NPR’s Use of Social Media – #NPRsocial2015

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The use of social media has forever changed the journalism game. You have two options: get in with the program or be left behind. NPR has chosen to get in with the program.

NPR- National Public Radio

I will first give you a quick synopsis on my two day experience with observing and analyzing the different social media outlets NPR uses to get out news

Wednesday 4/8/15

First I started my observation by visiting NPR’s official website. Today would be my first time visiting the the site.Like any news outlet site, it listed stories (nothing special). I then visited their twitter account. They tweeted stories and provided links to the stories on their official website. They not only tweeted their stories but retweeted other twitter account frequently. I do not usually see that done by news outlets as much as I did when observing their Twitter usage. I then went to my favorite and most used social media site Instagram. They posted once today, which is not nearly as much as they did on Twitter. Unlike Twitter they did not post links to stories, but gave a brief synopsis  under the picture. And even the synopsis is more of a brief feature if you will than a summary.

Thursday 4/9/15

Today on Twitter they seemed to post a news story at least every hour. Today NPR’s using Twitter to bring awareness to more of their hard core news stories. There were not as many retweets today as there was yesterday. On Instagram, NPR only posted once.  They seem not to be as active in using this form of social media  to bring story awareness as other social media sites.

Conclusion Made about NPR Social Media Usage

NPR uses social media sites in different ways. Some sites are used to bring awareness to more hard cut news, while others are not. Twitter seems to be the most active because they use it frequently. It also, brings the viewer straight to the story through the link, but on Instagram, they only give you the website link. Even the videos on Instagram are not videos of news stories or snippets, but more light and fun. Also, NPRnews Twitter and NPR have different agendas. NPRnews is about reporting the news, while NPR is more about painting a pretty picture about NPR and its accomplishments.

Combination Stories

http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2015/04/09/397853271/an-artists-brainstorm-put-photos-on-those-faceless-ebola-suits

Both Twitter and the official NPRcwebsite both included the picture above. Twitter simply mentions the Ebola suites but gives a quote from @OxyNews, which is another news source. It’s great that even on social media they gave some attribution to the source. The website gave the full story.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2015/04/09/398613871/more-black-latino-teens-say-theyre-online-almost-constantly

On the website its the full story, however on Twitter it is just a quick attention grabber that includes a statistic that would lead you to want to go view the full story on their official website. Both of them however include the same picture.

About one-third of black and Hispanic teens say they're online just about all the time, compared with about 1 in 5 whites, a new study says.

Twitter Stories 

This story was fresh and different. It was a relief from your average hardcore news story. Plus I love music. 

It’s ironic how the story is about how NPR won a award for advertising and branding, when they are advertising and branding by posting it on social media. 

Learn something new every day. I didn’t even know there were an Webby Awards! 

It talks about how blacks and latino’s are online constantly. I can’t even argue because I’m online now! lol

Instagram Stories

“Put an egg on it!” must be a trending saying for this post because everyone is commenting that saying. Nothing but positive reviews from the comments I observed. I  personally, like my eggs scrambled. 

This post was good and effective because it gave a fun fact about the chief, which ould want you to visit his restaurant. 

First Meerkat Experience

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So today was my first time using the live streaming app MeerKat. I gave a miniature tour of the firSt floor of the student center, as well as the book store. Inside the book store I interviewed two students who were shopping. My live stream wasn’t a hard core news story but more of a feature if anything. I really enjoyed it.

It’s very simple and easy to use. Live streaming is definitely changing the way news can be reported. The only two difficulties that I can across was when I first started my video I wanted the camera to face me and not my setting. The other one was for some reason towards the end of my broadcast the video part went out and there was only audio. I don’t know why this happened but if I had to take a guess I would say the wifi connection went out of was bad. I think it’s good that it went to audio instead of completely shutting down the broadcast.

While I was doing my live stream, people were  were commenting and liking it, and it allowed me to view what they were saying as they were saying it. I even gave a lil shout out to one of the people who commented on my live stream.

I think that using Meerkat was a great experience. It’s a testimony on how ways to get and display news are constantly evolving. It’s important that as journalist we stay up to date with these changes and are able to use them effectively.

At the bottom I am posting the link to my live stream through my Twitter account. Oh yeah I failed to mention that the live stream connects automatically to your Twitter account, so all your Twitter followers can see the live stream without having the MeerKat app.

http://mrk.tv/1y4hXBP

Homeless or Eligible by the NCAA: You Can’t be Both

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It’s no secret that the NCAA has strict rules on student athlete amateurism, gambling and the acceptance of impermissible benefits.

Unfortunately for Baylor football player Silas Nacita he became one of the many who broke one of these rules.

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Nacita had a dream of playing collegiate football. He took courses at a community college, where he gained a GPA that helped reward him different academic scholarships. Nacita then enrolled at Baylor University and walked on to the team. Nacita finally reached his dream but there was one problem…..he was homeless.

Nacita did was granted enough money to enroll into school, but he did not have enough to pay for housing or living expenses. However, a family friend did not want him being homeless, so they bought Nacita an apartment, which is a NCAA violation.

This is a huge story in the sports world because it brings awareness to the strict rules the NCAA enforces. It also illustrates how there is no grey area when it comes to these rules even in a sensitive situation like an athlete being homeless.

The NCAA did not deem Nacita ineligible. Also, Baylor did not request a waiver for him but instead kicked him off the team.

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This story included:

-news worthiness

-conflict

-human interest

-proximity

The story was covered by all multimedia mediums.

ESPN broadcast story was anchored by Antonieta Collins. Collins calls ESPN Big 12 reporter Max Olson who gives insight on the situation. In the segment, Olson explains how Baylor did not comply with compliance rules and guidelines. If Nacita or the Baylor football staff would have notified compliance, they could have requested a waiver from the NCAA for Nacita to receive the funding legally. The broadcast segment was also posted online at ESPN.com. Following the video were quotes by Nacita apologizing for accepting impermissible benefits. (link to video is at the bottom of post).

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 ESPN also did an online written story where their was also a Twitter presence. Not only did it mention tweets by Nacita or @Salsa_Nacho, but by the NCAA as well. In that story it was more about Nacita being kicked off the the Baylor football team because it was posted online before the broadcast story. The broadcast story was an update from the online story.
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As you can see, it is no secret that the ESPN coverage included a lot of social media no matter what the medium is. However, ESPN was not the only one who saw the importance of social media usage in this story.
CBS Sports also wrote a story online. CBS also uses Nacita’s tweets to help convey the story and show how he is owning what he has done and is very apologetic. CBS also included a video however, the video was not about Nacita, but about LSU recruiting sanctions.
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The print story was written by USA Today Sports. Like ESPN and CBS, USA Today also used some of Nacita’s tweets. They also used a tweet by the NCAA as well. However, the print story was unique because it included something that the online and broadcast stories did not. The print story included a quote from Ian McCaw, Baylor Vice President and Director of Athletics which said:
“Silas Nacita will not be a part of the football program moving forward due to rules violations that impact his eligibility. We appreciate his contributions to Baylor football and wish him well as he completes his studies.”
 Common Features:
-The broadcast, online, and print stories all had tweets from Nacita
-Some kind of imagery of Nacita
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Differences:
-Broadcast did not include a tweet from the NCAA
-Print included a quote from a source that the other two did not include
-Online included photos and videos….the video did not mention Nacita but it gave another example of NCAA rules and restrictions
Most effective??????
In my opinion, the online story was the most effective because it included videos and photos. It also mentioned tweets from the NCAA and Nacita. It also, gave valid and detailed information about the story. Finally, it gave an example of how NCAA rules and regulations affect other aspects of collegiate football.
Things to Think About:
 
-If the NCAA did not deem him ineligible, then why did Baylor kick him off?
-Would Baylor have handled the situation differently if he wasn’t a walk on?
-What will he do now?
Tweeter Comments:
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Three Main Sources:
-Broadcast: ESPN, 12 P.M., Feb. 26, 2015
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12386259/ineligible-baylor-bears-rb-silas-nacita-apologizes
– Online: ESPN Online edition, 6:16 P.M., Feb. 25, 2015
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12381079/silas-nacita-baylor-bears-walk-rb-says-ncaa-declared-ineligible-accepting-impermissible-benefits-was-homeless
CBS Sports.com, 9:27 A.M., Feb. 26, 2015
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/25082311/silas-nacita-the-bottom-line-is-that-i-broke-the-rules
-Print: USA Today Sports, 2:21 P.M., Feb. 25, 2015
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/02/baylor-silas-nacita

Dominique Brothern Sports pkg

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Asha Wilhight

Steven Gilbert

Bridget Robinson

Ramon Davis

Sports Script

  1. Anchor Intro (Lead in)

I’m Bridget Robinson. We have an athlete spotlight here at Jackson State University on the women’s basketball team. Reporter Asha Wilhight has details on senior, basketball player, Dominique Brothern.

Dominique Brothern is the talk of the town. She is ranked number 4 in the nation for steals and has been invited to the ProHoops Combine, which allows athletes to showcase their skills in front of professional coaches, managers, and agents.

Brothern is a senior, from Jackson, Mississippi majoring in Recreation. She is ranked number 24 in scoring and13 in assists in the SWAC Conference. She is also ranked number one in the SWAC in steals with a total of 67, averaging 3. 5 a game. Also she has scored a total of 173 points, averaging 9.1 a game. Junior post player Nyahok Bile says she is excited for Brothern to show case her skills

” I am very very proud of Shay because she has a lot of talent and the fact that she can just go out there and show everybody else what she has, is an accomplishment.”

Even though Brothern received the invitation to the combine, she still has to go through an application process and pay a two-hundred dollar money order.

“I want to get a chance to participate and try to get to the next level and better myself. “

JSU is proud to have athlete, Dominique Brotheren represent the university. They hope to have more athletes follow in her footsteps.

For JSU Sportbeat , I’m Asha Wilhight reporting from the Lee E. Williams Athletic Assembly Center.

Brian Williams Questionable Ethics

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brian

Journalist follow a code of ethics which keeps information fair and accurate. However, some journalist do not abide by these ethical codes, which can get them into a lot of trouble. A recent prime example is Brian Williams.

First, let me list the four categories in the ethical code for journalist:

-seek truth and report it

-minimize harm

– act independently

– be accountable and transparent

*Within each of these categories, there are more detailed rules.

Now back to Brain Williams…….

Brian Williams is NBC “Nightly News” anchor, who is one of the most well-known credible reports in the news industry, so we thought. Williams lied about an experience he had in Iraq while he was covering the war twelve years ago. He also lied about other experiences, and he was exposed through Twitter. It;s amazing how social media can make or break a journalist career depending on if it is used correctly.

Here are a FEW of the codes William’s broke:

-Never speed or format excuses for inaccuracy

– Gather and update information throughout a news story

– never deliberately distort facts or content

– abide by the same high standards they expect from others

Another thing that must be considered when talking about William’s ethical controversy is what should NBC due. Should William’s be fired? Suspend? If fired, should anybody ever hire him again? If he stays at NBC, will their ratings go down due to William’s lies, which has shot his credibility; which could affect his future news reporting?

We do know NBC has suspended Williams for six months without pay.

Follow me on twitter @b_ridge20

Here are some more links about the story:

https://twitter.com/search?q=brian%20williams&src=typd

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/business/media/brian-williams-suspended-by-nbc-news-for-six-months.html?_r=0

First Tweet Week Experience

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My first tweet week experience was interesting. I already had a twitter account, but i have not tweeted for years. I uploaded the app on my phone so I had easy access to my twitter, and could tweet whenever I wanted to. The hardest thing about my first tweet week experience was remembering the different tweet criteria for each day; but other than that tweet week was easy. I actually enjoyed it. One of the criteria for the  tweet week that I found useful and helpful was to follow ten media organizations or people. I decided to follow a lot of female sports broadcasters because I want to broadcast sports and I am a female. It also reminded me of the importance of social media like twitter,and I realized I need to become more active with Twitter even outside of this class.  Also, this tweet week we had to edit our twitter bio. Initially mine said something along the lines of ”  you do not have to like me but always follow me” and my location was “Narnia.”  However, we were told to change our bio’s to something more journalistic, which was a great idea.  Now if anyone looks at my twitter page, they have a little snippet of my profession/future career.  Another challenge for my first tweet week was actually not the twitter portion but the Storify and WordPress requirements. The requirements are confusing to me, but  the Twitter requirements were straight forward. Overall my first tweet week experience was a success, and I actually enjoy doing assignments of this nature.  I think it is important as communication majors to incorporate social media into our assignments.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/B_ridge20

Storify: https://storify.com/B_ridge20/my-tweet-week