I had an interesting conversation with new media expert and Web 2.0 author Mark Briggs on Tuesday about social networking and the media. Briggs spent eight years working for newspaper Web sites in Washington, and left his last job in October 2008 to pursue Journalism 2.0 and a career in training, consulting and speaking about new media.
Briggs said a point he always tries to make about the current face of journalism is how key it is to be seen as credible, especially in this “new information ecosystem.” Before, all a journalist had to do was drop the name of the news organization they worked for and the credibility was there.
But now, the public’s view of the media is lower than it ever has been. “Journalists need to find ways to restore or enhance or improve their credibility, and social networking allows [them] to do that,” he said.
Social networks give journalists a venue to participate within the community and collaborate with readers and sources, he said. It gives them a way to build their personal brand or the brand of their news organization.
More of the Briggs interview to come.
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