Hello! My name is Angela Smith and I am the Digital Content Manager at KWCH 12 in Wichita, Kan. I began my career at KWCH in 2006 while attending Wichita State University where I received my bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in electronic media. At KWCH, I helped launch Eyewitness News Saturday Morning as an associate producer. Other positions I have held throughout my nearly 15 years with the station include producer, assignment editor and now, I oversee the team’s digital products – KWCH.com, the KWCH app, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
No matter the position, the goal always remains the same: helping the community, holding the powerful accountable, bringing the story locally, and providing accurate, factual information.
Our viewers now have a number of ways to consume their news. I remember when Facebook was just for sharing photos and keeping up with old classmates from high school. Now, information is shared on the platform at such a rate that it oftentimes serves as the number one place where people get their daily news, sometimes even surpassing local news products.
Twitter serves as the hotspot for breaking news. What two big stories broke on the platform last week?
Supermodel Chrissy Teigen and her husband, John Legend, shared their story of miscarriage on Thursday. Teigen posted photos evoking empathy from not only her followers and fans but also other parents who have lost their own children before birth.
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) October 1, 2020
Then, early Friday morning, President Trump tweeted that he had tested positive for coronavirus. No official press releases or press conferences; the information came straight from the commander-in-chief. This, by far, was some of the most critical information shared on social media – first.
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
News breaks now! It doesn’t wait for a newscast, and neither do news consumers. Social media allows businesses, organizations or individuals to communicate directly with their audiences. As a station, specifically in digital, our goal is to be first AND accurate when relaying that information to our own audience. We do this through push alerts, our own digital channels and then, on our newscasts at Noon/4/5/6/6:30/9/10 and This Morning.
As journalists today, we serve as a source of clarification to break down what you’ve been told, give context to the message and investigate to uncover the facts. In some cases, as with Teigen’s miscarriage, it is just as important to bring the story home on a local level to show how it’s impacting people in our community.
Who knew in 2020 most of our life would go virtual? Every day, we hold editorial meetings via Zoom to pitch ideas about what’s happening. We still get releases. We still attend press conferences. We work loosely assigned beats and always take tips, but several of the ideas we find are on social media. Through each medium, we can almost always communicate just as easily as making a phone call and doing a door knock. Those methods will never go away because nothing can beat person-to-person interaction, but social media gives us another tool to tell the stories that need to be told.
Ultimately, we always come back to the principles of journalism: accuracy, fairness (both sides of the story), does it help the community and does it hold the powerful accountable? Meeting those targets will never change.
Have you experienced any time that social media impeded the way news is delivered, like only having 140 characters? Since you see social media as an extension of news, why not a journalism degree?
Hi Jeanne,
One of the biggest obstacles we are currently facing in social media, espcially from a journalistic point of view, is misinformation and disinformation (oftentimes this comes in the comments on Facebook and in our day-to-day reporting). People want to dismiss the facts even when we provide information from credible sources. It can be tough as a journalist because our goal to be fair and balanced, provide accurate and unbiased information and hold the powerful accountable.
As for Twitter, I’m glad we get 240 characters it makes providing a complete thought in tweet easier.
Hello Angela I want to thank you for your time to meet with us and discussing your career. I enjoyed hearing about your job and your take on how social media has changed the news world. My first question is what obstacles have you been going through due to Covid-19? My second question is that how do you choose which stories to publish and talk about because there are so many breaking stories?
COVID-19 presented some challenges, but it also made us flexible when it comes to how we present the news and do our daily jobs. About 75% of our newsroom was moved home by April of 2020. We never thought we could produce a show remotely, with only two producers and an anchor, but we did it! We knew we had to make it work.
Producers were given laptops to use at home and they were able to remote-in to their desktops back at the station. Reporters worked from home and several interviews early on were done via FaceTime, Skype (which we’ve used in the past) and now Zoom. We had one photograph who bought a bunch of brooms and created boom sticks so MMJs (multi-media journalists) could conduct interviews without getting too close to people. Anchors and meterologists who were at the station set up “home studios” complete with lighting and prompters.
I would say the main challenge we faced was making sure everyone could perform their jobs while remaining safe. Reporters and photographers were reminded to avoid crowds when they could, stay outside, wear masks and social distance. This has now become the norm.
Online, as I mentioned in a post above, we faced critcism from people who didn’t think COVID-19 was real or as severe as it was being projected. They politicized mask wearing and still today, they question numbers (cases/deaths/hospitalizations) when provided on the state or local level.
There is such a thing as conspiracy theorists and the pandemic has brought it out in a lot of people. Battling the disinformation spread online about the pandemic and trying to keep the faces of real people affected by COVID-19 has been trying. Many people have found themselves jobless, and oftentimes hopeless, we want to put a face to the numbers to let others know — medically and economically, this is real.
As to you second question, how do we choose what stories to publish? These news values help us judge how and when stories need to be published:
1. Timeliness. Is it timely?
2. Impact. Who does it affect and why?
3. Proximity. Is it local?
4. Human Interest. How can we personalize it?
5. Enterprise. Is it new and different? Is it a story that hasen’t been told?
When we can answer these questions, it helps us priotize what stories we need to tackle first.
Thanks, for promoting those basic news values, Angela!
I actually had never heard of them formally until I got my master’s in Communication. I don’t recall discussing them for my undergraduate degree in TV Production. However, when I saw them in grad school, I thought — well of course!
On the other hand, it’s also interesting to see how the terms change just a little depending upon who you talk to or what text you read. Whether these students use Enterprise, which is not in our text, or use Currency, which is, it’s important to know that there are specific things that make a story newsworthy. These values can help students figure out newsworthiness a little more quickly. 😀
Everything I’ve ever seen covered the first four values you mention. And, one text suggested that timeliness and proximity are always important to consider in every story. Some of the others, whether you call it Enterprise, Currency, or Prominance, still get to the same basic ideas.
Angela,
Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us!
What is your favorite part of your job? I understand there is a lot that goes into the work you do, but is there a specific aspect you enjoy most?
Also, do you see yourself working for a bigger news organization in the future? More on the national level like NBC, CNN, FOX, etc.
Hi Jace!
There are two things I like most about my job: 1) telling good stories and 2) covering breaking news.
It doesn’t always have to be a feel-good story, although, I love those too, but telling a good story that you know you’ve researched, worked hard on and really helped someone. I love that feeling.
The adrenaline kicks in when it comes to breaking news. Getting people out the door, gathering information, getting on first, etc. Some stories are better than others. Sad stories, particulary, when someone gets hurt are the hardest. But at the end of the day, it’s all a part of the life of a journalist.
As for network news, it has its niche, just like local news. From the experience perspective, I would love to do it – maybe one day. But I do appreciate the quality and impact of sharing local stories.
Hi Angela. In your opinion how important is small time grassroots localized journalism and why do you feel the way you do about it?
As you stated in a previous answer one of your challenges with social media are conspiracy theories and misinformation. I to have noticed this and contribute it to a lack of critical thinking skills. Good and honest journalism can help reduce the spread of misinformation on social media. My question is, do you think that in our current social media world that journalism classes should be a higher priority in middle and high school education curriculums?
Good morning, Chris!
Local journalism is always a necessity. It’s like local politics. What happens where you live is what affects you the most. Local news papers, local television stations and even local radio stations help keep us informed about what is going on around us. National news outlets will help keep us informed about what is happening in Washington, other parts of the country and the world. Of course, social media and the internet have made it a little easier to gather that information on our own as well.
When we lose local news, we lose the ability to hold the people who are making the decisions that directly impact us accountable. We lose the opportunity to tell our own stories (have you ever seen a nationally covered story on Kansas branded as Kansas City or Wichita, and it’s nowhre near either?). We lose the opportunity of knowing about our own communities unless we’re ultra-connected. Even with the access to so much information having local journalists investigate and flush-out a story, break it down and tell us how and why we’re being impacted will always matter.
As for journalism classes in high school and middle school, fact-checking and finding credible sources have always been important, hence the reason you cite your sources and not use Wikipedia to write a research paper. Now more than ever we have to let students know where they can find credible sites. Site blockers filters out harmful sites on their school-issued devices. At home looking for domain suffixes such as .gov, .org. or .edu can help ad validity to a site. Cross-referencing any information (who’s sharing it and is the information the same) can help to determine if the information is verified. Lastly, find the original source. Several sites today will post on information from other sites. Find the original story or original source of the information and you will be able to give more weight to its credibility.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us, Angela!
I agree that misinformation has really been stirring the pot with many people. Polarization is a growing issue in society today, so I was curious if there are certain precautions you take to ensure the information you present is accurate?
Also, as student pursuing a degree in Information Networking & Media Production, I would like to know how you feel about the regulation of social media and its effects on journalism?
Hi Angela, The current epidemic has greatly restricted the work of journalists, especially recently When I was helping a film and television production major graduate to shoot his graduation work, he literally could not find actors willing to appear on the screen. In connection with my previous experience of interviewing others, I would like to ask you if there are any good ways to make someone who does not know you happy to be interviewed by you, especially during the epidemic, what kind of actions will ease their concerns so as to cooperate with my interview and filming.
I am a foreign student. I hope you spare with my poor grammar. Thank you!
Hello!
The pandemic has created obstacles for all professions. Broadcast journalism is always more difficult because you have to get people to talk on camera. Developing trust with a person is key. Sometimes you have to talk to them off camera before you can convince them to go on-camera. This is an issue that existed before the pandemic. Now, interviews are a tad bit easier because we can use Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or use Facebook Messenger. This gives the interviewer the ease of making a phone call without the interviewee feeling like their personal space is being invaded.
As for in-person interviews, it’s all about trust. You must gain a person’s trust to the point that they 1) don’t mind talking to you 2) don’t mind you putting it on camera and 3) don’t mind you airing the interview.
Consider what it is you’re shooting and try to work with the subject(s) beforehand to get them more comfortable about the project. If you have to get an interview on the spot or reaction to a story, make sure you let people know exactly what you need from them and be quick about it. People have so much going on today that they don’t want to feel like their time is being wasted. Others, really do want to voice their opinion. Either way, let them know that their point of view matters. Something we hear a lot is, “Why would someone care what I think?” tTe fact of the matter is, people do want to know what others think because it helps them validate their own thoughts, or it gives them an opportunity to gain another perspective.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to us in class! It was really interesting to hear about the work you do in Wichita. I know that COVID-19 has presented a lot of obstacles in terms of journalism in the last few months. Do you think that some aspects of the job will go back to normal after the virus? Do you think that the virus has changed the way we deliver news long-term?
COVID-19 will forever have an impact on the way we deliver the news and the way its consumed. This pandemic has become one of the most politicized outbreaks in most of our lifetimes. We’ve seen people divided on cases and numbers, methods of treatment and now prevention. As journalists our goal remains the same: to deliver the most accurate information in each of those areas no matter the controversy.