Panelists discuss new media
By Christine Mester
Students were seen tweeting throughout Thursday’s panel on new media.
Rob Quigley and Dave Doolittle of the Austin-American Statesman and Elise Hu of the Texas Tribune talked to students about the transition to new media and its role in changing journalism.
Quigley said that resources such as Twitter bring a broader perspective to news stories.
“I’m not going to retweet someone who said they saw a plane crash until I know for sure there was a plane crash,” Quigley said. “At the same time, I want to use those reports in our report and collaborate to give a more complete picture of what’s going on.”
The speakers utilize new media outlets such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
Quigley said Twitter is a tool that promotes instant news exchange, but he stressed the importance of verifying information gathered through new media sources.
“The difference we found is that we can be not only someone who verifies the facts that are out there,” Quigley said. “But also someone who aggregates all the different reports out there and works with the community to come up with a more complete story.”
Hu said part of the evolving journalism world is linking and sharing information with other news sources.
“We’re in this changing time where the resources out there are fewer and there are fewer media outlets as well,” Hu said. “I think we can best serve our viewers and our readers by aggregating and by providing a more complete look at a situation.”
Quigley sent out a tweet during the discussion and instantly received responses from his followers.
The panelists stressed the importance of experimenting and accepting new forms of communication.
“The model is going to change and it’s going to take people who are willing to change with it,” Doolittle said.
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