Next time a reporter is looking for breaking news, especially in their local area, their best bet may be turning toward social media sites.
Social media has made every user a reporter of sorts; people are quick to take pictures or post comments about things they see around them. Often times, this results in breaking news for reporters to take note of.
When events have unfolded recently, I have noticed news outlets, reporters, and journalists scouring various social sites looking for tips and information. For example, a recent mall shooting was trending on Twitter. What I noticed, in addition to moment by moment accounts from those inside the mall and surrounding areas, were attempts to “get the story.” Below are two examples.
Getting the details, first hand
Someone posted on Twitter: “I’m in the mall locked in one of the stores. We heard there was a shooting incident in the food court.”
A reporter replied to this Tweet asking for their location and if this twitter user could send them a DM (private message) with more information.
Curate content for images to complement story
When breaking news hits, news outlets rush to share the content on their website. Many times it moves so quickly they only have time (and resources) to post a sentence or two and let readers know that this is breaking and to check back on the site for more details.
Social media makes this a bit easier – a Facebook user posted an image of a small plane crash just down the block from them. A news outlet commented on the picture, asking if they could use the image on their website, promising to give credits to the Facebook user who took the picture.
How are reporters using social media to enhance their news stories and be privy to news as it happens? Social media monitoring is the most effective method, and there are a few ways to make use of it:
- Build social sites and ask for participation: this is becoming more common. News outlets and reporters often times build social media sites with local connections, as well as national connections. From there, they post content regularly to create engagement, but also ask followers to share news tips as they happen. By building relationships, reporters can create a network of “mini reporters” who will be willing to share news as it happens directly with them.
- Generalized social media monitoring for specific keywords and phrases: this is a simplistic approach that may be too general in nature. By creating a “keyword cloud” – essentially a series of terms that social media users may include in posts related to breaking news – social media monitoring can be used to pick up content in almost real time. Reporters can easily scan the results to see if any news is breaking in their area and react quickly.
- Location based general monitoring: this is a bit easier than generalized monitoring of online content focused on certain keywords. Location based monitoring is at the next level; local reporters, for example, can put a virtual fence around their coverage area, which allows for live stream monitoring of online content coming from those areas. Coupled with alerts based on specific keywords or hashtags, reporters will have an almost instant notification of breaking news as it happens.
- For breaking news on a national or world level, location based monitoring is best: with location based social media software, reporters and journalists can easily focus on an area where news is breaking and collect live stream, real time social content coming from that area.
Finding and reporting on breaking news has become easier and more efficient, and has also allowed reporters to learn about news more quickly. Making the most of social media as a means of efficiency and speed is a definite benefit for the industry.