This document discusses how journalists can use social media for reporting. It identifies several types of social media sites useful for journalists: networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to find sources; video sites like YouTube and Vimeo to share multimedia content; and blogging sites like WordPress and Blogger for long-form writing. Within each category, specific sites are described and examples given of how journalists can use the sites to interact with communities and crowdsource information and content.

2. Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
0 Identify the use of social media in forming social
connections
0 Recognize the different communities present within one
entity and how they affect each other

3. What Can Social Media Do
For You?
"Social media - Web sites and other online means of
communication that are used by large groups of people
to share information and to develop social and
professional contacts."
People use forms of social media in a variety of different
ways. Whether through pictures or music, 140-word blurbs
to 500-word notes, to meet new people or reconnect with
old acquaintances - no matter the method
SURVEY: “Which five social media sites are most important to
you today? Why?” See survey on module page

4. Social Media for Journalists
Social media sites are useful to everyday people for
sharing pictures, videos, links, etc. with family and
friends. Journalists, however, can use these sites as
reporting tools. We will take a look at some social media
sites that fall under three categories useful to
journalists: networking, video and blogging.

5. Interacting With/Creating a Community
Facebook
Tumblr
Stickam Blogger
YouTube
Quora
LinkedIn
Yahoo! Answers
Myspace Twitter WordPress
Ustream Vimeo

6. Networking
The connections created through social media
networking sites can allow media consumers to find out
what is happening in the world, as well as let journalists
find out what is happening locally. Additionally,
reporters can locate sources through these websites.
This creates a partnership between media producer and
consumer.

7. Networking: Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing - ask
questions of the general
public (Yahoo! Answers) or
experts (Quora), can get a feel
for the meaning behind an
issue.
This is an example of a
question you could be able to
find on Quora (click through
every photo on upcoming
slides to learn more).

8. Networking: Making
Connections
Making Connections -
Social media sites like
Facebook, Myspace and
LinkedIn can provide
reporters with people to
talk to about a story they
are writing by providing
people with specific
interests or from a certain
area.

9. Video
Media is interactive; we get our articles online with
photo galleries attached, moving graphics, and links to
outside sources. Video has become a big part of the
multimedia movement as well, with many reporters
learning how to operate basic video shooting devices.
The videos readers shoot, as well, can help with the
reporting of a story.

10. Video: Live Shows For
Viewers
Live Shows for Viewers - Sites like Stickam and Ustream
allow anyone to broadcast to an online audience and then
receive feedback via chat room. Smaller organizations could
put on online news magazine programs and get instant
feedback from the viewers.

11. Video: Sharing Media
Sharing Video Media - Big names like YouTube contain
clips of just about anything, and can be shared with
others in order to back up a point addressed in an
article. Sites that showcase longer, higher-quality video
(Vimeo) can give the community more in-depth pieces;
if YouTube is the news briefs, Vimeo is the in-depth
feature.

12. Video: Sharing Media
This two-
minute CBS
video quickly
recaps the
incident
involving a
killer whale
and its trainer.

13. Video: Sharing Media
The Vimeo
format lends
itself to a
more
“feature”
story, with a
more artistic
shooting style
and better
support for
high-quality
footage.

14. Blogging
Today, many people get their news from blogs; while
the facts and hard news is from the newspapers, blogs
give the story some opinion and personalize the story
for the reader. Most blogs are commentable, and as a
result the readers of a blog can form a community with
the author.

15. Blogging: Microblogging
Micro Blogging - While many
people use Twitter to update
the public about how great
their sandwich tasted or that
they missed their train to
work, the micro blogging site
is great for breaking news,
disseminating a news brief
quickly to a large community
of followers. Tumblr acts as a
similar aggregate of news.

16. Blogging: Longform Blogging
Longform Blogging - Basic blog sites like WordPress and
Blogger are used for the more typical form of blog found
online.
0 Log on to WordPress or Blogger and discover how to use
it as a social media tool on your own! Create your own
blog, follow other blogs, and keep track of how people
interact in a longform blog setting.

17. Wrap-Up
0 Varying types of social media websites can facilitate
connections in different ways, creating miniature
communities that provide valuable information to
journalists.
0 CASE STUDY: Use what we learned about the different
types of social media to see how TIME Magazine
connects with communities when disseminating their
information.
**Case study lower on page**