We all know the importance of social media in the lives of our audience.
We are also aware that it is through social media that news "breaks" for so many. Embracing social media is essential to the success of established publications. It all starts with individual journalists, however: reporters who promote their stories on social media are going to attract more audience than those who rely on the traditional channels.
That is why I am thrilled to read about these two items of interest in the news
At CUNY Journalism: a new Masters in Social Journalism
In a recent interview, Sarah Bartlett, dean of CUNY's Graduate School of Journalism, announced that her proposal for a Masters in Social Journalism has been approved by the State Department of Education.
According to Bartlett, the new program will start in January 2015 and will follow the following curriculum:
The curriculum has two classes in what we’re calling listening skills, and two classes in data. One would be data journalism that you would basically be presenting information to whatever community you’re devoting your social journalism skills to. One would be a data analytics course. There are two journalism courses where you’re focusing on reporting and presenting information, there’s the practicum, there’s the business skills piece of it.
Bartlett added that the new Masters is about ten different courses that will train people to be in service to a community using social media, using conventional reporting techniques—but instead of focusing on the content that journalists produce, " really focusing more on how can they serve communities and how can they measure through different metrics their success at helping a community reach their own goals."
We applaud this effort and hope that more colleges and universities will follow the lead.
Callie Schweitzer has been named Editorial Director, Audience Strategy for TIME and Time Inc.
I met the talented Callie Schweitzer a few months ago at a Poynter Institute gathering at TIME Inc. I was immediately impressed by her ideas and how she expressed them. Callie is in the same age group as the audiences that we all work so hard to attract. She understands how her generation consumes news, and the impact of social media on the choices they make.
Now, Callie will be able to bring her ideas to the table for TIME Inc and its publications. Here is how TIME editor, Nancy Gibbs, reported the appointment of Callie to the staff:
We are delighted to announce that Callie Schweitzer has been named Editorial Director, Audience Strategy for TIME and Time Inc.
In a remarkably short time, Callie has come to play a unique role across departments, and, increasingly, across brands at Time Inc. Though based in TIME editorial, she has from almost day one worked with executives and editors throughout the company to help identify new digital opportunities and expand our existing audiences.
This promotion for Callie formalizes that role. She will continue to oversee the social team, editorial technology, content partnerships and newsletters at TIME while working on a variety of digital initiatives at the corporate level. She will have a dual report to Time Inc. Chief Content Officer Norman Pearlstine and to Time.com Managing Editor Edward Felsenthal.
Mario Garcia: Master Class at Poynter
I am honored with an invitation to teach a Master Class at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies. You can either attend the class in person at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, in St. Petersburg, Florida, or via online.
Here is how Poynter describes the event:
In this exclusive Poynter NewsU event, Mario will highlight the lessons learned from his spectacular career, while pointing out the decision points and philosophies that led him to where he is today. He will take questions on design, redesign, innovation and, of course, storytelling.
This upcoming Broadcast will be broadcast on: Thursday, November 20, 2014 at 10:30am Eastern Time
http://www.newsu.org/masterclass-garcia
Enroll here:
http://www.newsu.org/masterclass-garcia