The AP Gets Into Social Media With Climate Change Conference Coverage

The Associated Press may be getting stingy about aggregators infringing on their copyrighted material, but the news wire isn't above using social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter to get young adults interested in important events. Take for instance the confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor, when the AP teamed up with several different agencies to make the news accessible and instantaneous to people following at home on the Web. Following in that lead, the AP and other news orgs are joining forces next week, when Copenhagen will play host to the United Nations' climate conference (a little belatedly for Green Week, but whatever). Not only will this information conglomerate -- which includes news agencies like the Netherlands' ANP, the Canadian Press, APcom of Italy, Germany's dpa, RIA from Russia and Agence France-Presse -- have a name, The Climate Pool, but it also has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. The goal of this Internet outreach, according to the AP, "will be to engage readers in direct communication with the world-class journalists covering the U.N. conference." So information is free when it's for a good cause, just as long as you operate within the prescribed networks of news channels. Full press release after the jump. Previously: AP Creates Registry To Protect Content Online, AP Settles "Hot News" Lawsuit With AHN Media 12/02/2009 AP Press Release The Associated Press joins other news agencies in interactive online hub while covering Copenhagen climate conference The Associated Press will join 10 other news agencies to create a single Facebook page to interact with news consumers across the globe during the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen. The Facebook fan page, called The Climate Pool, will bring the news agencies together in an unprecedented collaboration to spark a global conversation about climate issues. The purpose of the Facebook hub (http://www.facebook.com/TheClimatePool) will be to engage readers in direct communication with the world-class journalists covering the U.N. conference Dec 7-18. Participating in addition to AP are Agence France-Presse, ANP of the Netherlands, APA of Austria, APcom of Italy, Canadian Press, dpa of Germany, Kyodo of Japan, Lusa of Portugal, Press Association of the United Kingdom and RIA of Russia. The climate project is based on a model for interactivity AP has used to solicit feedback and questions from the public during a major news event. The model features a blog format, which is used to give readers a behind-the-scenes view of the event and to link out to important coverage across the Web. Twitter also is used to attract followers for the blog and related coverage. Following the AP's experience with the model during last summer's Senate confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, several agencies from around the world came together to design a similar project for Copenhagen under the auspices of MINDS International, a global news agency network. "The climate summit in Copenhagen will affect the lives of billions of people, and it is likely to grip the attention of news consumers all over the world," said Wolfgang Nedomansky, managing director of MINDS. "The Climate Pool will provide a unique outlet for Internet users to discuss climate change with some of the worldâ€™s most experienced journalists covering the conference." "This format created a great deal of excitement around the Sotomayor hearings, and we're excited to share the experience this time with our global news agency colleagues," said Jim Kennedy, vice president and director of strategic planning for the AP. "We are looking forward to engaging a truly worldwide conversation." The Climate Pool page will be produced in English and will incorporate blogposts and multimedia content from the participating agencies, along with links to coverage of the talks from the agencies and the media outlets they serve around the world. The AP also has launched a Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/AP_climatepool) to solicit followers interested in commenting on the talks or posing questions for the expert journalists covering the conference and climate issues.

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The AP Gets Into Social Media With Climate Change Conference Coverage

Drew Grant

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Drew Grant