JW is correct that newspapers need to realize that everyone is an engagement editor!! While i still believe a full-time social media editor is necessary to be able to implement broader strategies or be an objective editor, the best advocate for any piece of work is its owner and readers/users would much rather engage with the source than one or two degrees away.

For success each individual at the news organization needs to make a mental shift and make social media a forethought. Unfortunately, i fear, newspapers, are a generation away from this, which sadly will be too late.

@JW… That’s a terrible idea. As a working journalist at a start-up that is trying an alternative business model, I am dying for my bosses to hire an “engagement editor.” I’m always happy to talk to readers and I respond to every email and phone call, no matter how crazy they seem. I’ve gotten valuable tips and it’s been a (mostly) rewarding experience. But it takes away time from following up tips and I have no organized strategy. And my disorganized strategy is different from my colleague’s own disorganized strategies. It’s nice to train people and encourage everyone to engage, but to be successful you need something more systematic.

JW and ac,

Here are some things you could just as easily say:

“Why should news organizations hire photographers? Reporters can just snap their own photos.”

“Why should newspapers hire designers? Just teach the reporters to use Quark.”

Now, many reporters CAN shoot photos or lay out a page, and these are great skills to have. But an engagement editor’s job is likely to require a certain personality and a certain skill set that not everyone in the newsroom — even though they might all be excellent reporters — will have.

JW, I think you’re correct in saying that social media should be treated as “just another level of the time-honored newspaper tradition of keeping people informed.” But the same is true of photography, graphic design, copy editing and numerous other specialties. Having people who specialize in particular disciplines can be very valuable.

Of course all reporters help engage readers. But reporters’ main job should be to gather and break news, and when they have so many other responsibilities, news risks falling on the priority list. I think it’s smart of organizations to hire someone to oversee engagement and community, particularly because, as y’all say above, a job like this is more than playing with social media.

The way to succeed is to have someone *focused* on this, in addition to having other staffers help out.

This is a smart move. It all comes down to time — the “interactive” side of this takes a lot of time. Reporters (and web directors like me) can certainly get their hands dirty reading and responding to tweets, comments, and other interactive elements, but making this someone’s priority means the job gets done. It’s becoming more and more important.

As a member of the student media and someone just breaking into the field, I think the idea of an “engagement editor” is amazing and should be embraced.

I agree with Erik in that reporters should be expected to participate in social media practices but I do think an editor responsible for reminding reporters and news staff to utilize social media as well as cohesively organizing different facets from the newsroom is a good thing.

At The Gargoyle, the student newspaper of Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., we’re seriously considering creating a position like this on our staff.

I’d love to see positions like this become an ordinary staff spot for newspapers nationwide.

-Matthew Boyle
Co-Editor in Chief, The Gargoyle
Flagler College Student Newspaper
St. Augustine, Fla.

Facebook and Twitter are both fads – Where are the key Journalists who get the story across without this faddy nonsense?

erik — just want to clarify what i said because there seems to be thought that i don’t agree that an engagement editor is critical. it is. but a prime responsibility for the engagement editor should be an evangelist for social media so that everyone in the newsroom is participating on some level and that they’re thinking about it as part of their reporting/editing processes. if all the engagement is left to one person or a small team, there are a lot of opportunities for outreach that will be missed.

One other observation for the gent who called Facebook, Twitter fads. Really? Really? They’re mass communication tools. Why would they be fads? A fad is something temporary of no utility. Facebook and Twitter are expressions of a contiuing development of mass communication. They are not “fads” but the current state of the art. Should other platforms arise — and they surely will this year or next year or whenever — Facebook and Twitter will be replaced. Not because they’re fads, but because a better platform was created. In other words sir, get a clue.