If you hadn’t heard yet, 2009 is the year old-school giants have taken an even more serious look at Social Media. Perhaps borne of a greater appreciation of the impact and the possibilities it brings to their business and to the world at large, old-school media companies are taking their social media efforts more seriously. Following CNN’s launch of its new website with user-generated content iReport.com, two of the world’s most reputable news organizations have appointed their very first social media editors this year.
Jennifer Preston for NYTimes
The bastionn of old-school journalism, The New York Times appointed long-time employee
, book author, journalist and adjunct professor at Columbia University Jennifer Preston as its first social media editor. After NYTimes announcement in late May, social media watchers and analysts scoured the web for traces of Preston’s online presence and have found she wasn’t a very active bee in social media networking. That seemed ironic as the news was flashed to the world via Twitter by no less than Jonathan Landman, the deputy managing editor at NY Times
But since her appointment, NYTimes’ new social media editor has given up some of her privacy in lieu of living up to her new position. Once kept private, her Twitter account (NYT_JenPreston) is now public. How do I know? Check then (link: http://gawker.com/5270186/new-york-times-hiring-social-media-editor-todo-something) and now (link: http://twitter.com/NYT_JenPreston) with a quick Google search and you’ll see.
Alex Gubbay for BBC
Just three weeks ago, barely six months after The New York Times created and filled the role, BBC followed suit and appoint Alex Gubbay as its very first social media editor. Gubbay’s role, is initially for helping BBC journalists navigate the vast, interconnected world of social media as they use it in their professional lives.
In a recent statement from BBC, it has said Gubbay “will manage the existing User Generated Content hub within BBC Newswire, coordinating high-quality UGC newsgathering and effective comment and debate on all of the Newsroom platforms.” But as BBC’s Nic Newman, future media and technology controller has said, BBC is joining other news organizations and is at the start of something new and exciting.
Sky News and Twitter Correspondent
But even prior to Jennifer Preston’s appointment at NY Times and Alex Gubbay’s at the BBC, Sky News has gone ahead by appointing a Twitter Correspondent Ruth Barnett. From late 2009 to early this year, Twitter has seen heavy mainstream (read: traditional media) exposure with news coverage and analyses of the Twitter phenom. But contrary to what the title would imply, Barnett’s role does not only mean reporting – and analyzing – Twitter, but to scour it for breaking news. In other words, Sky News is looking to use social media as a newsgathering tool.
You’d find dissenting opinions and many skeptical critics and even cynics toward these bold moves by news organizations. But whether it’s an” inevitable, ludicrous conclusion of the frenzied Twitter coverage we’ve seen in the past few weeks”, As the Guardian’s Jemima Kiss described Barnett’s appointment, or an innovative move, the power of social media networking is undeniable. And it’s only just begun.
Infinite possibilities, unlimited opportunities – social media is definitely the future.
