Robin J. Phillips on social media

Robin J. Phillips, Web managing editor for the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism shared her expertise on social media with Reynolds Institute fellows on Thursday morning. "Journalism first, technology second," she said.

Social media and the web are a 'big deal', she said. Journalism advisers can help students expand their use of social media. "Teach as a concept, as a tool, as a way of reaching out and finding sources and stories," she said.

Kerri Wosek

West Senior High

Traverse City, MI

Robin J Phillips

Robin J. Phillips believes that the world wide web is a very big deal. Her presentation on Thursday morning gave Reynolds Journalism Institute fellows a look at how social media can be used as a tool in journalism. Her presentation was book-ended with the social media tracker site created by Gary Hayes, demonstrating the 10,000s of hits that had occurred while she was lecturing.

http://www.personalizemedia.com/garys-social-media-count/

However, as important as social media has become, her advise to teachers, "Journalism first, technology second."

She believes that as a journalist one has a responsibility to know what is going on. Users of social media in your community are online. "If they are talking, you want to hear what is going on."

Teachers should teach social media technology as a tool, as a concept, as a way of reaching out and finding sources and stories.

Kerri Wosek

West Senior High

Traverse City, Michigan

"If they're talking, you want to hear what's going on."

Convincing school principals that social media is a crucial tool for teaching journalism is a daunting task for journalism teachers across the country. But Robin J. Phillips made a strong case for using social media to create strong student publications.
Phillips offered simple suggestions for working social media into the classroom. For example, she said Twitter can be a strong tool for coaching students in improving their writing skills. A line in her presentation read, "If a lead doesn't fit in a tweet, it's probably too long."
Phillips demonstrated how journalists find story ideas through social media. I cannot count the times I heard a student complain they didn't know what to write about. I'm excited to show students how to use Twitter and Facebook - two sites they are already familiar with - to find a story idea. A great assignment for students would be to use watch Twitter trends to develop a story idea and relate that story idea to their readers.
I think that asking students to follow news outlets on Twitter or Facebook is a positive idea. This way, they're getting news in a format they already use, and it may be easier than handing them a paper and asking them to read. It's just another sneaky way to bring their attention to national and world events.

Lynsie Brenner
Putnam City North High School
Oklahoma City, Okla.