Community engagement overview

Why We Engage Steve Buttry sbuttry@journalregister.comYork Daily Record/Sunday News November 9, 2011

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What engagement isCommunity engagement = News orgs maketop priority to listen, to join, lead & enableconversation to elevate journalism.

What engagement isn’t• Promotion (though it has promotional value)• Distribution of content (though you should)• Purely a digital pursuit (it uses digital tools along w/ traditional ones)

What engagement isCommunity engagement = News orgsmake top priority to listen, to join,lead & enable conversation to elevatejournalism.

3 types of engagement *• Outreach• Conversation• Collaboration* Joy Mayer, Reynolds JournalismFellow, University of Missouri

Avenues of Engagement• Social media • Content submissions• Blogs • Interactive content• Crowdsourcing • Voting, contests• Breaking news • Comments• Stories • Schools, groups• Events • Feedback• Curation • Print• Aggregation • Face to face

• Connect w/ sources (balance, disclosure?)• Check pages of agencies, people on beat• Crowdsourcing• Look for people in the news• Ask for permission to use photos• Search (not all content is public)

• Engage on other pages, not just your own (and not just to promote)• Be conversational• Share links from other sources• Create a journalist page• If “friending” sources bothers you, address in profile

• Many more users • Great for breaking• Much info private news• Tougher to search • Great real-time• Not as immediate search (less frequent • Engagement not as updates) intrusive• Engage, don’t • Hashtags help w/ intrude search, conversation

• Follow officials & agencies on beat• Twitter Search (advanced)• Hashtags (regular & spontaneous)• NearbyTweets• Breaking news• Crowdsourcing

Use other social tools, too

Why use Twitter?• It can save you time• It extends your reach• It’s an engaging, conversational tool• It’s great for connecting with eyewitnesses• Powerful real-time search

Tools to help w/ social media• Twitter Search (Advanced)• Facebook search• Nearby Tweets

What is curation?Museum curator: Journalism curator:• Studies topic • Studies topic• Chooses relevant • Chooses relevant content (other content (social sources & museum media, blogs, staff) collection) • Authenticates• Authenticates • Groups related items• Groups related items • Provides context• Provides context • Presents collected• Presents exhibit content

NPR’s Andy Carvin“I think curation has always been apart of journalism; we just didnt call itthat.” – quoted in The Atlantic byPhoebe Connelly

Curation tools for journos• Google & other search engines• Twitter Search (advanced)• Other Social media search• Storify, Storyful, Chirpstory• Blackbird Pie• Quote URL

Curation sources• Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube …)• Blogs• Staff content (current & archives)• Other news media (yes, competition)

Authenticate & attribute• Ask: “How do you know that?”• Ask careful questions of crowd to help you vet & verify• Check links, tweets & information on sources• Link to original source• Attribute

Blog network• Covers areas we never covered• Varied voices• Recruit blogs overlapping your beats• Offer clubs liveblogging opportunities• Neighborhood, church, nonprofit newsletters

Don’t forget IRLEngage community in person:• Events• Community Media Lab• Tweetups• Community group meetings• In work, life routines

Why to liveblog• Immediacy• News value• Storytelling• Traffic• Community engagement, loyalty• Interactivity• Saving time

Liveblog formats• Update (time-stamp, reverse-chron) in blog or story template• Use CoverItLive• Use ScribbleLive• Live-tweet (on Twitter or feeding blog)• Video stream (w/liveblog)• Raw, edited or moderated

Tips, techniques• Short, frequent takes• Space isn’t an issue; engagement is• Liveblog becomes notebook for story• Consider links, polls, photos, audio, video• Promote live & replays• Tweet links to liveblog & replay• OK to step away for question, video, etc.

Managing liveblog & print story• Liveblog is notebook: cut, paste & edit• Note when you know you’ve written good lead or passage for story• Does summary (w/ web plug) work for print?• Plug “complete coverage” in liveblog

Liveblogging situations• Breaking story• Meeting• Festival, event• Trial• Daylong (Election Day, heat wave)• Sporting event (can use fans, HS journos)• Live chat

Why crowdsource?• It saves time• Connecting with sources has always been one of a journalist’s most important jobs• You bring more voices to your news reports• The crowd knows more than we do• You engage the community

Set the stage• Build engaged community (follow people, converse with them)• Use multiple platforms (Twitter, Facebook, website, blog, newspaper, IRL)• Do the groundwork (don’t expect the public to do your job; invite them to tell their stories)

Crowdsourcing tips• Say what you know• Say what you want to know• Say what you don’t know• Say what you need to know• Don’t spread rumors• Vet sources & information

Throughout the process• Seek story ideas & tips• Ask questions as you gather info• Share data with community• Ask public to continue the conversation

Varying situations• Investigations• Breaking news

@statesman case study

Crowdsource

Say what you don’t know

Varying situations• Investigations• Breaking news• Annual, seasonal stories• Community info• Crowdmaps• Supplement staff work• Seek photos

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Community engagement overview

by Steve Buttry

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