10 Ways Journalism Schools Are Teaching Social Media

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1. Promoting Content

Social media tools are bringing readers to news sites and in many cases are increasing their Web-traffic. This isn’t just through the news organizations’ own social media accounts, but those of their writers that tweet, post, share and send links to their organization’s content. Each writer has a social network, and using social media tools to promote and distribute content increases the potential readership of the article being shared.

Sree Sreenivasan, dean of student affairs at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, said this is one of the most basic and yet very important social media uses for journalists.

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1. Promoting Content

Social media tools are bringing readers to news sites and in many cases are increasing their Web-traffic. This isn’t just through the news organizations’ own social media accounts, but those of their writers that tweet, post, share and send links to their organization’s content. Each writer has a social network, and using social media tools to promote and distribute content increases the potential readership of the article being shared.

Sree Sreenivasan, dean of student affairs at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, said this is one of the most basic and yet very important social media uses for journalists.

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Seesmic ()

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3. News Gathering and Research

The power of real-time search is providing journalists with up-to-the-second information on the latest developments of any news, trends and happenings, worldwide.

Jeff Jarvis, a professor and director of interactive media at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism, said it’s important for students to know how to use real-time searches to gather information and keep up on what is breaking. This includes, but is not limited to, using search on Twitter, FriendFeed (), OneRiot, Tweetmeme, Scoopler, and SearchMerge.

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3. News Gathering and Research

The power of real-time search is providing journalists with up-to-the-second information on the latest developments of any news, trends and happenings, worldwide.

Jeff Jarvis, a professor and director of interactive media at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism, said it’s important for students to know how to use real-time searches to gather information and keep up on what is breaking. This includes, but is not limited to, using search on Twitter, FriendFeed (), OneRiot, Tweetmeme, Scoopler, and SearchMerge.

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4. Crowdsourcing and Building a Source List

It’s amazing how many websites don’t include their staff’s contact information, and the WhitePages really no longer cut it. Luckily, because of the nature of social media in networking, most people post their contact info on their profiles. Social media tools are becoming vital in building source lists. One can track now fairly easily down a source on Facebook or Twitter and send them a message. (Of course, picking up the phone too still can’t hurt.)

Students are also being taught the power crowdsourcing using social media. A journalist can tweet a question involving their reporting or announce that they are looking for a source via their FriendFeed and get some remarkable responses.

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4. Crowdsourcing and Building a Source List

It’s amazing how many websites don’t include their staff’s contact information, and the WhitePages really no longer cut it. Luckily, because of the nature of social media in networking, most people post their contact info on their profiles. Social media tools are becoming vital in building source lists. One can track now fairly easily down a source on Facebook or Twitter and send them a message. (Of course, picking up the phone too still can’t hurt.)

Students are also being taught the power crowdsourcing using social media. A journalist can tweet a question involving their reporting or announce that they are looking for a source via their FriendFeed and get some remarkable responses.

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5. Publishing with Social Tools

There are many social media tools that journalists can use to publish information, and this variety is something that journalism professors are encouraging students to explore. Publishing via social media tools can be as simple as updating readers or “followers” on Twitter during a breaking news event or building an entire news site focused around Facebook connectivity and conversations about local news – something Northwestern University students created with “NewsMixer” as a project at the Medill School of Journalism last year.

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5. Publishing with Social Tools

There are many social media tools that journalists can use to publish information, and this variety is something that journalism professors are encouraging students to explore. Publishing via social media tools can be as simple as updating readers or “followers” on Twitter during a breaking news event or building an entire news site focused around Facebook connectivity and conversations about local news – something Northwestern University students created with “NewsMixer” as a project at the Medill School of Journalism last year.

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WordPress

Delicious

Flickr

YouTube

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6. Blog and Website Integration

Because so many news sites are incorporating live blogging into their daily dose of content and conversation with readers, Katy Culver, a faculty member in the journalism school at University of Wisconsin at Madison, had her students learn how to use CoveritLive, which can be embedded within a site.

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6. Blog and Website Integration

Because so many news sites are incorporating live blogging into their daily dose of content and conversation with readers, Katy Culver, a faculty member in the journalism school at University of Wisconsin at Madison, had her students learn how to use CoveritLive, which can be embedded within a site.

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7. Building Community and Rich Content

Sure a journalist can use social media tools to have a conversation with their audience, but what’s the point? The greater goal is to build a community through engagement. Crowdsourcing, live blogging, tweeting — it’s about building a network around issues that matter to the community. In a way, social networks are the new editorial page, rich with opinions and ideas.

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7. Building Community and Rich Content

Sure a journalist can use social media tools to have a conversation with their audience, but what’s the point? The greater goal is to build a community through engagement. Crowdsourcing, live blogging, tweeting — it’s about building a network around issues that matter to the community. In a way, social networks are the new editorial page, rich with opinions and ideas.

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8. Personal Brand

Students can’t stay in school forever — eventually they need to get jobs. Social networks can be used to build a personal brand that can help students land a reporting gig after college. But Jones emphasized this applies to students only, which is what he teaches.

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8. Personal Brand

Students can’t stay in school forever — eventually they need to get jobs. Social networks can be used to build a personal brand that can help students land a reporting gig after college. But Jones emphasized this applies to students only, which is what he teaches.

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9. Ethics: Remember, You’re Still a Journalist

Sreenivasan from Columbia said there are no hard and fast rules for ethics and social media yet. But told me that what a person posts or shares or produces on social media reflects on the person’s judgment and students should be cautious. He used the example of broadcasting your affiliations on Facebook through notifications on your wall.

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9. Ethics: Remember, You’re Still a Journalist

Sreenivasan from Columbia said there are no hard and fast rules for ethics and social media yet. But told me that what a person posts or shares or produces on social media reflects on the person’s judgment and students should be cautious. He used the example of broadcasting your affiliations on Facebook through notifications on your wall.

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10. Experiment, Experiment, Experiment

Sreenivasan, Culver, Jarvis and Jones all pointed to the importance of students experimenting with social media tools. For example, if Flickr isn’t meeting your needs, try another tool that suits your use better. Sreenivasan pointed out that we are all still learning the best practices of social media. Journalism students experimenting with these tools can learn how to apply them once they join the workforce.

Here are a few tips from Bradshaw for how teachers can encourage social media experimentation:

- Use the tools themselves to teach the class. Use them in any setting possible.
- Do it publicly and socially. For example, Bradshaw paired students up with “Twentors” to help students that were new to Twitter.
- Less talk, more action. Put the students out there and get them using the tools one by one.

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10. Experiment, Experiment, Experiment

Sreenivasan, Culver, Jarvis and Jones all pointed to the importance of students experimenting with social media tools. For example, if Flickr isn’t meeting your needs, try another tool that suits your use better. Sreenivasan pointed out that we are all still learning the best practices of social media. Journalism students experimenting with these tools can learn how to apply them once they join the workforce.

Here are a few tips from Bradshaw for how teachers can encourage social media experimentation:

- Use the tools themselves to teach the class. Use them in any setting possible.
- Do it publicly and socially. For example, Bradshaw paired students up with “Twentors” to help students that were new to Twitter.
- Less talk, more action. Put the students out there and get them using the tools one by one.

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Here are a few tips from Bradshaw for how teachers can encourage social media experimentation:

- Use the tools themselves to teach the class. Use them in any setting possible.
- Do it publicly and socially. For example, Bradshaw paired students up with “Twentors” to help students that were new to Twitter.
- Less talk, more action. Put the students out there and get them using the tools one by one.

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