Week 9 – FACEBOOK: MODERATING ONLINE NEWS COMMUNITIES

How important isFacebook to news?

Who sometimes reads a news story on Facebook that’s in your

timeline?

Who sometimes posts a news story to Facebook?

YOU ARE ALMOST ALL USING FACEBOOK TO CONSUME AND

PUBLISH NEWS

YOU ARE ALL PART OF THE SOCIAL NEWS CONVERSATION TAKING

PLACE ON FACEBOOK

Where people are getting their news on FB…

When is Facebook particularlyuseful as platform for news?

Once again the arab spring examples :

Tunisia: Mohamed Bouazizi

Egypt: Khaled Said

Libya: less well-known is how NPR and other media, during the revolution preceding the fall ofGaddafi encouraged locals to post news on the NPR page

Syria: dozens of news communities still active and vital in getting news out today

It’s an invaluable resource in countries with little freedom of the press, or with less

established media markets – or with dying media markets !

Example: community newspaper that went fully on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/RockvilleCentral

But mostly…

That’s where your audience is.

As the digital audience increasingly moves towards mobile use of social media to

find content that interests them, journalists and news organisations need

to know how to best reach that audience, or face losing touch with them.

What is a news community?

Moderating a FB news page

What’s your goal?

Generally journalists and editors are aiming for two things:

1.Engagement

2.Referrals

Why does this evenconcern you?

Using Facebook for investigativepurposes

Pro Publica and their FB group on patient harm:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/patientharm/

When you become an editor…

Use Facebook for sources and angles: how willyou cover a story?

Luke Lewis, Buzzfeed UK’s editor

• https://www.facebook.com/lukeslewis?fref=ts

Facebook news posting tips

Ask a question

Readers respond with 70% more comments than the average post

Others ways to generate responses:

• Seeking input around a posting

• Call to « read » or « take a closerlook »

• Posts with clever language

• Highlighting a specific quote

Facebook news posting tips

Write a few lines of introduction to your story:

Readers respond to posts with a few lines and some detail at least 50% more

Use pictures or images: They bring in 150% more likes and 65% more

comments than posts without.

Moderating a FB news page

1. Post frequently2. Keep it concise3. It's a conversation, not a broadcast4. Post pictures and add text5. People respond to emotional stories6. Clever titles get you shares7. Lists get you shares8. Stories with a strong visual element get shares9. Use « subscribe »10. Moderate comments

Tips in brief:

post regularly

use large images and video

use humour and feel-good stories

start conversations

share breaking news

Advantages of FB news community

• Potential for great distribution and great feedback

• Obviously what is appealing is the interactivity and the ability for people to discuss news

• It changes the story (or helps write the story) as followers contribute information

• Allows you really to know what’s going on on the ground, to compare perspectives and ask and get answers to questions in real time

Disadvantages?

News as social content where the audience has an equal voice:

Is this a problem?