Suggestions from Doreen Marchionni (Pacific Lutheran University teacher and editor at The Seattle Times).
Reporters need to be on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. Taking simple steps such as crowdsourcing story ideas or encouraging feedback increases a reporter’s credibility with a digital audience, Marchionni found in her research.
And, having a Twitter account that mixes appropriate personal messages along with work-related tweets can let the audience see the “person behind the news,” which also builds trust.
Provide online bio pages with photos and short biographical sketches.
Produce reporter-focused short videos. Video communicates to an audience that a reporter is a real person, not a “data spewing automaton." They need to put themselves out there in videos.
Look to columnists and the Sports Department for cues. Columnists, often take a conversational tone, use fact-based analysis and portray a strong public persona. She is not suggesting opinion-based reporting, but rather bringing more voice and perspective to typical news writing.
When a newsroom does engage with readers, and invites early participation in the newsgathering process, Marchionni says it is important to publicly note that interaction. “You must tell audiences that you did it.”
Read more at Poynter
