It took a matter seconds. Once the horrific news hit the media that there was a shooting at Ft. Hood in Texas the social media networks kicked into high gear. There were posts linking people to news channels to learn more. There were also posts from the media requesting help in finding those who were down there or who knew anything about the shooting. Within 15 minutes of the reporting of the Ft. Hood shootings there were 7 posts from local news channels requesting people to call them, tweet them, email them, facebook them so they could connect to anyone who knew someone stationed in or connected to Fort Hood.
On Twitter:
Breaking News: 7 dead, 12 injured in shooting at Fort Hood, TX. Do you know anyone stationed there? (616) xxx-xxxx, news or DM.
Request from the newsroom: Do you know anyone at Ft. Hood in Texas? We are trying to find locals who may be down there. 7 people have been killed, 20 injured. Call us at (616) xxx-xxxx or email newsroom@xxxxxx.com
On Facebook:
Know someone from West Michigan currently at Fort Hood or has family stationed there? Call xxx-xxx-xxxx or email localnews@xxxxxxx.com
The above are examples of the news reaching out to find local angles to a national story.
I have spoken for years about earned media and public relations and I’ve trained individuals and organizations on how making a connection to national stories is often an entry point into a newsroom for potential coverage as an “expert.” If you have a local angle, reporters, producers and assignment editors want to interview you.
What is changing is the easy point of entry newsrooms have added for connecting. Facebook, Twitter, Direct Messaging and Text Messaging are all being used as ways to connect to news writers. We can send in information and contacts in an effort to highlight an issue or service. We can comment publicly on media blogs and become instant “authorities.” That is when the line becomes blurred between journalists and “regular” people.
When I first saw the posts asking for information and contacts to Fort Hood I felt strange. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. I then realized that it was the public manner in which the posts came. It felt like I was passing the car accident you can’t take your eyes away from that also has flashing text numbers to immediately send your comments to.
My life took a drastic turn when I went from a career as a news producer to coordinating the public service for a local network affiliate TV station. It took a house fire to wake me up. I remember being upset that my “lead” story for the 6 PM news fell flat because there were no injuries or major damage. It was after the show, after I had placed the phone number for the American Red Cross on the screen that I received my wake up call, literally. The person whose home burned down called the newsroom and thanked me personally for putting the Red Cross number on the screen. Generous people saw the number and donated clothes, food and a place to stay to the Red Cross. The family whose lives were tragically interrupted by a fire went to sleep knowing there was help and care available.
After I spoke to the caller I put down the phone and realized I had it all wrong. My job wasn’t to report only the tragedy but also to report the positive ways people could help during and after the tragedy. It was then that I began working toward a new career in communicating ways to help others learn the same facts. You can be a positive force in the media if you consistently offer solutions versus reporting or commenting on only the negative or shock value of a situation or story.
I realized what bothered me about the Ft Hood media requests urgently asking for contacts was that it felt like the same type of reporting I had done so many years before when a family lost their home to a fire. Yet, just as people jumped in to help back then, the public request looking for “connections” to the current tragedy was entwined with requests for prayers and emergency blood donations.
We all have a balancing act we take part in when we decide to participate in this new venture we call social media. It is the same balancing act we’ve taken part in all along. We can comment in positive ways that offer solutions, even help journalists write uplifting stories or we can sit back, judge and add to the shock value comments on the tragedy unfolding.
Now that journalists have opened the doors to connecting to them in simple, easy ways, let’s deluge them with experts who can give invaluable, helpful information to replace the commentary. In the Fort Hood tragedy the posts for prayers and blood donations vs., “we are looking for a story” were three to one this past week. I’d say that balance is tipped in the right direction.
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