Online Journalism Symposium

More work, less people April 4, 2008

The role of editors in multimedia journalism must change, even though more work is being created for less people to do, Dave Panos, CEO of Pluck Social Media said.

“You have to be fostering possibilities in editorial coverage and asking yourself, ‘What can I do now that I couldn’t do before?'” Panos said.

Like many speakers have said, Panos emphasized risk taking within the newsroom and its importance to the development of social media.

“Editors must recruit experts, stimulate focused coversations, and do the marketing, digging up people who will participate,” Panos said.

Panos said he believes the distributed model works the best, wherein every member of the site is in charge of some of the content, very similar to the Village Soup model Richard Anderson talked about.

“What are the results from having your editorial staff take these techniques to heart? You’ll get richer site experiences, broader coverage at a lower cost, and higher job satisfaction.”