For many in the communications industry, social media is a foreboding concept. When political coverage is cut down to 140 characters, it may feel like the end of a treasured profession. However, some reporters are looking upon these technological advances as innovative tools that could reinvigorate the exchange of information.

Last night, the Atlanta Press Club hosted three of the city’s most social digital news experts: Victor Hernandez, News Futurist for CNN Worldwide, Kate Keib, Director of Digital Marketing at Gannett Atlanta/WXIA,and Jackson Reeves, Digital-Coordinator at Atlanta Magazine.

These experts shared their views on social media, branding, and the future of journalism. More importantly, they revealed their social media tips for media professionals.

If you’re new to the social world:

·         Think about what you want out of social media. That will help you determine which platform or platforms are best for you. There are five social media forums that are very popular right now: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and Pinterest, but there are countless others as well.  

§  “Twitter is the social AP newswire, but if you’re more visual you’re gonna connect better on Instagram or Tumbler,” Jackson Reeves, Digital Coordinator of Atlanta Magazine, told the Press Club.

§  “I think an early mistake people make is signing up for a whole bunch of accounts, without thinking about what they want to accomplish for themselves and their organization,” said Victor Hernandez, News Futurist for CNN Worldwide.

·         Once you’ve selected a platform, get to know it well. Utilize all the settings.

§  Almost all social platforms have special privacy settings, allow you to group friends using lists or have dashboards that enable you to manage various news feeds.

·         Listen more than you talk.

§  The evening’s moderator, Editorial Director of Venture Atlanta and self-proclaimed social guru, Jacqui Chew, says that users should spend 2/3 of their social time reading and re-sharing other users’ information. Only ½ of their time should be spent creating original content.

·         Finally, find your voice!

·         “Be interesting,” said Reeves with a smile.

§  Many journalists struggle with finding their voice. This may seem like a difficult task, especially for journalists who may want to disseminate important information, but don’t want to be lackluster. The best rule is: Be yourself. Be personable, just not personal.

If you’re a social journalist:

Our experts, who are all working social journalists, don’t fear social media as a technology that could take away from their industry. Instead, they use these tools to better interact with their audience.

·         Use social media as a listening device. Social media can accelerate contact between content generators and audiences. Use these tools to better understand what your viewers are responding to and to better serve them.

·         Digital media can be used to confirm leads.  

·         Finally, don’t fear new technologies!

Social media has made it more difficult for journalists to break news first, but that doesn’t mean that the profession goes out the window. Audiences still turn to journalists for the credibility they bring, their strong analysis, and for complete coverage, explained Hernandez.

After all, even though social media is incredible, there are some stories that need more than 140 characters.  

The restructured sunshine laws include some major changes. However, some are still asking for further improvements. When Associated Press reporter, Errin Haines, jokingly questioned why the revisions did not include the legislature, Olens candidly said, “Because I wanted the bill to pass.” 

The changes, which came into effect on April 17, include: law simplification, which the Attorney General referred to as “user-friendliness”; limits on local government meetings conducted via telephone; and clarification on the definitions of the terms executive session and meeting. The law also alters the public’s ability to obtain open records by reducing the cost of a reproduction to 10 cents a page, incorporating the NASCAR ruling, and increasing violator fines by up to $1,000.

“As soon as I got into office, I got emails from journalists saying they were having issues getting records,” Olens told the Press Club’s room of journalists, businesspeople, and lawyers.

According to Olens’ office, more than 250 complaints about open records and meetings were received in 2010. The Attorney General’s office received more than 400 complaints in 2011. 

Olens cited Savannah’s City Council as an example of the violators he now has the authority to take to court.  In 2011, the Savannah City Council decided to give $50,000 to a city alderman for flood damage repairs from within an executive session.  

“Here you had a $50,000 payment. You had no vote, you had an improper executive session. You had no policy that allowed any staff member or elected official to cut a check, but they did,” Olens told the Atlanta Press Club. “And it was totally kept from the public.”

While some may question if these revisions go far enough in the effort to open-up open meetings and records, Olens has no plan to revisit this law for further improvements.

Hanging on display in Washington DC’s Newseum, you can see a 36-foot by 26-foot color-coded map. This map displays a view of the world according to freedom of the press. The red indicates nations without any free press. Countries colored yellow indicate partial press freedom, and it takes only a quick glance to notice there is little green, representing the nations that enjoy a free press.

This week, with this map as a backdrop, various speakers came to the Newseum to honor journalists, who risk their lives while working throughout the world. According to Reporters Without Borders, already in 2012 a startling 21 journalists have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Every day, but particularly World Press Freedom Day, is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of the media and to thank journalists whose commitment gives them the courage to keep going.    

This month therer is yet another reason:Join or renew your Atlanta Press Club membership in May and receive 25% off your annual dues.

To join or renew your Atlanta Press Club membership and receive your 25% discount click here. All new members must be approved by the Atlanta Press Club board of directors.

In many circumstances, it calls for automatically sealing all criminal records, including routine police records, when charges are dismissed or when someone is found not guilty. There would be no way to evaluate whether that result was fair to the victims of the crime or to determine if the police acted improperly in the first place.

It creates a real risk that a lot of decisions made by police and prosecutors will be secret forever. That’s a very bad idea.

It also will lead to a system where the public is wondering if the information given to them about someone’s criminal history is filled with holes. Our government should not be picking and choosing what parts of the truth about the criminal justice system that it wants to share with its citizens.

Please call your legislators about these concerns, and feel free to contact us with questions. Thank you for your help in this effort.

We are in mourning at SaportaReport over the passing of Furman Bisher, our beloved colleague who was the legendary sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal, and later the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Although Furman was 93, outliving so many of his contemporaries, it still came as a shock to hear he had passed away on Sunday. We all thought that Furman was immortal — that he would live forever.

There are many Furman Bisher stories, and Michelle Hiskey will share some with you in her column next week.

Meanwhile, we wanted to let you know about the upcoming services honoring Furman’s rich and storied life.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 24 at 1 p.m. at Northwest Presbyterian Church at 4300 Northside Dr. NW in Atlanta. A graveside service will be held Tuesday, March 27 at 11 a.m. on St. Simons Island.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, 1603 McIntosh St., Vidalia, Ga. 30474; or Eagle Ranch, 5500 Union Church Road, Flowery Branch, Ga. 30542.

A couple of other thoughts.
The Atlanta Press Club was honored to be able to induct Bisher into its inaugural Hall of Fame event last September. What a special night that was. Here is a link to the videothat was prepared by Georgia State University for that evening.

Bisher, several years earlier, had received a “lifetime achievement” award from the Atlanta Press Club. In his acceptance speech, he said that his greatest achievement had been his children. He then eloquently shared the deep loss he felt when his son had passed away from AIDS. There was not a dry eye in the house.

I was fortunate to have stayed in touch with Furman over the years. He would call or email me when he wanted to talk about a story or column he had read in SaportaReport. And he was always one of my best sources for business story ideas and analysis. When I was at the AJC, I quickly realized Furman knew as much about business as he did about sports.

Despite all the changes at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over the decades, Furman was always a Journal guy. We had a program to honor the Atlanta Journal when the last edition was published, and we invited dozens of writers who had made their mark working for the afternoon paper.

I’ll never forget the passion and devotion that Furman shared that night — lamenting the passing of an era for the “Covers Dixie Like the Dew” newspaper.

And now we are lamenting the passage of another era — the Furman Bisher era. They just don’t make them like they used to.

ATLANTA (AP) - Legislation to change Georgia’s open government laws could soon come up for a vote in the state Senate now that a committee has approved a bill that would make obtaining public documents cheaper while stiffening penalties for illegally withholding public information and shortening the window of public scrutiny for candidates for university president.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday recommended sending the bill to the full Senate for a vote. The House overwhelmingly passed the proposal earlier this month.

“A lot of the inconsistencies that stop us from appropriate enforcement will no longer be the case,” said Attorney General Sam Olens, who spoke in favor of the bill during the hearing. “This should be it. There should be no more amendments.”

During Monday’s hearing, concerns were raised about a pair of amendments. One would allow an exemption for the state’s economic development department, which argued that sensitive deals could be otherwise jeopardized. Another would shorten the window of public scrutiny for people being considered to run the state’s colleges or its university system - the Board of Regents requested the change because it says the current 14-day requirement poses a risk of losing talented applicants. Both were adopted.

Tom Clyde, a private attorney who represents the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, objected to the amendment regarding university presidents, saying that five days is not long enough to scrutinize candidates for such an important role.

“There is really no more newsworthy event in the state than the attempt to identify and select the president of one of our major university units,” Clyde said. “Reducing that amount of time simply puts the system in a position where it cannot work.”

Hollie Manheimer, executive director of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, said that although the economic development exemption does not apply to municipal governments, the law could have an unintended trickle-down effect if it passes.

“We don’t need another exception in Georgia,” she told the panel.

The Associated Press is part of the foundation.

The cost of getting government documents would drop to 10 cents from 25 cents per page. Government officials who unlawfully withhold public records could face a fine of up to $1,000 for a first offense, an increase over the current maximum fine of $500. Additional violations within a one-year period would carry a maximum $2,500 penalty.

The bill now heads to the Senate Rules committee.

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Click here to follow Errin Haines on Twitter

Bisher’s career spanned more than six decades most of it at the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, where he covered the Masters, the Kentucky Derby, Georgia – Georgia Tech football, and even the Super Bowl. Bisher also contributed hundreds of articles to Sports Illustrated and many other national magazines.

In 2011 Bisher was inducted into the Atlanta Press Club’s inaugural Hall of Fame class. He is also an Atlanta Press Club Lifetime of Achievement Award winner.The famed sportswriter received many other awards including the Red Smith Award for contributions to journalism, and membership in the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame.

His love of sports reporting led him to continue his work, even after his retirement in 2009. He leaves behind two sons and his wife, Lynda.

To see Furman Bisher’s Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame Tribute Video: Click here

Shadid, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, won the Pulitzer Prize for his insightful reporting in both 2004 and 2010. He strove to describe untold accounts within Middle East conflicts, from Libya to Iraq, and has an exemplary career often going to great lengths to follow a story. Complimenting his more than 3 decades of reporting, Shadid also authored several books including House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family and a Lost Middle East, which will be published later next month.

“Anthony was a giant among us,” said Ethan Bronner, the Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief told Reuters. “He was, hands down, the best correspondent of the Arab world in the U.S. media.”

Shadid, being both fluent in Arabic and a truly dedicated journalist, uncovered aspects of the Middle East to the world, and he passed working hard to continue that mission. Shadid leaves behind his wife, Nada Bakri, and his two children, Malik and Laila. He was 43 years old.