Twitter lists for media law and UK national newspapers

Inforrm Blog published its list of 90 legal tweeters the other day.  The list is made up principally of UK-based folk who tweet about media related law topics, but there are a few from the US too.

I'm flattered to be on it, alongside really good legal tweeters such as David Allen Green of New Statesman and Jack of Kent blog flame. And I've gained a few new Twitter followers as result of my inclusion.

It's also a great demonstration of how much we like lists. We look to see if we've been included and we usually have a suggestion or two for names that might have been left out.

Journalism.co.uk has also updated its Twitter list of national newspaper tweeters, which might be worth a look.

What you need to know about journalism work experience

Photo: Bisgovuk

Work experience is in the minds of some of the journalism students I've been working with so here's a quick look at some of the info and advice I found after a bit of web trawling.

The journalism.co.uk tip of the day section is an obvious first stop. It's a fantastic resource for all manner of info, including Catherine May's account of finding work experience via Twitter

There's also a guest post by journalism.co.uk's John Thompson on Sun trainee journalist Andy Hall's blog offers some work experience tips from the employer's point of view.

Andy also lists eight tips to make the most of work experience based on what he found out on his own placements.

Over at Fleet Street Blues the advice includes be prepared by reading the site/magazine/paper and be aware of what it covers and who reads it. Other tips include 'don't be shy' and, importantly, 'make the tea'.

There's also more general advice and tips on internships and getting into journalism in the Guardian careers section from Wannabehacks' Alice Vincent. And on the Wannabe blog itself you'll find some handy insights from journalists and journalism students.

A colleague I used to work with always recommends buying the first round down the pub too. That's because the student or wannabe journalist who can do the job and who also fits in well is the one who might get the call if a permanent job comes up.

Any other advice you want to offer here for new journalists is warmly welcomed.

NCTJ holds seminar on the need to 'teach journalists to Tweet'

There's an interesting story on Hold the Front Page about teaching journalists to Tweet.

The importance of teaching social media skills was discussed at the National Council for the Training of Journalists' digital training seminar, says HTFP.

I wasn't at the seminar and I'm sure plenty of useful points were made. But I have to say I'm surprised this subject even needs to be discussed. I think journalism qualification courses should already have it as a central component of their programmes.

There's no doubt that new journalists need to use and understand social media and the chances are a few of the newcomers could teach some of us a thing or two.

But what about those already in journalism who haven't yet taken the plunge? I'm sure we all still encounter working journalists who are resistant to using Twitter and other tools, just as Steve Buttry has. I've also met the real cynics who still think social media is just a bunch of self-important people telling no-one in particular about what they had for lunch.

Journalists need:
a) to be encouraged and given the space to try things out - and sometimes get it wrong
b) an understanding of how social media tools can help them with their job
c) to appreciate the fact that it's not about 'telling' or 'broadcasting' - it's about connecting them with their communities.

Oh, and they also need IT departments that don't frown at the idea of downloading social media clients such as Tweetdeck.

So, teaching journalists to use social media effectively is important. I'm assuming newcomers - such as those on  NCTJ pre-entry courses and journalism degrees - will find it easier to adopt the tools because they're already using some. They're also lucky enough not to be burdened by the mental baggage of the 'traditional' way of doing things.

But I think it's some of the old guard, the ones who won't be actively seeking out tips on Mashable, who probably need the most help - and the most convincing.

Think before you publish: Legal dangers in social media and web publishing

"Think before you publish - especially on social media..." is one of the mantras I repeat in media law sessions I run.

But today I briefly fell in to the trap myself. A couple of journalists Tweeted and and RT'd an apparent libel by juxtaposition ie a headline on a story that could have been thought to refer to an unrelated picture of someone alongside it. If read together it's possible they could have suggested a defamatory meaning about the person in the photo.

I RT'd it too, agreeing in my Tweet that it could indeed be a juxtaposition which might imply that an innocent person was guilty of wrongdoing. Luckily @jonhew immediately reminded me that any RTs could also constitute re-publication of a libel. Blushing, I deleted the RT straight away and checked no-one else had RT'd me.

This was followed by a good Twitter conversation with others about the fact that at least we had put it in context, rather than republishing potentially defamatory material as fact.

But a good reminder anyway. "Think before you publish -  especially on social media..."

Lesson learnt.

I consoled myself with the fact that at least I didn't do as the Mail did and jump the gun on the verdict in the Amanda Knox trial .

And it was a good excuse to revisit this post on basic subbing tips by Peter Sands.

By the way, in a state of paranoia, before publishing this post I also checked that I was okay to use the Twitter symbol.

Using Twitter more effectively

 I ran a short session on 'using Twitter more effectively' with a B2B editorial team recently. Here are some of the the ideas and thoughts we shared on everything from Twitter basics and what to tweet about, to filtering columns in Tweetdeck.

Where can I find how to carry out various functions using Twitter?

•         Have a look at the Mashable Twitter guidebook to find out more about making the most of Twitter.

•          Or just Google what you're looking for...

•          Or look at Youtube to see how to do something using Twitter, Tweetdeck etc.

For example, here’s a video showing how to set up lists in Tweetdeck  

Here’s a general Tweetdeck tutorial 

Or an ‘advanced’ tutorial

And an introduction to Hootsuite.com

 How can I search more effectively?

•          Search on keywords, people or keywords preceded by a ‘hashtag’ eg #medialaw.

•          Twitter.com has its own search function. However, ‘clients’ such as Tweetdeck and Hootsuite allow you to open a search in a separate column on a specific term or hashtag. 

      You can keep that column visible or delete it then return to it later from your list of recent searches.

How can I filter the 'noise' so I can find stuff I'm really interested in?

•          Set up columns on specific subjects in Tweetdeck or Hootsuite.

•          Build lists of users you follow on individual subjects.

•          Use the ‘filter column’ button in Tweetdeck to filter keywords or names

•          Use the search tips and tutorials above.

How can I find more people to follow?

•          Find a Twitter user who’s important to you – or an active Twitter user in your team. Look at who they’re following and follow some of them yourself.

•          If someone gets re-tweeted and they look interesting to you, follow them.

•          Search using subject-related hashtags eg #journalism and follow interesting people who’ve used that hashtag recently

•          Look at Twitter lists built by influential Twitter users in your area(s) of interest. You can click on individual people in lists to follow them.

Or, in Tweetdeck, for example, you can go to user's profile, open a list they've made and copy and save the whole thing. You can also edit the list.

•          Use Twitter directories such as: 

http://wefollow.com/

http://listorious.com/

http://www.twellow.com/

How can I build my own following?

•          Follow others, sometimes they follow back.

•          Post interesting links. If they get re-tweeted you will probably get some new followers.

•          Engage in conversations with other users. Active and interesting Twitter users get better quality followings.

•          Ask a question or request an opinion.

•          Put re-tweet buttons on your blog or site, put your twitter username in your e-mail signature and on other published print and online material where relevant.

What should I tweet about?

• Post links to interesting stuff

•          Look at some examples of Twitter streams in your areas of interest eg for online journalism, see what @paulbradshaw does.

•          Tweet about things related to your 'beat' or the subjects you write about. Even if much of your own material is behind some form of paywall you don’t have to give away exclusive information or essential data:

- link to a ’what’s new’ item on the free part of your site

- mention a story and say ‘have you seen our site's view on this?’ with a link.

- re-tweet a national news story or blogpost that’s relevant to your area, perhaps with a 

comment

- tweet links to your blog/other blogs from your team

- re-tweet other tweeters in your team

- build interest in some of your material by briefly mentioning that it’s coming out a week or so before publication

- click on the ‘re-tweet’ button on blogs and stories of interest to those in your sector

- Set up a Google Reader account to request info on subjects that interest you from around the web. Link to interesting articles and use topic-specific hashtags.  

What if I want to allow more than one person to Tweet under the same username?

•          Investigate setting up team accounts. You can do this in the Pro version of Hootsuite.