The Impact of Social Media

Today social media is one of, if not the main, source for news for most people.  Media websites like Twitter and Facebook are the quickest way news is circulated to the public.

This was proven during Monday's insanely-filled news day.  The verdict for Conrad Murray was announced.  The first thing everyone in the news room did when they found out that we would know the outcome of the trial was post it on twitter: "@ATVN: #ConradMurray verdict will be released in two hours."  Right away, we let our viewers and followers know that we would have all the details on the trial right as they were announced.

At about 1:00 p.m., we were all still waiting to hear the verdict.  We took pictures to show the tense environment while waiting in the news room.  Then, at about 1:30 p.m., the verdict was finally read. About 15 seconds later, our web team had already tweeted the news.

The fact that we were able to immediately disperse the news to our followers is important because it proves our commitment to our viewers and to the news as a whole.  Timeliness is of utmost importance to any news station, and providing the news to the public right away is pertinent in maintaining a good relationship with the viewers.

I personally always use Twitter to release new information and facts about current events.  Twitter is a great way to keep people updated because it is not overwhelmed by pictures, games, etc. like Facebook.  However, I do use Facebook to provide my opinions about certain stories or news events.  For example, I wasn't sure that Conrad Murray was in fact guilty yesterday.  I used my Facebook to express my feelings about the situation, but I used Twitter to simply provide the fact that he was guilty. 

Different media sites can be used in a multitude of ways.  It is just a matter of how you use them to provide the news as quickly and efficiently as possible.