![\"Polly_JustinaSocialStory\"](\"http:\/\/testing.journalists.org\/wp-content\/sites\/2\/2016\/09\/IMG_8634X-350x210.jpg\")
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Traditional entertainment journalists have tended to be known by their black-and-white bylines on a printed page, unlike their cohorts, those popular television anchors, columnists and a handful of specialized reviewers.<\/p>\n
Now that\u2019s changing.<\/p>\n
Take, for instance, Ira Madison III, who writes MTV\u2019s \u201cDelete Your Account.\u201d Madison\u2019s offering is a weekly breakdown of the latest and greatest in pop culture, ranging from discussing celebrity life to social media showdowns.<\/p>\n
On\u00a0his Twitter account, he goes a bit further. There one can find his stream-of-consciousness on Beyonce and commentary on the entertainment industry, all scrolling\u00a0out to his 14,000 followers.<\/p>\n
\nI hope Beyonc\u00e9 plays the national anthem tonight just so she can tell the audience to take a knee<\/p>\n
\u2014 Ira Madison III (@ira) September 15, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The ability to create not just smart, but related\u00a0content —<\/span>as Madison did relating Beyonce to NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem– is a big factor in the rise of journalists on social media. <\/span><\/p>\n
“I don’t think journalists are trying to be personalities. I just think they’re being themselves. Journalists are humans too,\u201d said Taylor Trudon, an editor at MTV News and MTV Founders. \u201cTweeting about your love of Beyonce or \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 doesn’t make your work less legitimate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Journalism\u00a0is no longer limited to just written articles, Turdon said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
“It’s tweets, video, Snapchat and different experiences being created on different platforms,\u201d said Trudon. \u201cToday, anyone can be a creator of content. It’s not limited to the definition of a \u2018traditional’ journalist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Social media has the potential to\u00a0humanize\u00a0journalists, taking them from a vague characters in the background into real people\u00a0who binge on Netflix and post their food porn\u00a0on Instagram. <\/span><\/p>\n
It \u00a0can also help journalists build their audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cThe internet is where you go to find people who are into the same things you are \u2026 that\u2019s where you build an audience and platform,\u201d said Marqueeda LaStar, the community manager at Black Girl Nerds and an ONA 2016 attendee. \u201cPeople want you to be real.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Journalists can now write in-depth stories and tweet how many middle-of-the-night cups of coffee they had to drink to make deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nYes, I’m eating stale cookies for breakfast. No, I don’t have any shame. #deadline<\/a><\/p>\n