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Should Journalists Be Required to Use Social Media Tools?
The new Director of the BBC's Global News Division seems to think so. He's just told his entire staff of journalists around the world that using tools like Twitter and RSS feeds is a part of the job. It's how journalists in the future will source stories, provide links to related articles, and listen to the voice of the audience. Read for yourself what he had to say:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/feb/10/bbc-news-social-media
I asked in a previous post how we could do a better job incorporating social media into our reporting and editing, to build closer ties to our audience and promote our brands. It's a discussion going on all over the journalism world. But I think the trend is becoming clearer.
It’s been my experience that most of our reporters and editors are anxious to embrace social media in their work, though there is still uncertainty surrounding how it applies to our niche journalism. We had a discussion about social media today at the Daily Report, and nobody expressed resistance to using it, but there were questions about the rules and best practices. People understand that in 2010, this is what journalists do. Nobody I talk to wants to be left behind. Journalists may well need the nudge of a mandate to get started, but more than that they’re looking for guidance and examples of how to use these new tools. It’s very useful for me to see what’s working—or not—elsewhere within ALM.
Article on how B-to-B editors can use Twitter from Folio:
http://www.foliomag.com/2010/benefits-twitter-b-b-media-brands