Following is a roundup of 10 interesting PR- and media-related stories found online last week:
What Journalists Should Know About Facebook and Instagram: Facebook spent $1 billion last Tuesday to acquire Instagram. For journalists, this brings the discussion back to what Instagram's place in the news system should be. "It seems Instagram will never be a place for sharing article links and breaking news headlines. And that’s fine. Twitter or Facebook may be where you get the news; but Instagram is where you feel the news." (Poynter)
Social Media Breeds PR Laziness: At a recent PR conference, a vice president of public relations for an ad agency noticed a trend: laziness. More specifically he noticed "Laziness disguised as 'social media best practices' and cool new tools." (Spin Sucks)
Morning Shows Seek Celebrities to Save Them, Journalism Suffers: "Television news now feasts on fame, the gaudier the better, with journalistic credentials a mere afterthought." After "Good Morning America" had Katie Couric as a substitute for a week, "Today" responded by bringing Sarah Palin on the air. Popularity has trumped the skills of interviewing and reporting. (The Daily Beast)
Twelve Useful Social Media Tools for PR Professionals: Public relations professionals looking to make the jump from "bumbling amateur to results-driven superstar" should take note of these 12 social media tools. Among them are Google Insights for Search, PeerIndex, YouTube Analytics, Radian6 and Buffer. (Ragan.com)
Six Things to Ask Before Running a Contest With a Blogger: Here are six key questions to ask before running a contest or giveaway with a blogger: 1) What's the goal? 2) Why this blogger? 3) How do people enter the content, and how does this serve your goal? 4) Are there ways people can get extra entries? 5) How is the blogger tracking entries? 6) Who sends the prize to the winner? (Proper Propaganda)
Eight Questions to Define the Future of Journalism: Richard Gingras, Google's head of news products, recently offered eight themes and questions regarding the future of journalism. Among these were: addressing content architecture, evolving the narrative form, exploring computational journalism and shifting to a culture of constant product innovation. The Internet can lend support for any opinion, believe or fear and amplify it -- something that political entities, interest groups and media companies know. Still, the future of journalism can be better than its past, according to Gingras. (Nieman Journalism Lab)
Reporters Want More Than Story Ideas: Reporters and editors have accepted what their audience wants: "diverse, stimulating online content, from long-form journalism to video interviews and interesting photos." Video, in particular, has become more of a need for reporters. Communications professionals should adjust accordingly by: 1) know what resources are at your disposal in case a reporter asks about video; 2) offer video content in your initial pitch; and 3) consider learning about video content creation. (PeRceptions - Cookerly Public Relations)
Journalism's Future: Helping Communities Tell Their Stories: The Guardian newspaper is going to offer courses in digital media production in the U.K., which is something U.S. newspapers should follow. Not only is this a worthy endeavor from a societal standpoint, but it would also provide struggling media businesses with revenues. (ZDNet)
Annoying Social Media Behaviors to Avoid: Here's a list of 13 annoying tactics social media players (who don't get it) employ. Included are "pushy follow grubbing," boilerplate branding as a social media "visionary" or "guru," spammy self-promotion, and promotion requests made to strangers. Bottom line: "Be magnanimous and act in ways that would fit in the physical world." (aimClear Search Marketing Blog)
How to Avoid Getting Fired for Your Blog: Khristopher Brooks is a cautionary tale for anyone who maintains a personal blog while looking for or holding a job. In light of his story, here are seven tips for blogging without getting fired: 1) just do it, 2) don't hide it, 3) don't post something if you're unsure about how it will be received, 4) don't write about your sources (or your bosses), 5) don't scoop your employer, 6) avoid bias, and 7) be professional. (Mediabistro's 10,000 Words)
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