Connecting with readers, while maintaining respect and credibility

Olivia Lewis

Social media can be a scary thing in journalism. In 140 characters or less, Twitter can start your career or end it within seconds. On Thursday SJI students heard from Joy Mayer, director of community outreach at the Missourian. Serving what seems like a tight-knit community in Columbia, Mayer stressed how important it is for her and her staff to connect with readers.
While journalists are taught to keep themselves out of their work  to inform the community in an unbiased way, Mayer is experimenting with new techniques that connect her staff to its audience through social media. It’s all about inviting the readers to join a conversation.
While it’s not always necessary to give readers control of what is produced, journalists should be in touch with what’s important to the community. When that doesn’t happen, credibility and respect are at stake.