Hand in hand with my previous blog
goes this post. Just as you need to be aware of what’s being said about
you/your name/brand/company, you should know what’s being said about
your competition and what your competition is saying. At the very least
you should know how your competition is using the same social networks
as you are so you can improve your own use, or expand to another
network. I’m a journalist so my competition is other
journalists, traditional and citizen, and media outlets... Continue reading ...
Media organizations have partnered for as long as I can remember. CBS4 News used to partner with The Rocky Mountain News before it closed. Now the station partners with The Denver Business Journal. KUSA and KMGH also partner with local print organizations. There are various partnerships with local radio stations as well. These partnerships will continue but need to go beyond media organization to media organization. Collaboration is a term being used more these days to describe a wide variety ... Continue reading ...
Face it. There are a lot of new faces on TV News in Denver. Last week I was one of those new faces as I did a live question and answer session with the anchors during the 6pm newscast. The following day I was live in two newscasts talking social media and the station’s Emergency Toy Drive.
The morning I was in the first newscast, and before I knew I was going to be on the news, I spoke to a group of local business leaders about using social networks in the newsroom. We also discussed ho... Continue reading ...
Posted by Misty Montano on Thursday, December 17, 2009,
In :
Twitter
There are very few reasons I block anyone from facebook or Twitter. Pure spam. Porn. Insults just because I’m a member of the media. These types of accounts I block.
I’ve never stopped any other journalist or news organization from following me; not even direct competition. To do so goes against all I preach about using social networks. Plus I want to follow them to see what they’re doing!
One local journalist has a public account but has blocked me and @cbs4denver. I’m gue... Continue reading ...
This week’s Journchat was lively as usual. Question one lead
to a good discussion on press releases used as news. (You can view the Archived Chat. Question one and the comments start at
7:07pm.) I answered as soon as I saw the
question.
Last night was a no brainer.
As I’m shouting out to coworkers about an email from Denver Police on a
missing grandmother and her two-year old grandson, I’m saving the press release, a PDF file, so I
can upload the release to Twitdoc. I
knew t... Continue reading ...
I’ve spent the last two weeks playing around in Google Wave. I see its potential as a collaborative tool to share information during news events, such as a snow storm. I see it being used as a comment tool much like people comment on facebook or retweet with a comment on Twitter.
By now I believe my social media mantra is clear. Be smart. If you choose to use social media in any capacity know why, know your purpose and be smart in all you do. I need to extend my “be smart” advice to media that decides to critique social media use. Saturday morning while curled up under a blanket on the couch and sipping a mug of coffee I scrolled through Twitter on my cell phone. I saw a Tweet from @DaveWebb that said The Colorado Independent had called out The Denver Post for its... Continue reading ...
I’ve made it obvious that I believe traditional media should use social media. I advocate knowing why you’re using social networks, have goals and have strategies to reach those goals. So I find myself a little surprised at the thoughts that went through my head this afternoon. Is it possible to tweet too much? If you’re giving away your competitive edge, yes you can tweet too much. When I share what’s happening for me on the news desk and in the newsroom I am always aware that I have... Continue reading ...
I talked with a reporter last week about social media and the news. She kept asking, “can social media get us another ratings point?” I said that it could by simply connecting our product to new viewers who are using social networks, but that it would be hard to analyze the numbers. Numbers don’t tell us why we get numbers. Could it be our promotions? Could it be our community efforts? Could it be our efforts on social media? The analytics just aren’t there like they are with the Inte... Continue reading ...
I woke up to snow this week. The forecasts for a fall snow storm had all been right. I settled in for a snow day with my boys and wondered if I’d be called in to work. It was the last day of my vacation time I’d taken to be off with the boys during their fall break. It was a day of pajamas, hot chocolate, games, cartoons, shoveling and running around in the snow. It’s sometimes hard for me to turn off work, you know that internal switch where you can completely allow yourself to be in th... Continue reading ...
I was sick and at home for almost a full week. Watching the news was one of the last things I wanted to do. I wanted to watch chick flicks, reruns of my favorite shows, and catch up on all the shows episodes that sat for months on the DVR. Yet, I am a bit addicted to the news. I couldn’t stay away from it, but I rarely turned the TV to it. I got almost all the news from Twitter and facebook. No, I didn’t just read tweets or status updates and take those posts for truths. I let those posts ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, October 10, 2009,
In :
Twitter
Wednesday night I listened to a SWAT situation in the metro area. It sounded like multiple agencies were participating in an operation to take a person in custody. I had nothing confirmed, but I shared what I heard on Twitter though. I often share what I hear as a way to keep the community informed as to what’s happening and to explain the news process.
At first I didn’t hear the location of the SWAT incident and said so in my Tweets. This lead to two people replying to me with what... Continue reading ...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Misty Montano on Thursday, September 24, 2009,
In :
Twitter
I am often asked how a journalist can use Twitter, facebook or other social media networks while walking the line of being unbiased, yet personable. To me the answer is simple. Be smart when you use these networks When I share my experiences on the news desk I always make the source of the information clear. I never give an opinion on a story or hot button issues like politics and religion. However I am always me. I let my personality come out and I share some aspects of my personal life, like... Continue reading ...
Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, September 19, 2009,
In :
Twitter
I want to be absolutely clear. I messed up. I did not think the situation all the way through before I posted a Tweet. I’m going to explain my line of thinking, but in no way am I excusing anything I did. I simply want to share it because I learned a valuable lesson that slapped me in the face. Seriously, my face stung like I had been slapped.
I received a call from another O & O (owned and operated) CBS station asking if I knew anything about a plane that had to make an emergency la... Continue reading ...
Recently I was referred to as "oh, the twitter girl" by another journalist. I was not present during the conversation but a friend who was thought the comment was so funny that I was called right up and told about it. The conversation was apparently one of those, "hey, how's it going in your shop?" and my name was brought up. While my friend found the references amusing, I found it disturbing.I believe in using all tools possible to advance journalism. The tools at my hands at all times o... Continue reading ...
Below is the article I wrote for an upcoming NATAS newsletter. The purpose of the article is to introduce social media to the NATAS member that may be thinking of using social media. Tell me your thoughts. Social media may not be a necessity. Social media, at this time, may not drastically change viewership numbers. Social media, however, will give you or your organization another voice in a world where turning on the television is not always the first action people take to find news. Social m... Continue reading ...
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About Me
I'm a journalist utilizing social media, i.e. social platforms, in mainstream media news coverage. I learn something new every day. These are my thoughts, ideas, failures and successes at integrating mainstream media and social media.
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