I led a workshop at the Journalism and Women Symposium in Virginia in October that I think was supposed to be about technology.
But the only tools anyone really needed was some scratch paper and a pen.
What I’ve found in developing a social strategy for Public Radio International and for our immigration coverage, Global Nation, is that while many newsrooms and institutions want to develop relationships with the communities they cover, they often end up seeking “likes” and retweets instead. Facebook and Twitter provide particular types of data about their performance and — instead of focusing on their actual goals — they focus on upping the numbers these for-profit platforms give them most easily.
Which brings me back to the scratch paper. The most difficult part of creating a strategy, a process by which you can engage with a wider public, isn’t finding numbers to measure your success. It’s actually knowing what success means for your organization — without depending on what’s on the screen in front of us.
I’m going to give another, more in-depth version of the session I gave last fall at City Bureau in Chicago on April 6. I’ll talk about how we defined success in Global Nation, and how we measure it. And I’ll do my best to help participants scratch out their own goals. If you’re in the area and like this kind of stuff, please join us!
Public Newsroom #13: People-Centered Immigration Storytelling
Hosted by City Bureau, South Side Weekly and Illinois Humanities
Thursday, April 6 at 6 to 8 p.m.
Build Coffee
6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60637
Find out more and let the organizers (and me) know you’re coming.