WVU Panel Discusses New and Old Newsgathering Methods Used During Water Crisis

Panelists discussing the media coverage of the recent Elk River water crisis say digital media platforms played an important role in how they covered the story. More than 300 people were in attendance Monday night at West Virginia University to hear insights panelists gleaned from reporting on the crisis.

Some of those insights:

Social media allowed the journalists to interact with their audiences in new ways;

Traditional methods of reporting (phone calls, knocking on doors, filing FOIA requests) were absolutely essential to get the job done;

There are both positives and negatives to using social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to gather information for these stories.

Find out more about the panel by listening to the audio link above.