Jake Wengroff on Social Media

What are the advantages of social media for journalists?

JW: The clearest advantage of social media for journalists includes the ability to gather news and sources in real time. Journalists often scour Twitter or blogs to learn about breaking news, fresh observations, or current perspectives. Of course, most of these social media sources are regular individuals, not necessarily official spokespeople or media-trained executives, but journalists are increasingly turning to such sources to stay ahead.

Journalists themselves may be part of social media, and vice-versa. According to the April 2010 PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey, 52 percent of bloggers consider themselves journalists.

What are the drawbacks?

JW: The drawbacks are that many of the sources have not been vetted, and their claims may not be substantiated.

Will social media play even more of a role in the future of journalism?

JW: Absolutely. As more and more journalism migrates online, and as online media sites load up on social features, social media and journalism will be increasingly linked. Online readers comment on articles, or share articles with friends on their networks. Some publishers can measure the popularity of an article not only by how many clicks or pageviews that article received, but also by how many times the article was re-posted, shared, or discussed on several social networks. Such popularity can even give editors an idea of what topics readers seem to favor the most, and assign stories accordingly. AOL's Seed division already does this.

Many more journalists in the years ahead may be free-lancers or contract employees instead of staff writers. Do you see any differences in the uses of social media for them as opposed to staffers?

JW: It will be almost all freelance or contract in years to come. As such, freelancers who do not have a steady stable of sources ... or story ideas with which to pitch editors for contract work ... are already using Twitter feeds and blogs to source the most current spokespeople, trends and ideas. A freelance journalist can tweet on Twitter, update their status on Facebook, and ask a question or start a discussion on LinkedIn, and receive responses in the amount of time it would take days for a traditional journalist to receive such feedback.

While social media may improve the quantity aspect of a journalist's story, how do they impact the quality if time that normally would go into more reporting is devoted instead to social media requirements?

JW: I still believe that any good journalist should still take the time to analyze the content provided by sources. The use of social media should not affect the quality of an article.

You have noted that according to a PRWeek/PR Newswire survey, more than half of bloggers now consider themselves journalists. What are your thoughts on this ... are bloggers really journalists?

JW: If bloggers wish to consider themselves journalists, they need to adhere to the high standards of journalism or of a large media organization ... to report the news with fairness, accuracy and integrity. While most bloggers have neither graduated from journalism school nor have worked at a large newsgathering organization, one could argue that online readers are not reading the best there is ... but this has not stopped online readers from devouring the content on blogs or social media sites. Many newspaper publishers, including Hearst and Tribune, now host free blogs on their sites, available to anyone who wishes to publish highly-sought out content regularly. I suppose the tables have turned, and the trend has given just desserts to the once-haughty (though once-noble) profession of journalist, but the pendulum is not swinging back anytime soon.

Do you see any one form of social media as being more important to journalists than others?

JW: Online video is exploding, and every online publisher is wrestling with a video strategy. User-generated content does not just include just text-based blogposts; it can also include individually-produced video. In the thirst for breaking news or fresh ideas in "community journalism," publishers are aware of this need and are encouraging more video journalism. With the cost of hardware (Flip camera) and software (AdobePremiere or FinalCutPro) dropping, many bloggers/journalists are embracing the use of video to tell their story.

Is there anything else you'd like to say about social media and journalism?

JW: To improve the overall quality of online content, I think that the basic tenets of journalism should be included in the curriculum of any communications, marketing, technology, or business degree programs at the university level. For too long, journalism was kept as a specialist profession, with specialist training, but with the rapid-fire pace of media development, the industry needs more contributors who think more like journalists, and who can adopt the principles and skills of a profession that thrives on hunting down sources, evaluating multiple viewpoints, and telling a story in a compelling way.

(Frost & Sullivan is a business research and consulting firm in San Antonio. Jake's background includes holding vice-presidential positions at Bear Stearns, Edelman and ShareMax. He has an MBA from the University of Miami.)