What Happened to the 11:00 News? The Answer Seems to be Technology!

Sitting in front of the television until 11:00 PM to catch up on what has happened throughout the day is completely unnecessary today thanks to social media.  Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites allow people the opportunity to read, share and even comment on all of the events happening around the world at any point throughout the day.

This shift in the way people receive their news has also meant a shift in the way that news anchors and news casters do their jobs.  In 2012, ABC partnered up with Yahoo! in an effort to remain relevant with the huge shift in the dynamic of the mainstream media news. This effort was designed to create a social media presence aimed at gaining followers and popularity, which would lead to viewers of their news and news programming.  ABC decided the best way to test the social media waters was by experimentation and trial and error, which has proven to be a great way to learn the ropes in the social media game.  The social media team at ABC has conducted two large-scale voluntary trainings with hundreds of employees attending each.  The goal of the social media team at ABC is to drive up numbers to create more engagement.  This philosophy seems to be paying off big time for ABC as their Facebook referrals to their site was up 111% and Twitter referrals were up 163% (Tenore, 2012).

Reference

Tenore, M.J., (2012). How ABC News built a top social media presence with a small dedicated team. Retrieved from http://www.poynter.org/news/media-innovation/158998/how-abc-news-built-a-top-social-media-presence-with-a-small-dedicated-team/