Ethics Committee and Al Tompkins, the Broadcasting and Online Group Leader for The Poynter Institute, developed the following guidelines for social media and blogging.

 

Social media and blogs are important elements of journalism. They narrow the distance between journalists and the public. They encourage lively, immediate and spirited discussion. They can be vital news-gathering and news-delivery tools. As a journalist you should uphold the same professional and ethical standards of fairness, accuracy, truthfulness, transparency and independence when using social media as you do on air and on all digital news platforms.

Truth and Fairness

  • Social media comments and postings should meet the same standards of fairness, accuracy and attribution that you apply to your on-air or digital platforms.

  • Information gleaned online should be confirmed just as you must confirm scanner traffic or phone tips before reporting them. If you cannot independently confirm critical information, reveal your sources; tell the public how you know what you know and what you cannot confirm. Don’t stop there. Keep seeking confirmation. This guideline is the same for covering breaking news on station websites as on the air. You should not leave the public “hanging.” Lead the public to completeness and understanding.

  • Twitter’s character limits and immediacy are not excuses for inaccuracy and unfairness.

  • Remember that social media postings live on as online archives. Correct and clarify mistakes, whether they are factual mistakes or mistakes of omission.

  • When using content from blogs or social media, ask critical questions such as:

 

• What is the source of the video or photograph? Who wrote the comment and what was the motivation for posting it?

• Does the source have the legal right to the material posted? Did that person take the photograph or capture the video?

• Has the photograph or video been manipulated? Have we checked to see if the metadata attached to the image reveals that it has been altered?

 

  • Social networks typically offer a “privacy” setting, so users can choose not to have their photographs or thoughts in front of the uninvited public. Capturing material from a public Facebook site is different from prying behind a password-protected wall posing as a friend. When considering whether to access “private” content, journalists should apply the same RTDNA guidelines recommended for undercover journalism. Ask:

 

• Does the poster have a “reasonable expectation” of privacy?

• I s this a story of great significance?

• I s there any other way to get the information?

• Are you willing to disclose your methods and reasoning?

• What are your journalistic motivations?

For Discussion in Your Newsroom:

1. When an Army psychiatrist killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Twitter messages, supposedly from “inside the post” reported gunfire continued for a half hour and that there were multiple shooters. Journalists passed along the information naming Twitter writers as the sources. The information proved to be false and needed to be corrected. If one or multiple shooters had been at large, withholding that information could have caused some people to be in harm’s way. The nature of live, breaking news frequently leads to reports of rumor, hearsay and other inaccurate information. Journalists must source information, correct mistakes quickly and prominently and remind the public that the information is fluid and could be unreliable.

Questions for the Newsroom:

    • What protocols does your newsroom have to correct mistakes on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook?

    • Does your newsroom have a process for copyediting and oversight of the content posted on social media sites? What decision-making process do you go through before you post?

    • What protocols do you have for checking the truthfulness of photographs or video that you find on Facebook, YouTube or photo-sharing sites? Have you contacted the photographer? Can you see the unedited video or raw photograph file? Does the image or video make sense when compared to the facts of the story?

    • Who in the newsroom is charged with confirming information gleaned from social media sites?

 

Accountability and Transparency

    • You should not write anonymously or use an avatar or username that cloaks your real identity on newsroom or personal websites. You are responsible for everything you say. Commenting or blogging anonymously compromises this core principle.

    • Be especially careful when you are writing, Tweeting or blogging about a topic that you or your newsroom covers. Editorializing about a topic or person can reveal your personal feelings. Biased comments could be used in a court of law to demonstrate a predisposition, or even malicious intent, in a libel action against the news organization, even for an unrelated story.

    • Just as you keep distance between your station’s advertising and journalism divisions, you should not use social media to promote business or personal interests without disclosing that relationship to the public. Sponsored links should be clearly labeled, not cloaked as journalistic content.

 

For Discussion in Your Newsroom:

1. Your consumer reporter at a major electronics show wants to give a glowing blog review of a new digital camera. When the company makes the splashy announcement, the reporter Tweets the news. The message virals fast and wide. Your station will be running ads for the camera as part of the company’s national advertising campaign. How will you tell the public that you have a business relationship with the camera company?

2. Your political reporter has been covering the challenger in the mayor’s race. On his personal Facebook page, your reporter says, “I am covering another candidate who is dumber than dirt.” The candidate’s press secretary calls to demand that the political reporter be “taken off the campaign.” Your reporter’s defense: “What I say on my own time on my own website is my business. Plus I didn’t name names.”

How will you respond? What should you tell the public about the complaint and your decision?

Image and Reputation

    • Remember that what’s posted online is open to the public (even if you consider it to be private). Personal and professional lives merge online. Newsroom employees should recognize that even though their comments may seem to be in their “private space,” their words become direct extensions of their news organizations. Search engines and social mapping sites can locate their posts and link the writers’ names to their employers.

    • There are journalistic reasons to connect with people online, even if you cover them, but consider whom you “friend” on sites like Facebook or “follow” on Twitter. You may believe that online “friends” are different from other friends in your life, but the public may not always see it that way. For example, be prepared to publicly explain why you show up as a “friend” on a politician’s website. Inspect your “friends” list regularly to look for conflicts with those who become newsmakers.

    • Be especially careful when registering for social network sites. Pay attention to how the public may interpret Facebook information that describes your relationship status, age, sexual preference and political or religious views. These descriptors can hold loaded meanings and affect viewer perception.

    • Keep in mind that when you join an online group, the public may perceive that you support that group. Be prepared to justify your membership.

    • Avoid posting photos or any other content on any website, blog, social net work or video/photo sharing website that might embarrass you or undermine your journalistic credibility. Keep this in mind, even if you are posting on what you believe to be a “private” or password-protected site. Consider this when allowing others to take pictures of you at social gatherings. When you work for a journalism organization, you represent that organization on and off the clock. The same standards apply for journalists who work on air or off air.

    • Bloggers and journalists who use social media often engage readers in a lively give-and-take of ideas. Never insult or disparage readers. Try to create a respectful, informed dialogue while avoiding personal attacks.

For Discussion in Your Newsroom:

1. Edgy Facebook and Twitter postings create more traffic, so you urge your newsroom to get online and be provocative to get more attention. How will you respond when your anchor poses holding a half-empty martini glass on her Facebook site? How will you respond if your reporter’s Facebook profile picture shows a bong in the background? What would your response be if a producer, who identifies herself as “conservative” on her Facebook page, Tweets her opinions during a political rally?

 

2. A news manager “friends” a neighbor he meets at a block party. A year later the neighbor decides to run for mayor. The news manager gets an indignant call from the incumbent mayor’s press secretary suggesting the station coverage will be biased, since your news manager supports the challenger. Does the news manager have to “unfriend” his neighbor to preserve the appearance of fairness? Could the manager make things right if he “friended” the mayor, too?

 

 

* RTDNA Social Media and Blogging Guidelines, adopted in 2010. Reprinted with permission.