The Power of Social Media

Kristi Ludlow

Kl296606@ohio.edu

This video demonstrates how much reach social media has and will have in the future. With social media coming to the forefront of our society, it is unavoidable and necessary for news organizations to capitalize and use this tool. The big question that many journalists are facing though is how to use it and how often?

The various articles we read for this week’s class are beginning to map out guidelines for using social media. But even with new guidelines popping up, situations in the newsroom continue to arise on how to navigate these new waters.

The RTDNA article does a good job of outlining some social media and blogging guidelines. The bottom line, in my opinion, is to treat social media and blogs like what you would produce for traditional media. The content should be true and transparent and follow basic ethical guidelines as well. What a reporter puts on twitter is just as important as what he or she puts on-air or in newspapers….both are reflections of the media outlet. For examples, information should be credited and everything should be grammatically correct. A media outlet is constantly creating an image and when the image being put forth on twitter or facebook is not the same that is being put on air, that image takes a hit.

There are countless examples of how social media is being used to spread news in a big way. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan has driven a huge social media dialogue to help raise money for victims. And when Osama Bin Laden’s death was announced, it created a twitter frenzy about the topic spreading the news like wildfire across the world.

It will be interesting to see how this growing media continues to shape how journalists convey the news. The only thing I know is I will be right there helping carve the path.