I recall walking into The Washington Post sports department as an intern many years ago and seeing Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser going at it on some sports item of the day. Kornheiser was already a columnist and Wilbon an up-and-coming reporter. Later on, Wilbon became a columnist, then an ESPN talking head and ABC Sports host. Kornheiser built another audience through a Style section column and then a national radio show.
Now they host Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, going at it on sports items of the day—but being paid A LOT more. They’re both very well-branded with podcasts, video, radio, Twitter feeds and who knows what else. That’s a bit of a high-profile example, but you can see the value that branding has for journalists these days. The more that the editorial people – and thought leaders – where you work can build their brand, the bigger the audience can be for them and the company.
I encourage anyone at your company who writes or leads to register for tomorrow’s webinar titled Personal Branding for Journalists. This is a great example of the value of your new SIIA/SIPA/ABM membership. ABM is delivering this webinar, featuring Robin J. Phillips, digital director of the Reynolds Center for Business, free for members. The cost is $125 for non-members. It will take place from 2-3 p.m Eastern. The presentation was originally created for the Kiplinger Program at Ohio State University in April 2012. (More on your membership value: On Oct. 31, ABM will present a webinar on Developing a Video Content Strategy.)
Said Phillips: “People have an image of who you are … whether you like it or not. First things first, it’s important to know who you are, what you offer and then take control of your image so others get the picture.”
“Branding has been part of journalism going back to Nellie Bly, Hunter S. Thompson … these were people known for their brand of journalism,” Sree Sreenivasan, dean of student affairs and digital media professor at Columbia Journalism School, told Poynter in March. What has changed, he said, is the speed at which journalists today can develop such a brand.
What has also changed is the encouragement by publishers to their journalists to get out there as much as possible. I remember back in those early times I mentioned, I had to get permission to do a radio interview about an event that I covered. Today, reporters who appear on radio or TV and have a strong social media presence are coveted. It means more publicity and gravitas for the publishing entity.
In a quote that tells you why personal branding of journalists is good for the company, Brittney Gilbert, social media editor for NBC Bay Area, told Poynter: “People would much rather interact with NBC Bay Area’s meteorologist or sports reporter than a faceless entity such as NBC.”
That’s true with blogging as well; it brings the blogger—and company—closer to your audience. At the Las Vegas Marketing Conference, Dec. 11-13, we will have a session on team blogging. This can help an entire team build its brand. SIPA members Astek and AHC Media do a great job with this. I recall reading a post on Astek by Johnny Moran, who I had never talked with or met. We exchanged emails and it felt like I had a new source to use. With excellent posts like a recent one on Google Analytics, Moran establishes his voice and contributes to the company’s loose and very knowledgeable persona.
Your reporters can be writing, blogging, tweeting, conducting podcasts and anything else that would help establish them as thought leaders. (Hopefully, sleeping falls in there somewhere.) In this day and age and with a few rules built in, it should all reflect well on the company. Tune into tomorrow’s webinar for more.
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Ronn Levine began his career as a reporter for The Washington Post and has won numerous writing and publications awards since. Most recently, he spent 12 years at the Newspaper Association of America covering a variety of topics before joining SIPA in 2009 as managing editor. Follow Ronn on Twitter at @SIPAOnline



