A presentation about how journalism might be reimagined in an age when more people are embracing the precepts of social media. Given by JD Lasica on Aug. 25, 2011, at El Mercurio in Santiago, Chile, during a 2-day symposium attended by news executives and managers from major publications in South America.

1. Reimagining journalism
in the age of Social Media
Un presentation especial at El Mercurio
Santiago, Chile, Aug. 25, 2011
JD Lasica
Founder
Socialmedia.biz
Socialbrite.org

2. What we’ll cover today
1. Changes in mediasphere
2. Questioning 9 assumptions
3. Imagining new skill sets
4. Trailblazing publications

3. Hashtag
Creative Commons
photo on Flickr
by Prakhar
Tweet this talk! Hashtag: #gda_caf

4. Socialbrite Sharing Center
http://socialbrite.org/sharing-center

5. Start with a blue sky
Flickr photo by
jonrawlinson
Be open to new approaches
Launch pilot projects
Silicon Valley mantra: Fail often, fail fast
Rules of social media are still evolving

6. News is undergoing biggest,
messiest change — ever
Everything about news is changing:
The way it’s produced
The way it’s distributed
The way we consume it
Who’s a trusted news provider
Conventions of journalism (NPR as
advocate for Haiti relief efforts)
What “news” means

7. Social journalism
Elements of social media applied to journalism:
Blogging ... Twitter ... Facebook ... Comments ...
Widgets ... RSS ... Video sharing ... Photo sharing ... User-
created content ... Ratings ... User reviews ... Tagging ...
Social bookmarks ... Live streaming & chat ... Presentation
sharing ... Geolocation services ... Forums ... Community
membership ... Social news sharing sites ...
Wikis ... Texting ... Meetups ...
Shared calendars

8. But trustworthy news still vital
“Information is as vital
to the healthy
functioning of
communities as clean
air, safe streets, good
schools and public
health.”
Knight Commission on
the Information Needs of
Communities in a
Democracy

9. Old media values Social media values
News as finished product News as a process
Lecture, authoritative Conversation, participation
Passive consumers Empowered users
Trust in experts Trust in peers
Corporate Democratic, collaborative, messy
Closed Transparent
Exclusive Shared
Centralized Distributed
Elite professionals Grassroots, peer-focused
Institutional voice Personal voice
Heavily filtered Unfiltered/lightly filtered
Platform dependent Cross-platform

10. Will this be the new news?

11. Question assumptions!

12. ASSUMPTION 1
Objectivity is our sacred goal

13. ¡PERO!
Transparency is new objectivity
Invite public into story meetings. Live-stream them.

14. ASSUMPTION 2
Content is all that matters

15. ¡PERO!
Conversation & curation
Conversation follows content

16. ASSUMPTION 3
Mobile has limited appeal

17. ¡PERO!
Geotag everything!
http://charitywater.org/projects/map/

18. ASSUMPTION 4
Journalists must wear blinders
Creative Commons photo on Flickr by stars alive

19. ¡PERO!
Why not allow citizens
to take action?
A role restored
Point users to events
or community and
advocacy groups
relevant to an issue.
Also enable them to
make a difference by
signing petitions,
which offer an outlet
for community
engagement.

20. ASSUMPTION 5
Journalists don’t promote

21. ¡PERO!
Promotion is part of
the Social Web’s essence
Think of a story, blog post, event
or idea as a ‘sharable object.’ In
some cases, decouple media.
The most effective sharable
objects are portable, evoke
emotion and can be easily copied
and reproduced in many channels
and formats.
Use genuine conversation, not a
marketing sell, to share.

22. ASSUMPTION 6
It’s OK to ignore the numbers
Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Woodlouse

23. ¡PERO!
‘Data is better than gut’
Gather, analyze, act
Photos on Flickr by Emran Kassim, left, and Vee Dub (CC-BY)

24. ASSUMPTION 7
Citizen journalists = competitors

25. ¡PERO!
The crowd can be collaborators
Talking Points Memo won
a George Polk Award
using distributed network
of volunteer reporters who
delved through thousands
of emails and documents
released by the U.S.
Department of Justice,
leading to the resignation
of the Attorney General.

26. ASSUMPTION 8
We must find new audiences

27. ¡PERO!
We must build community
here’s an amazing difference
between building an
audience and building a
community. An audience will
watch you fall on a sword. A
community will fall on a
sword for you.
— Chris Brogan
Author,“Trust Agents”

28. ASSUMPTION 9
We must do all the heavy lifting
Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Jason Means

29. ¡PERO!
Your community can help
Find the big kahunas in your sector/beat. Use
listening tools. Then, influence the influencers.
Connect with other social media influencers
through their blogs, Twitter, Facebook.
Use flickr.com/creativecommons to find 55 million +
photos for commercial use. And give back.
Use ‘social love handles’: Facebook social plug-ins,
Share This, Tweet this buttons.

30. The tools aren’t important.
The storytelling is.

31. Let’s imagine these new skills
Storyteller & reporter, yes, but also:
Conversation facilitator
Multimedia guru
Evangelist, promoter
Community builder
Curator
Metrics nerd
Geek!
Innovator/strategist
Photograph by Tristram Kenton
© The Really Useful Group Ltd.

32. Study the trailblazers
TexasTribune.com
TBD.com: Washington DC hyperlocal site
BayCitizen.org
ProPublica, nonprofit investigative
journalism, winner of 2010 Pulitzer Prize
Politico.com for political news
TechCrunch.com for tech news
Huffington Post creating a nonprofit
investigative journalism arm.
TalkingPointsMemo.com
MinnPost.com, nonprofit news site
VoiceofSanDiego.org, nonprofit news site
Spot.us, crowd-funded journalism

33. Create your own path
Storyful.com
uses social
networks to
create authentic,
cooperative &
socially useful
journalism.

34. Embrace those blue skies!
News has become a social act & shared experience
Build things that are useful & have value
Study the marketplace, define goals, write business plan
Embrace risk, launch pilot projects
Measure results
Make tough choices, listen to your market
Iterate! Iterate! Iterate!
Make mistakes, forgive yourself, move on

35. To innovate is to iterate
Facebook in 2005
“The idea is launch early and iterate. Early on, I didn’t just
start Facebook as a company. It was a project that I
wanted to exist. It’s amazing how much stuff we messed
up.” – Mark Zuckerberg, 10/09

36. Closing thought
If you do not change
direction, you may
end up where you
are heading.
— Lao Tse

37. ¡Muchas gracias! ¡Let’s talk!
JD Lasica, founder
Socialbrite.org:
Social tools for social change
email: jd@socialbrite.org
Twitter: @jdlasica
Thank you for all your valuable work
during this time of disruption!