Whenever I want to reconnect with someone, I first look to online social networks, such as Facebook and Linked in. I imagine a host of people use social networks for the very same purpose.
So why shouldn’t journalists?
I posed this question to a list serv that includes several journalists I worked with at my college paper, and some didn’t think too favorably of using social media to find sources.
Why are journalists afraid of social media? Why are they afraid to use it to source stories and find out information?
In my mind, social media tools will enhance the reporting process. Sure there’s opportunities of running into sources who lie, and false information, but isn’t that the case with any source, live or virtual?
CopyBlogger wrote a great piece about finding sources using Linked In, the social network for professionals.
Writer Michael Stelzner asked the Linked In audience this question for his Copyblogger post:
Does LinkedIn help you solicit quotable material for use in articles or white papers?
Here’s some of the responses:
- Journalist Marty Weil: Weil says Linked In can be a great source for finding the right sources and also a good place for generating feature story ideas.
- Journalist Michelle Vranizan Rafter: Rafter uses the service as a virtual Rolodex and also uses the Linked In Answers to find potential sources.
There’s a few other tidbits in the article that address ways to use the Answers section in the most effective way and some warnings about being cautious with the service.
What do you think? Is it time to integrate social media into the news gathering process?
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Shawn,
I think this is like asking whether journalists should use telephones, email, automobiles or personal contact for sources. Yes, we should connect with good sources wherever and however we can connect with them.
I’ve connected with sources by Facebook. I couldn’t find email addresses or phone numbers for some people I wanted to talk to, but I found them on Facebook, they responded and then we talked by phone or email. We connect with people where they are using a wide array of tools and techniques.
Yes, we still have to vet the sources and challenge their credentials and credibility. We can make mistakes using Facebook, LinkedIn or any of these other tools (including telephone etc.). But those mistakes are our fault, not the tools’.
I think social media is a necessary tool in today’s media landscape. The challenge of unreliable information can be overcome with traditional cross-checking and verification of sources.
It also may be good to consider the privacy levels of information on such sites as Facebook and LinkedIn.
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Adding this to my bookmarks. Thank You