How do you build local engagement on Twitter?

A Journal Register Co. editor mentioned a common challenge in a newsroom trying to master social media. How do you build an engaged audience on Twitter? My answer to the editor (expanded some as I’ve thought more about it): Engaging followers is largely a result of two factors: following people who care about your community and [...]

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Guest post by Mimi Johnson, with social media advice for Bill Keller

As my wife, Mimi Johnson, and I were making plans to spend a few days in southeast Utah enjoying canyons and arches before I start my new job, she made a simple, but firm request: I needed to unplug. Yeah, I’m mostly wireless these days, but I knew what she meant: Put away the laptop, [...]

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Digital storytelling and mobile strategy

Update: I’ve added some digital storytelling links to the end of this post (more to come). Update: Thanks to Steve Klein for curating today’s digital storytelling examples provided by my tweeps. And thanks to Mindy McAdams (I lost count of how many examples she provided) and others who responded with examples. I will be blogging [...]

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Another extraordinary opportunity: this time Journal Register Co.

I tell journalism students they are entering my profession at a time of extraordinary opportunity. I still believe that, even if the opportunity at TBD didn’t turn out to be what I was expecting. I agreed today to pursue another extraordinary opportunity. I will be rejoining my friend and mentor Jim Brady and joining the [...]

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The Buttry version of social media best practices for editors

Yesterday I criticized ASNE’s report on best practices in social media. Today I’m going to take a positive approach, suggesting alternatives. Here are my 10 best practices for social media (written for newsroom leaders; the list would vary for other journalists): Smart and frequent conversations among newsroom leaders and their staff members are the best [...]

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ASNE offers good advice on social media, but too much fear and not really ‘best practices’

Update: I’ve added a response from Pam Fine, co-chair of the ASNE Ethics Committee at the end. Editors are starting to accept social tools and understand their importance. But they remain afraid of social media. Their need to control remains an impediment to innovation. That’s my quick take on the American Society of News Editors’ [...]

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Fuego! Erik Wemple joins the Washington Post

Erik Wemple, editor of TBD, will excel in his next role, blogging media criticism for the Washington Post. Erik told the staff of his move this afternoon. He wrote a lot of media criticism as editor of City Paper, and his video Fuego/Frio riffs have been a delight at both City Paper and TBD. We’re [...]

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5 big problems with ‘Navigating News Online’ study

You might find some valid research in the Navigating News Online study published Monday by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a project of the Pew Foundation. But the study needed lots of context that an organization committed to excellence in journalism should provide. For instance:

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Wimgo: not just a calendar, a local where-I’m-going site

I blogged recently about the many possibilities I see for news organizations to pursue new revenue streams. I mentioned calendars as one, citing Wimgo, the events site developed by The Oklahoman. Some points I should have made in that post are that your organization doesn’t have to start from scratch on every project yourself and [...]

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Simple guidance on social media: What you should do, not prohibitions

Mathew Ingram of GigaOm has nailed the most common problem with newsroom social media policies: One of the biggest flaws of most policies is that they spend so much time talking about how bad social media is for the profession, and so little time talking about what makes it useful, or how to approach it [...]

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