Covering Beats and Using Social Media

Covering Beats and Using Social Media

As a journalist, covering a beat may be one of the many assignments taken on throughout her career. A beat is a specific topic or area assigned to a reporter and she is responsible for covering any recent event, meeting, or change that occurs throughout the area. Anything that happens locally such as city council meetings, sports, and education news can be covered through beat reporting.

Reporters who are assigned a beat are expected to know everything that happens within the area. It is the job of the journalist to be up to date on everything new that occurs throughout the area of the beat. Journalist are expected to be in attendance in meetings that occur for the beat, talk to officials, and perform research on the discussed topics so that the information is accurate and credible.

It is important for a beat journalist to know and have a relationship with the head officials within the beat. Some important people to know could include the mayor, city council members, chief of the police department, and the school district’s superintendent. These leaders could serve as a source for much of the work that the journalist will put out.

Once the journalist has become a well-known source for information with regards to the area within the beat, she will be relied on by many people for their need for updates about the things occurring in the area they reside in. The journalist must ensure that she is consistent, reliable, and quick in order to successfully cover a beat.

Social media has increasingly impacted the world in a major way. Millions of people use at least one social media account if not more to stay abreast of the things that are happening in the world. Social media is also a great form of communication. People throughout many parts of the world can be connected through the Internet by logging on to a social media account.

With that in mind, it is very clear for the demand of social media as a journalist. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook allows the spread of news and current events to be shared much quicker than waiting for a news broadcast or publication. People can also be connected to current events that are happening in places much farther than many local news stations can cover.

Social media allows breaking news to occur exactly when it happens. Just a simple video or picture with a caption can be shared and spread virally. With the amount of people who use sites such as Twitter and Facebook, it is imperative for journalists to be active on social media.

Social media also encourages networking and the building of a brand. LinkedIn is a professional social media account that provides opportunities for jobs and networking. Journalists can use LinkedIn to connect with other news companies and other journalists. It can serve as a platform for the previous work the journalist has created and be used to grow as a professional.

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