In a time when local newsrooms are cautious about costs, Seattle’s KING TV was one of the first stations in the country to create a newsroom position dedicated to social media. A longtime journalist in the KING newsroom, Evonne Benedict was named social media manager in November, so we decided to ask her a few questions, from her job to whether other stations should hire people like her:
@LostRemote: Tell us about your job? What’s a typical day look like?
@EvonneBenedict: If I’m awake, I’m on the news cycle – connected through my computer or my phone. My day depends on what’s happening in the world. If there is breaking news, I might spend all day on Twitter and Facebook with our followers. If the news world is calmer, I might be training, doing support or working on research and projects. I always try to leave time to have fun inside or outside of the office. Social, you know.
@LostRemote: What were you doing before, and how did it lead up to your new role? How important is it that you came from TV?
@EvonneBenedict: I’ve been a producer, a writer, and an editor. I took on the social media role as a sideline to my “day job” two years ago, because I was excited by the way other media outlets were using it to reach out. I wanted to build this same feeling of connection to our audience. I wanted us to hear what they had to say in a way we had never been able to before.
It certainly helps that I come from TV because I get how it works. It’s probably more important that I come from the KING culture which makes it natural to “speak as KING.” Also a major part of my job is to support the social media efforts of my co-workers – and it helps that we have a history together.
@LostRemote: What are biggest “wins” so far? Can you share a couple examples?
@EvonneBenedict: A Seattle food bank was running really low on supplies for Baby Day. We put out the call on Twitter and more than 100 people retweeted about the need. Many people who showed up with donations said they saw it on TV AND Twitter. That’s a win for our entire community.
Weather is always a big win, people are great at telling us when crazy weather is moving into their area. They’re our social media dopplers!
Sports events are huge too. Our sports crews rock their Twitter and Facebook as far as game action goes. But often I will also watch the game on TV as a “fan” while interacting with our Twitter and FB followers. We are going to see more and more of the “two screen” viewing (TV and computer or smart phone) and social will play a major part in this. I know it’s turned me into a sports fan.
And we can’t forget #Obooma – the day fighter jets set off a sonic boom scrambling when the President was in town. That was a great case of crowdsourcing, since so many people heard it and some of our first tips came in on Twitter.
@LostRemote: Has it been hard to justify why a social media role is important in a broadcasting world still driven by ratings?
@EvonneBenedict: The social media world is moving fast, and the ROI is totally different than anything else we’ve been able to measure in the past. But we know that as a news source, we need to be where our audience is – whether they are watching TV, getting their news from the web or mobile, or relying on Facebook and Twitter for information.
@LostRemote: Should other TV stations consider adding a dedicated social media position? Is it a nice-to-have or a critical role?
@EvonneBenedict: Since my position was created last November, the total number of Twitter followers and Facebook fans across all our accounts has nearly doubled. But this isn’t just about numbers – in my job I’m a journalist, a community engager, a customer service rep, a brand advocate, a path builder, and a team coach. I would hope other stations would see that role as nice to have AND critical.
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