Professional development for journalists via social media

Today’s journalists are expected to be tech savvy multimedia producers and social media curators who are simultaneously up-to-date on breaking news and industry developments — all while creating well-craft news stories. We’re told that we can either get with the times or risk sinking into the depths of the obsolete old school. 

I have a problem with this. 

First of all, there is still a need for people who are simply good reporters, who can go out and talk to people, who can do research and write a good article — in my view we need these skills more than any other. 

With that said, there is no reason why we can’t at least familiarize ourselves with new ways of doing things. After all,  you never know what skills your next job will require or when you are going to come across a story that would be best reported and told through a variety of media. 

Professional development for journalists nowadays is akin to doctors keeping up to date on the latest medical research — you can still practice but you may be missing out on valuable knowledge that can put you at the top of your field. But who has the time for professional development when we are so busy reporting the news? There are actually many great social media tools that allow for both flexibility and optimal learning.

Today, we will look at three.

Mashups

Mashups are a great way to bring many elements together in one place, whether that be job openings, the latest industry events or the breaking news of the day. Journalists typically love consuming news, sometimes to compare coverage, other times for enjoyment and often to stay in touch with what’s going on in the world as a means of general maintenance. It’s one thing to read an occasional article, check your favorite newspaper or read a tantalizing article posted through your Facebook feed — but trying to get a real grasp of what stories are breaking all over the world at any given time can be a tedious task without the right tools. 

A great tool for this is scoopmap.net, which is an interactive map updating the breaking stories throughout the world at any given time.

Screenshot of Scoopmap 

You can zoom in, see what’s going on in your area, or see the entire world map to see what’s breaking and where. It doesn’t give a complete view, as the news is primarily from The Guardian, The New York Times, The Associated Press and Reuters — but it helps give a world view of the news on a journalist’s busy schedule. 

Consuming news is actually a great form of professional development for journalists, as it causes us to think about how a story was crafted and put together while also providing us with valuable information that builds our knowledge base.

Twitter

Another way to keep up with news coming from multiple sources is Twitter. Follow news makers and news organizations and you will get a mix of what sources are saying and how news organizations are reporting the stories — but that can be time consuming so it’s helpful to create a list where you can organize those you’re following, categorizing them based on your interest. 

Twitter is also helpful for staying in touch with industry developments, which news organizations are closing or thriving, behind the scenes observations from journalists themselves, opinions on the state of journalism, what’s being said at industry events — there are many options really. 

Again, the tools help to keep it organized. I subscribe to a Twitter list by The New York Times — NYT Journalists — to see what their reporters, photographers, editors and photographers are tweeting. I also subscribe to Elected Officials by Joshua Nehmeh, World News by Chris Spangle and worldwide politics by MacGuffin to see what’s going on in the world. 

Screen shot of Elected Officials Twitter list

But I actually use Twitter far more as a tool to keep in touch with the field. I curate my own lists, like From the field, where I follow news organizations, news executives and journalists like Associated Press, Al Jazeera, ProPublica, Christiane Amanpour and CNN iReport. 

Screen shot of From the field Twitter list

On a list I call Education, I follow organizations and people who tweet about industry developments, the latest tools for journalists and other content that journalism students would benefit from, such as the Knight Foundation, Mediaite, Nieman Lab, the Sunlight Foundation, the Pew Research Center, Jay Rosen from NYU’s School of Journalism and others. 

Screen shot from Educaiton Twitter list

Journalists everywhere face different local laws and circumstances, but we also have many common issues and concerns — so Twitter is a place where journalists can connect to share and discuss the news, or debate on the current and future state of the industry. Without a tool like Twitter, which helps you curate multiple feeds, it would be impossible to stay connected and in touch with the field so dynamically, therefore developing yourself professionally.

Webcasts/ webinars

It isn’t enough, however, to simply keep up with current events and developments in the field. The demands on today’s journalist require more serious professional development, but thankfully social media offer a range of options through professional webinars and Massive Open Online Courses. Some are free and others are minimally priced. For instance, I just recently finished a MOOC Doing Journalism with Data: First Steps, Skills and Tools hosted by the European Journalism Centre. This was a free five-module course that takes participants through the concepts behind data journalism and works up to newsroom math skills and tutorials in the latest tools to clean and analyze data for journalistic purposes. I was able to enhance my journalism skills and gain an in-demand skill working with data. 

Screenshot of Journalism With Data course

I also often participate in webinars and self-directed courses through the Poynter Institute. Some are free and others range in prince from $10 to $100. I’ve taken webinars on everything from copyright law to investigative reporting. Whenever I feel in need of enhanced knowledge on a particular aspect of the news business, I look to Poynter’s News University to see what’s available. Most recently, I’ve participated in a self-directed course in multimedia storytelling and a webinar on the future of journalism education. Upcoming News U courses I would like to take are There’s Math in My Journalism!, The Life Cycle of an Investigative Story, and Social Media: Strategies and Tools for News.

Screenshot of Poynter's News University page

By participating in webinars and MOOCs, I’m able to connect with other professionals across the world and interact while learning from some of the top professionals in the field, get valuable feedback on my work and the latest skills to make my work better and gain a competitive edge.

Of course these tools are all about digital networking and professional development, which are an important part of general upkeep of skills, as it is so much more possible when it can be done from the comfort of your couch. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a need for in-person networking and live, physical industry events — kind of like how on-the-scene reporting will always be better than Internet searches and phone calls. 

So to make up for my lack of physical interaction with other professionals, I’m going to Journalism and the Web@25: Lessons in Disruption, Evolution and Endurance In Manhattan Tuesday night and I’m very excited to listen (in real life) to panelists like Brian Stelter of CNN’s Reliable Sources and Kathleen Carroll, executive editor of the Associated Press. I’m hoping to network with other media professionals, listen to some valuable discussion and hopefully learn a few things — all while sharing the same physical space as the people I’m interacting with, what a thing. 

I should mention, however, that I did learn about this event on social media.