RJI sponsorship helps KOMU take the plunge into social media news

KOMU Columbia, Mo., in DMA138, has taken the plunge into social media news, last week launching a 4 p.m. newscast that makes viewers an integral part of the show. And there’s a social media desk that includes two reporters tracking bloggers, Tweets and online conversations about topics making the news. Industry watchers applaud KOMU for pushing the envelope in its use of social media at a time when many stations are still trying to figure them out. But some question their heavy use in what has always been a sit-back, passive medium.

Source TV News Check on September 20, 2011 0 Comments Experiments
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KOMU, social media, RJI, Reynolds Journalism Institute
"How social should a newscast be?" TV News Check, September 20, 2011.

While many stations are still tinkering with ways to use Facebook and Twitter, KOMU Columbia, Mo. (DMA 138), is making social media a star of one of its shows.

U_News@4, which debuted last week on the University of Missouri-owned NBC affiliate to fill its Oprah void at 4 p.m., pushes viewer participation to new heights. In fact, the show is so interactive that anchor Sarah Hill refers to participating viewers as her “co-hosts.”

The hour-long show includes news and weather, but that’s about as traditional as it gets. On the high-tech set, Hill commands the newscast from a laptop with a second large screen behind her for all to see.

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Topics Citizen & Community News, Engagement, RJI in the News, Social Media
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