Save the Media

I’m in the midst of a series of blog posts explaining how journalists can use social-networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Linked In. But I’ve decided to interrupt the series temporarily for a very important post: Questions about new media that journalists have asked me over the past several months.

I feel this is crucial to get out because I’m pretty darn passionate about the transition that newspapers are going through, and I feel an almost evangelistic drive to help fellow journalists negotiate through the changes. I don’t want my cronies getting frustrated and giving up.

So, here are the questions and my answers. In the interest of readibility, some questions are the combination of several queries.

Can new media tools like blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc. really save the media? In a word, no. There’s no magic bullet. News organizations need to rethink everything they do. They must become truly online-first newsrooms while producing a superior print product. They must engage readers in a way they never have before and create new content that works for the Web. New media tools are part of this transition, but they are just tools. They are useless without a complete rethinking of what it means to help readers make sense of their world.

Isn’t what people say on Twitter boring? Twitter is a conversation. You get out of it what you put into it. If you follow 10 people and that’s it, yeah, you’ll be bored. It will be like standing in a room by yourself and talking. How fun is that? But follow a bunch of people in your community and on your beat and keep adding to your follow list. In time, you’ll find yourself getting story ideas, tips for blog posts and engaging with readers. Tim Windsor at Zero Percent Idle highlighted a quote by Morris Digital’s Steve Yelvington that describes Twitter so well I just have to repeat it: “It’s like a big caffeine party. Everybody’s talking at once. Really fast. But you have magic ears.” Now doesn’t that sound interesting?

How do you find the time to blog or use Twitter, Facebook, etc.? People find the time to do what they value. You can’t afford to stand still and just keep doing the same old, same old. Why? Because whether you are ready for it or not, the media industry is changing and heading online. If you’re not convinced, even a passing read of Romenesko, Newspaper Death Watch or Paper Cuts should make you realize that journalists are losing jobs and news organizations are faltering. Newspapers are scrambling to change their business models, connect with readers and provide them with the information they want in the manner they want it. Pretending it isn’t happening won’t stop it.

Would social media and blogging work on my beat? You bet it would. My beat right now is parenting, and that fits really well into the blogosphere, and it offers lots of fodder for making human connections with other parents. But I’ve reported on or edited coverage of courts, police, state and local government, higher education and religion, and I can see how these tools and this approach could work for each of those beats. Journalists need to tailor ideas to their beats and learn from other journalists who are doing that.

Doesn’t it feel weird to talk to people you don’t know on Twitter, etc? Yes, at first. But it probably felt odd the first time you interviewed relatives of a murder victim or covered a contentious city council meeting. Give it time. Don’t try Twitter for three days and quit because it hasn’t worked yet. Keep at it. Keep reading blogs that explain how to use these tools. Keep talking to other journalists who use them. In time, it will become second nature — like asking a question at a news conference.

Won’t connecting with readers damage my neutrality? It doesn’t have to. You’re always a journalist, whether you’re on Facebook or in the newsroom, so you need to keep a handle on what you say. The Poynter Institute offers a vigorous discussion on the topic. But the media is changing. I offer opinions on my blog, although I stay away from opinion on stories I’m covering. Much of my banter on Facebook is opinion, but not about my beat per se, more about life. I think the public realizes that journalists have opinions, and they appreciate seeing us as real people. Just because being journalists who are engaged in the community can be tricky doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

That’s it. Off my soapbox for now.

– Gina

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