Laura Oliver, Nic Newman and Julio Romo
Nic Newman summed up the impact that social media is having on journalism when he said that based on volume and time spent on site, “Facebook was six times bigger than CNN.” People today spend more time on social networking sites than on news sites, with industry commentators citing this to highlight the reason for the supposed death of news and quality journalism. For others though social media represents an opportunity – a resource that adds value to journalism, which is why the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Greater London Group (CIPR GLG) wanted to host an event to discuss how social media is re-shaping journalism and the news industry.
For this debate we were delighted to welcome Nic Newman, the BBC’s Future Media and Technology Controller for Journalism and Digital Distribution and Laura Oliver, Editor for Journalism.co.uk.
Nic had just returned to the BBC after three months at the Reuters Institute for The Study of Journalism at Oxford University where he wrote a paper on ‘The rise of social media and its impact on mainstream journalism.’ A document that gave insight into how social media was being adopted and used within the BBC, CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.
As has been well publicised, the reach of news organisations has been in decline for many years, ever since publishers implemented a business model that gave away its content for free online so that they could get a slice of the at the time new revenue from online advertising. Of course as we now know this strategy ended up ‘cannibalising’ revenues from print, broadcast and other news focused incomes as consumers stopped buying newspapers and magazines and moved online where news is free.
The double-whammy came with the rise of social media, as people moved to Facebook, Twitter and the like and stopped visiting news websites. And it was through these ‘herds’ – their friends and followers – that people started to get the breaking news stories that for so long had been the preserve of news outlets.
While some industry commentators saw social media as the final nail in the coffin for quality journalism and the news industry, others viewed it as an opportunity, as it confirmed the belief that through social media journalists could ‘better reach out to people who know more about a given subject.’
Newman stated that what we are currently seeing in journalism is a, “quiet revolution.” Between 2007-2009 there’s been an explosion in participation, ‘driven by user-friendly internet tools, better connectivity and new mobile devices. Social Networking and UGC have become mainstream activities, accounting for almost 20 per cent of internet time in the UK and involving half of all internet users. This dramatic change has forced traditional news organisations to take note.’ And news outlets have reacted by abandoning attempts ‘to be first for breaking news, focusing instead on being the best at verifying and curating it.’
Social media expert Clay Shirky says in Newman’s report that ‘you trade speed for accuracy’ by getting updates from Twitter. And this is what the news industry is now focusing on, accurate and in-depth reporting.
The BBC’s user generated content (UGC) hub on an average week processes over 10,000 email comments, 1,000 still images and 100 video clips. Staffed by 23 people the hub can access breaking news images and stories, supporting news producers for programmes such as the BBC’s Ten O’Clock News. They also act as a contact point for people with stories to tell – a case of this was when it was contacted in February 2009 by an HBOS whistleblower. Social media is a platform that links people with quality news.
We were told by Newman and Oliver that social networks allows journalists to find and tell better stories and engage with new audiences. I asked if this meant a reduced role for PRs as journalists could go ‘straight to source’ through social networking channels. “No,” we were told. Just as journalists could use social networks to gain facts, insight and case studies, PRs could and were bypassing the media and taking their messages direct to their audiences. Oliver added that, “PRs would always be involved in the conversation.” The right to reply we should remember is to a certain extent enshrined in journalism and the editorial guidelines of many news outlets.
Newman pointed out that “as if to add insult to injury, these new networks and individuals are also acting as a check on traditional media, questioning our accuracy and standards, and forcing transparency.”
Oliver confirmed that outlets are having to be more transparent. I asked if social media is opening journalists’ notebooks. “Yes,” was her answer. In Oliver’s case, and from what she knows from journalists in nationals and business-to-business titles, there is a lot of sharing of links through social bookmarking sites and the like. Links that allow people to build a better picture of a journalist and their ‘beat.’ It also allows readers and PRs to build better relationships with them, which can only be a good thing.
But how is social media being used in journalism? Laura Oliver confirmed that journalists now use sites to gain opinion and case studies on stories that they might be working on. People can be found on networking sites discussing most subjects and this is invaluable to journalists. These people are consumers, potential customers and stakeholders. They share thoughts and knowledge with other people. If they complain about a bad experience with a brand, they’ll share it, and journalists will hear it and if it’s newsworthy enough report it
Journalists and media outlets know that people carry mobile devices with which they can stay in contact with their networks. They know that people can now compliment a story that they are working on as these devices can capture images and audio.
The new tools of the trade for journalists include Tweetdeck, Facebook, Audioboo – an application that allows users to post and share audio files. Newsrooms I am sure also have the ability to monitor conversations through Viralheat, a social measurement platform that covers hundreds of viral video destination sites, Twitter, and millions blogs & websites.
News outlets like the BBC for example use Twitter to get case studies for news packages about any story. Newman gave the example of how the BBC Ten O’Clock News wanted case study that related to an engineering story that they were putting together. News producers asked Technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones if he could help. Rory obliged by putting a call for help on his Twitter feed. Within minutes his request was met by numerous offers of help, one that was local to London was used. It was that easy and by the look of it not a PR in sight!
As PRs we have to remember that thanks to social media journalists have better access to the opinions and comments from consumers and stakeholders. Social media is not just a platform for technology story, but a platform through which people can have conversations about any given subject.
The one thing that is certain is that social media is here to stay. It is even influencing journalism training and editorial control as the industry evaluates how to meet the changing dynamics of how and from where people get their news. Griffith University in Australia has even made Twitter part of the mandatory course load for journalism students.
And it is affecting how we PRs do our job. It isn’t just an add-on for monologue campaigns that we have been so used to developing. It is a platform through which our clients can better engage with current and potential consumers.
Social media is open, it is transparent. The conversations that our customers have can be seen not just by us, but by journalists that judge and hold us to account, and that does not have to be an issue.
Facebook, Mobile And Convergence are subjects that dominate FT Digital Media Conference
Monday, March 14th, 2011BBC DG Mark Thompson
Convergence. This was one of the keywords that came of out of this year’s 2011 Financial Times Digital Media & Broadcast Conference. It’s taking me some time to pen this, but I wanted to share some of the key points that were discussed.
Last year the conference coincided with the BBC unveiling the results of it’s Strategy Review. This year gathering started on the same time as Apple unveiled its much-anticipated iPad 2, Facebook announced the rollout of its Comments plug-in and the all-important decision from the Department for Culture Media and Sport Minister Jeremy Hunt MP to allow News International’s full take-over of BSkyB.
Chief executives and senior board members gathered in London to outline their thoughts on an industry that is changing at breakneck speed. It’s an industry that is no longer operating by itself, but a sector that is being driven by the technology that their own consumers are engaging with. And the speed of adoption is forcing many boards to re-evaluate how they engage with their audiences.
Mobile and social networking are the two platforms, the two elephants in the room, that media and broadcast organisations are still struggling to grapple with. They are also the platforms that public relations professionals must fully grasp for themselves and their clients.
BBC Director General Mark Thompson highlighted this year how ‘new media’ and the consumer have shaped how it offers content. The corporation accepted that consumers want the BBC’s content on every platform. Its iPlayer is today available on the iPhone and iPad, with Thompson confirming that people even watch BBC content on their mobiles in bed.
Thompson understands simplicity and highlighted that the iPlayer works because it is straightforward. In January of this year 162 million downloads were made through the iPlayer, this in a country of 25 million households.
Thompson confirmed that 2011 is the year of convergence, stating that strength is with those that have a strong presence online and understand the value of simplicity.
One of the areas that the BBC Director General is looking at is the power and influence of social recommendations and how this will shape how we all watch television. Indeed Thompson confirmed that the BBC and Facebook are having conversations.
Speaking at the conference Facebook’s EMEA Managing Director Joanna Shield confirmed that the company now has 30 million active users in the UK, accounting for 1 in 2 of the population. Talking about how it ‘supports‘ UK media Shields highlighted that 10% of the Daily Mail’s web traffic now comes from Facebook and that the sites plugins have helped The Independent gain up to a 700% increase in traffic.
Talking of Facebook, Sales and Marketing Director for mobile provider 3 Marc Allera in a separate session said that a staggering 75% of their data traffic is directed to Facebook – an incredible statistic. Allera also said that 90% of 3’s sales are Smartphone’s.
Facebook is the platform of choice for the consumer. For business it is the ‘frenemy’, a business that delivers eyeballs to those with an online presence, but a business that can quickly cannibalise those that work with it. Take Groupon and Livingsocial for example. Both living in the hype, but both under the knife of Facebook, who a few days ago announced ‘a new service that will sell discounts deals to consumers.’ Sound familiar?
So, Facebook is becoming an entity in itself. The stats show it, but for the time being, it is a fact that business needs to learn to live with it. Equally, it needs to retain control of the data that makes it’s business a business.
I was going to ask, remember when clients used to ask about needing a Facebook Strategy? Something that made PRs and Strategists cringe? Well, there is a need to have a Facebook Strategy, but a strategy to manage them and avoid each business being cannibalised by this growing entity. The data that companies share with the social giant make the same businesses vulnerable.
Convergence and Facebook, and of course all the other offerings. The tables have turned and consumers are showing businesses how and where they want their content.
Tags: #ftmedia11, apple, bbc, facebook, ft, media, news, online, pr, public relations, social media, social networking, web2.0
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