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

1. Geoffrey M. Graybeal
Georgia Scholastic Press Association
Sept. 22-23, 2010

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

3. 73% of
wired
U.S.
teens
use
SNS*

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

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

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

22.  A revolution is taking place!

23.  For more information, feel free to contact me:
 Email: graybs@uga.edu
 @graybs13 on Twitter
 #GSPA hashtag
 Additional links on Geoffreygraybeal.com