Perhaps missed in all the holiday vacations, Steve Yelvington posted something about a new set of job skills that will likely be needed for a “community content coordinator” - The interactive skill set. Now, the question to ask is: do you have anyone on your staff filling these roles?
Noodling on a job description I came up with these components:
- Solicit contributions from the community through the website and other channels.
- Serve as a “Spotter,” photographing people at community events and handing out promotional cards.
- Recruit, train and organize volunteer/intern “Spotters.”
- Plan Spotter coverage, maintaining a calendar of events to be covered.
- Make presentations to community groups about the newspaper and website.
- Serve as lead “host” for the local blogspace, starting and participating in conversations.
- Recruit, train and organize community “expert” bloggers.
- Moderate and manage online conversations as necessary.
- Work proactively with reporters to help them engage in community interaction.
- Work proactively to identify Web content for print production, in close collaboration with the Editor.
- Support end users as they engage with the website.
I’ll admit these are not traditional skills we train for in student media. I’d like to know if anyone is training students for these new interactive roles. And I think Yelvington would to. My interest is academic. His may be financial. 
0 Comments on “A new breed of journalist - community orientation”
Leave a Comment