multimedia storytelling course in digital journalism

1. Week 9 – FACEBOOK: MODERATING
ONLINE NEWS COMMUNITIES

2. How important is
Facebook to news?

3. Who sometimes reads a news
story on Facebook that’s in your
timeline?
Who sometimes posts a news story
to Facebook?

4. YOU ARE ALMOST ALL USING
FACEBOOK TO CONSUME AND
PUBLISH NEWS
YOU ARE ALL PART OF THE SOCIAL
NEWS CONVERSATION TAKING
PLACE ON FACEBOOK

5. Where people are getting their news
on FB…

6. When is Facebook particularly
useful as platform for news?

7. Once again the arab spring examples :
Tunisia: Mohamed Bouazizi
Egypt: Khaled Said
Libya: less well-known is how NPR and other media,
during the revolution preceding the fall of
Gaddafi encouraged locals to post news on the
NPR page
Syria: dozens of news communities still active and
vital in getting news out today

8. It’s an invaluable resource in countries with
little freedom of the press, or with less
established media markets – or with
dying media markets !
Example: community newspaper that went fully
on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/RockvilleCentral

9. But mostly…
That’s where your audience is.
As the digital audience increasingly moves
towards mobile use of social media to
find content that interests them,
journalists and news organisations need
to know how to best reach that audience,
or face losing touch with them.

10. What is a news
community?

11. Moderating a FB news page
What’s your goal?

12. Generally journalists and editors
are aiming for two things:
1.Engagement
2.Referrals

13. Why does this even
concern you?

14. Using Facebook for investigative
purposes
Pro Publica and their FB group on patient harm:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/patientharm
/

15. When you become an editor…
Use Facebook for sources and angles: how will
you cover a story?
Luke Lewis, Buzzfeed UK’s editor
• https://www.facebook.com/lukeslewis?fref=ts

16. Facebook news posting tips
Ask a question
Readers respond with 70% more
comments than the average post

17. Others ways to generate responses:
• Seeking input around a posting
• Call to « read » or « take a closer
look »
• Posts with clever language
• Highlighting a specific quote

18. Facebook news posting tips
Write a few lines of introduction to
your story:
Readers respond to posts with a few lines and
some detail at least 50% more
Use pictures or images:
They bring in 150% more likes and 65% more
comments than posts without.

19. Moderating a FB news page
1. Post frequently
2. Keep it concise
3. It's a conversation, not a broadcast
4. Post pictures and add text
5. People respond to emotional stories
6. Clever titles get you shares
7. Lists get you shares
8. Stories with a strong visual element get shares
9. Use « subscribe »
10. Moderate comments

20. Tips in brief:
post regularly
use large images and video
use humour and feel-good
stories
start conversations
share breaking news

21. Advantages of FB news community
• Potential for great distribution and great
feedback
• Obviously what is appealing is the interactivity
and the ability for people to discuss news
• It changes the story (or helps write the story)
as followers contribute information
• Allows you really to know what’s going on on
the ground, to compare perspectives and ask
and get answers to questions in real time

22. Disadvantages?
News as social content where the
audience has an equal voice:
Is this a problem?