Learning To Roll With The Punches

Communication has changed through the years, especially for journalists and the way they have to report the news in order to stay relevant. It is noisy out there, and budding journalists (and even seasoned ones) can get their messages lost in the traffic. That said, there are some benefits to the way we consume our news these days - social media.

These days, if you watched your local news and saw a reporter that you related to, you had to tune in for the next time they were working or the next time they were going to be live on air. Now, all you have to do is turn to social media, chances are they've got their own profile (whether it is Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) and they are likely updating their timeline constantly throughout the day.

Here's one that I follow on a regular basis, mostly on Instagram. He's a local anchor here in Boston, but I love to follow him outside of work. Still keeps him fresh on my mind, and I'm more apt to tune into his time slot when he's on the air:

As you can see, he uses Instagram to share personal (but in this case, also work related) updates. In comparison, here is an entry from  his Twitter account:

Daniel utilizes different platforms for different messages and has likely had to have training on how to keep his business and personal lives separate from each other, not allowing them to blend together too much, so as not to hurt his brand (not that he ever posts things that would hurt his brand).

Even when Daniel is "off the clock" he is updating his Twitter account, keeping his followers informed on what is happening within the local area. This is another way for him to stay relevant and to strengthen his brand. He is always communicating, and always trying to stay on the forefront of our minds so that we don't move on to a different news channel or outlet.

"New technologies give journalists the opportunity to provide bits and pieces of news as it happens, often in faster and shorter ways. This gives the audience a chance to experience the news often at the same time as those reporting it" (Kolodzy, 2012).

No doubt there has been training on how to stand out within his news outlet, and as technology changes, chances are these communicators will receive further training in order to stay on the cutting edge of things. 


References:

Kolodzy, J. (2012). Practicing Convergence Journalism, 1st Edition. [MBS Direct]. Retrieved from https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781136222825/