live reporting, live blogging and live chats

Live Reporting Mandy Jenkins @mjenkins

#CTSocial, May 2012

ImmediacyTracking a long-term storyTrafficCommunity engagement Saving time writing for various

formats

Why We Go Live

Breaking storyMeetingEvent (festival, march, concert)TrialDaylong (Election Day, weather) Sporting eventReporting long-term stories

Liveblogging Situations

Get names, titles in advance when possible

Set scene & your roleDescribe your circumstances,

vantage point: At event, watching on TV, curating tweets

Liveblogging prep

Try It Now:#CTSocial

Mix play-by-play with context, background Pass on quotes, who is there, add in

photos Use tweets as your notes for later Note significant pauses and stops Check facts before you hit “tweet” Take questions, respond when possible

Live Tweeting

Feed tweets into your site in place of a breaking story

Serve your audience on social media – and reach a new one

Helps staff communicateStart writing a story in-office from

reporters’ live tweets

What Livetweeting Can Do

Say what you don’t know

Link to fresh content

Updates in (time-stamp, reverse-chron order) in your blog or story template

More Live Reporting Formats

CoveritLive

Livestream/Video Chat

Video/Chat Options

UstreamLivestreamQikGoogle+ Hangouts on Air

Couple it with a liveblog or chat format to take questions or include text

Short, frequent takesLiveblog becomes notebook for storyPromote before, during and replaysCurate live tweets to be viewed later

Tips, techniques

Live Coverage Team Develop a hashtag (if there isn't one) and

be sure everyone uses it If your staff is tweeting, pull in their tweets

to your site Determine who posts and edits the liveblog Get photogs aboard early

Play-by-playCommentaryLive-tweet (#nocalsocial)Find & add links for contextPhotos and videoModerate questions, comments

Team Liveblog Roles

CoveritLive/ScribbleLiveYour existing blogging platform

Twitter

Live Chat Tools

Panelists need not be in personYou approve questionsAdd in polls, links for background

(prepare in advance)Group related questions togetherPreview questions coming up

Live Chat Technique

Newsmakers, politiciansHost chat w/ community bloggers (dining,

sports, entertainment)Reporters on recent big stories, recurring

issues, topics of expertise

Live Chat Ideas

Set time, promote it to followers long in advance

Take questions in advanceUse a hashtag to tie tweets

togetherChoose questions to answer,

retweet them with order ID. Ex: Q1Preface answer with corresponding

answer (A1)

Twitter Chats

Mandy Jenkins

mjenkins@digitalfirstmedia.com@mjenkins

Blog: Zombiejournalism.comThese slides & more at

slideshare.net/mandyjenkins

THANKS!