SxSW is months away still, but the big ideas that make up the big weekend are already up and ready for votes! There are so many awesome ideas out there that sometimes it’s hard to choose which to vote for! Let me help you. Breaking News: Front Page or Top Tweet is a panel idea discussing the issue of how breaking news should be announced. For anyone who is intrigued about WikiLeaks, loves discussing breaking news on Twitter, or fancies themselves a “Citizen Journalist,” this panel will be right up your alley.
While many people are accustomed to their daily doses of CNN, New York Times or your local news source, the twitter-sphere seems to be finding it easier and more exciting to get it from social networks of choice. With the myriad digital channels that exist today, nearly every traditional consumption pattern has changed in some way. We’ve all grown quite satisfied with the complete control we have over information.
There are definitely two sides to every debate, and this one is no different.
Social Media Will Replace the Major News Vehicles’ Antiquated Methods
According to research done by the American Red Cross, one in five respondents to a survey said that they would use digital media (including social media) to find out about an emergency. In other words, many people are not willing to wait to find out about breaking news, and would have their news more quickly. Many feel that Twitter and Facebook accounts of government officials and different news sources are just as credible or more so than subjective news sources, in addition to being extremely timely. Also, Tweets and Facebook updates from these high profile users appear to be more personal than a news source, making people feel more at ease or excited about the news being released.
Social Chatter is just a Conversation, Not the News Itself
Many people find traditional news sources to be a more credible and reliable when it comes to getting their news. Traditional news sources are seasoned veterans when it comes to delivering breaking news. Social media sites leave it up to the masses, which sometimes can leave us lacking all the facts… or simply the right facts. Some individuals gripe about the offensive or even inappropriate “news” content coming from social networks. For example, a few months back, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, decided to Tweet about sentencing someone to the death penalty. This has raised the question of whether some materials may be too sensitive to find out about through Twitter.
There are endless debate points on this topic, but essentially the panel’s focus will be on these five core questions dealing with breaking news in social media.
- What news is appropriate to release through social media networks?
- Is there a limit to how much breaking news should be released with social media?
- Is there any advantage to releasing breaking news through traditional media?
- Should it matter who the source is when releasing breaking news through social media?
- How do sites like WikiLeaks and Twitter affect this phenomenon?
“Breaking News: Front Page or Top Tweet?” will explore all of these ideas and help people sort out their feelings on the subject.
So as the moderator, I’ll be serving up the questions and guiding this conversation. Technically speaking, I should be the most objective one of the bunch. But where’s the fun in that? I figure you should at least know where I stand going into this thing if I’m asking for your votes. Personally, I think the reality is that the lines between PR and Marketing are more blurred then ever as a result of social media. I believe it can and should be used in the “breaking news” mold as a means of sharing and distributing valuable information. But the real question is how do we define what is and what is not valuable. Everyone over shares and social enables it. Its what they share that will impact the long-term phenomenon of social media.
Scott is the SVP, Experience Distribution on our global Executive Team. He’s located in our Chicago office.
