Stories From and For "Followers" and "Friends:" How to Find, Report, Distribute and Promote News on Social Media Sites. /Geoffrey Graybeal
2010 Georgia Scholastic Press Association
2. PhD Student & Journalism
instructor, Grady College
Teach news writing and news
editing
Teach and research aspects of
social media
Use social media for work and play
(@graybs13 on Twitter)
Taught a “Media and Message:
Communicating in the Digital Age”
course to high school students
Former professional reporter, high
school and college newspaper
editor
4. Twitter, a microblogging service, is used by
19% of online Americans, according to 2010
Pew report
140-character updates, known as “tweets”
Teens do not use in large numbers
◦ 8% of 12-17 year olds
◦ Older teens use more (10% ages 14-17; 5% ages
12-13)
◦ H.S. girls use more than h.s. boys (13% vs. 7%)
◦ One-third of 18-29 year-olds use Twitter
◦ Twouble with Twitter
5.
6.
7. @msnbc_breaking MSNBC
@GaFrontPage Georgia News
@Cnnbrk CNN
@ABH2GO Athens Banner-Herald
@AJC Atlanta Journal-Constitution
@RedandBlack UGA newspaper
@nprpolitics NPR
@Washingtonpost Washington Post
@nytimes New York Times
8. Find story ideas and sources
Report
Distribute
Promote
9. “Follow” (on Twitter):
◦ Groups/Organizations at your school
◦ Readers/Potential Sources/Classmates
◦ Other media outlets
◦ Media scholars and journalism organizations
(Poynter’s Al Tompkins, AEJMC, HSJ.org)
“Friend” (on Facebook):
◦ Classmates at your school
◦ Group pages
◦ Event listings
10. @atompkins What’s the Point of
Cheerleading? It is the #1 cause of female
injuries in High school and college - WSJ.com
http://ow.ly/pRjE
@Dailytarheel A DTH reporter needs to talk to
an '09 grad taking time off - not in school or
looking for jobs. know anyone? email
azirulnick@gmail.com
@nytimes Driven to Distraction: Doubts
About Scare Tactics on Drivers Who Text
http://bit.ly/1dbFDT
11. @Scullyke12 Athens folks: For more
information on local & organic meat, produce
and products, check out
http://athens.locallygrown....
RT @BeccaHolton SO PUMPED!!!!
http://bit.ly/J6VLM (Harry Potter theme park)
Free Earthfare food next week! Great cause!
RT @crobcary I wanna see some Gradies
come down to South Campus!
http://twitpic.com/huy7h
12. Use hashtags to denote a topic
Can cover and report on speeches,
happenings at conferences, events
Can text updates from your cell phone 40404
Can use for breaking news events
◦ Example 2009’s #atlflood
◦ #iran
NEWS BREAKS ON TWITTER NOW (Discovery, Johns
Hopkins shootings within last month)
13. “Unnecessary quotes” blogger speaks to
Grady students
“Ginny from the Blog” talks to Duke TIPsters
DTH live “tweets” during National
Championship; Red & Black during Georgia
Theatre fire
14. Can use social media to supplement reporting
Alternative Story Formats (graphics, sidebars)
Engage your readers, have them contribute to
the story
Washington Post #wherewereyou 9/11 an
excellent example
15.
16.
17. Still need to verify, confirm
Be skeptical
Make sure the source you follow is authentic
Accuracy is important
You don’t want this to happen
18. Almost like a real-time RSS feed. Send links
to articles on your website.
@nytimes Census Data Show Recession-
Driven Changes http://bit.ly/4ltTO6
@ajc Gov. Perdue issues state of emergency
for 17 Georgia counties. http://bit.ly/MNDtW
#atlflood
19. Use of social media in your core product
(Follow us on Twitter, See our Facebook
page”)
Promote news about your product to your
followers (“Look for the new issue of the
school paper on Oct. 1”)
Promote articles (Look for an in-depth
interview w/ Coach Dawg in the next issue)
Create a page or group on FB or MySpace
Engage in conversation with readers
20. You must decide. Levels of censorship and
control vary at schools.
Advisors
Editors
Reporters
One “organizational” account versus multiple
twitterers
21. @Eastsideonline: Cherry Hill High School East,
Cherry Hill, N.J.
@HiLite_news: Carmel (IN) High School
@aThEENs: Athens teen publication
@Odysseynewsmag: Clarke Central High
School, Athens
@Youthjournalism: HSJ.ORG’s Twitter page
23. For more information, feel free to contact me:
Email: graybs@uga.edu
@graybs13 on Twitter
#GSPA hashtag
Additional links on Geoffreygraybeal.com
