A Facebook update detailing how you are in the process of using the washroom or a tweet specifying what beverage you just ordered are not the only ways to use social media. Social media has begun to serve as an integral tool in a journalist’s repertoire.
The ability to properly use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Skype allows journalist’s opportunities to get information like never before. With seemingly so many stories’ origins being traced back to a tweet or a post on Facebook, a journalist can often find leads to stories without speaking with anyone over the phone, in person or through e-mail.
With the use of a smart phone and the following of the right people in the various forms of social media, a journalist adds another option to get a beat on a story before anyone else does. However, a journalist must proceed with caution at this point.
Caution!
This should not be a news flash to anyone who has used the internet or read about it before-not everything on the internet is fact. If that idea is a shock for anyone, then I am sorry for bursting your bubble.
Every week or few days there are stories about how something that began with a simple tweet exploded into a big story on the internet, but was denounced as being false later. This happens with false reports of deaths of celebrities (Jeff Goldblum, Morgan Freeman), sports coaching hires or player transactions and anything creative someone could come up with to potentially ruin someone’s day.
Earlier this month there was rampant internet speculation about the arrival of the McLobster to nationwide McDonald’s menus. This was all due to one person tweeting that the seafood sandwich would be available to US customers, then the tweet was retweeted, then retweeted again, and again. For those few days, the McLobster became one of the most searched for items on Yahoo.
While the McLobster does exist seasonally in Maine and areas in Canada, McDonald’s shot down the ill-informed claim with, of course, a tweet:
“Despite all the rumors there r no plans 2 bring mclobster or mcsushi 2 the US menu. We r working on a new menu item called McWinning.”
The McLobster is a clear example of how information can be passed along without any real confirmation from anyone, yet explode into something that is believed by large amounts of people.
This is why it is crucial for future journalists to remember the guidelines that have been a part of journalism forever. Do not just follow a trend to get the story out before anyone else can. Good old-fashioned checking with sources or company representatives allows you to find out if these claims are true or not.
The patience may not get you the first story out there, but the article will have the accuracy that fellow journalists may not have in their stories because they fell victim to the immediacy dilemma.
Stay ahead with Social Media
I was at first reluctant to buy into the social media craze. I essentially believed that it was just a way for people to say things they would never say to anyone’s face or just another tool for people to arrogantly throw thoughts out to the world because they believe their opinion is important.
As an aspiring journalist, though, it is necessary to buy into the hype. I have created a few different twitter accounts to help get my name out there and update the happenings of this blog.
The thing that social media does is connect you to your audience at another level. In an age where technology is essential to the profession, a journalist must explore every way to develop a more personal relationship with their readers to connect with them.
The advantage of social media is that it does allow for more creativity in a more informal setting. More resources and multimedia can be shared with an audience that wants to delve more into the subject matter they are interested in. There can be a running dialogue between the journalist and reader that can invoke a sense of trustworthiness between the two that has never existed before.
It cannot be forgotten, though, that the professional standards you live by apply to all aspects of life including use of social media. A professional journalist cannot one evening become an intoxicated tweeter or Facebook poster that posts something that will be read by everyone associated with the page.
A journalist’s reputation is always on the line. They must always use these tools for the greater good to be more connected to their audience.
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