reimagining journalism in the age of social media

Un presentation especial at El MercurioSantiago, Chile, Aug. 25, 2011

Reimagining journalismin the age of Social Media

JD LasicaFounderSocialmedia.biz Socialbrite.org

What we’ll cover today1. Changes in mediasphere

2. Questioning 9 assumptions

3. Imagining new skill sets

4. Trailblazing publications

Tweet this talk! Hashtag: #gda_caf

Creative Commons photo on Flickrby Prakhar

Hashtag

http://socialbrite.org/sharing-center

Socialbrite Sharing Center

Start with a blue skyFlickr photo by jonrawlinson

Be open to new approachesLaunch pilot projectsSilicon Valley mantra: Fail often, fail fastRules of social media are still evolving

Everything about news is changing:

The way it’s producedThe way it’s distributedThe way we consume itWho’s a trusted news providerConventions of journalism (NPR as advocate for Haiti relief efforts)What “news” means

News is undergoing biggest,messiest change — ever

Elements of social media applied to journalism:

Blogging ... Twitter ... Facebook ... Comments ... Widgets ... RSS ... Video sharing ... Photo sharing ... User-created content ... Ratings ... User reviews ... Tagging ... Social bookmarks ... Live streaming & chat ... Presentation sharing ... Geolocation services ... Forums ... Community membership ... Social news sharing sites ... Wikis ... Texting ... Meetups ... Shared calendars

Social journalism

But trustworthy news still vital“Information is as vital

to the healthy functioning of

communities as clean air, safe streets, good

schools and public health.”

Knight Commission on the Information Needs of

Communities in a Democracy

News as finished productLecture, authoritativePassive consumersTrust in expertsCorporateClosedExclusiveCentralizedElite professionalsInstitutional voiceHeavily filteredPlatform dependent

News as a processConversation, participationEmpowered usersTrust in peersDemocratic, collaborative, messyTransparentSharedDistributedGrassroots, peer-focusedPersonal voiceUnfiltered/lightly filteredCross-platform

Old media values Social media values

Will this be the new news?

Question assumptions!

Objectivity is our sacred goal A S S U M P T I O N 1

Transparency is new objectivity ¡ P E R O !

Invite public into story meetings. Live-stream them.

Content is all that matters A S S U M P T I O N 2

Conversation & curation ¡ P E R O !

Conversation follows content

Mobile has limited appeal A S S U M P T I O N 3

Geotag everything! ¡ P E R O !

http://charitywater.org/projects/map/

Journalists must wear blinders A S S U M P T I O N 4

Creative Commons photo on Flickr by stars alive

Why not allow citizens to take action?

¡ P E R O !

A role restoredPoint users to events or community and advocacy groups relevant to an issue. Also enable them to make a difference by signing petitions, which offer an outlet for community engagement.

Journalists don’t promote A S S U M P T I O N 5

Promotion is part ofthe Social Web’s essence

¡ P E R O !

Think of a story, blog post, event or idea as a ‘sharable object.’ In some cases, decouple media.The most effective sharable objects are portable, evoke emotion and can be easily copied and reproduced in many channels and formats.Use genuine conversation, not a marketing sell, to share.

It’s OK to ignore the numbers A S S U M P T I O N 6

Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Woodlouse

‘Data is better than gut’ ¡ P E R O !

Gather, analyze, act

Photos on Flickr by Emran Kassim, left, and Vee Dub (CC-BY)

Citizen journalists = competitors A S S U M P T I O N 7

¡ P E R O !

The crowd can be collaboratorsTalking Points Memo won a George Polk Award using distributed network of volunteer reporters who delved through thousands of emails and documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice, leading to the resignation of the Attorney General.

We must find new audiences A S S U M P T I O N 8

We must build community ¡ P E R O !

here’s an amazing difference between building an

audience and building a community. An audience will watch you fall on a sword. A

community will fall on a sword for you.

— Chris BroganAuthor,“Trust Agents”

We must do all the heavy lifting A S S U M P T I O N 9

Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Jason Means

Your community can help ¡ P E R O !

Find the big kahunas in your sector/beat. Use listening tools. Then, influence the influencers.Connect with other social media influencers through their blogs, Twitter, Facebook.Use flickr.com/creativecommons to find 55 million + photos for commercial use. And give back. Use ‘social love handles’: Facebook social plug-ins, Share This, Tweet this buttons.

The tools aren’t important.The storytelling is.

Conversation facilitatorMultimedia guruEvangelist, promoterCommunity builderCuratorMetrics nerdGeek!Innovator/strategist

Storyteller & reporter, yes, but also:

Photograph by Tristram Kenton © The Really Useful Group Ltd.

Let’s imagine these new skills

Study the trailblazers

TexasTribune.comTBD.com: Washington DC hyperlocal siteBayCitizen.orgProPublica, nonprofit investigative journalism, winner of 2010 Pulitzer PrizePolitico.com for political newsTechCrunch.com for tech news Huffington Post creating a nonprofit investigative journalism arm. TalkingPointsMemo.comMinnPost.com, nonprofit news siteVoiceofSanDiego.org, nonprofit news siteSpot.us, crowd-funded journalism

Create your own pathStoryful.comuses social networks to create authentic, cooperative & socially useful journalism.

Embrace those blue skies!News has become a social act & shared experience

Build things that are useful & have value

Study the marketplace, define goals, write business plan

Embrace risk, launch pilot projects

Measure results

Make tough choices, listen to your market

Iterate! Iterate! Iterate!

Make mistakes, forgive yourself, move on

Facebook in 2005

“The idea is launch early and iterate. Early on, I didn’t just start Facebook as a company. It was a project that I wanted to exist. It’s amazing how much stuff we messed up.” – Mark Zuckerberg, 10/09

To innovate is to iterate

Closing thought

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you

are heading.

— Lao Tse

JD Lasica, founderSocialbrite.org: Social tools for social changeemail: jd@socialbrite.orgTwitter: @jdlasica

¡Muchas gracias! ¡Let’s talk!

Thank you for all your valuable workduring this time of disruption!