Living In TMZ World and Other Social Stuff

I did some research on the subject, and it turns out it is not yet feasible to freeze time for everyone other than yourself. That, unfortunately, is the only way I'm going to find time to catch up with work and still be able to do those leisure things like sleep. So, by necessity, this is gonna be a short one. It's also going to venture back into social media territory, so forgive me, Lori Lewis, for encroaching on your territory. (Go read her column after you're done here. Maybe before.) But first: There are just two weeks left before my wife Fran and I walk in the Revlon Run/Walk for Women's Cancer in Los Angeles. On May 10th, we'll be doing our annual circuit around the USC neighborhood to raise funds for research and treatment and to celebrate Fran's continued survival. It means a lot to us, and if you want to support us and contribute to the good work being done through the Entertainment Industry Foundation's efforts, click here and donate. Thank you!

Okay, then, where was I? Right, short social media column. Yeah, a few things struck me this week while combing through countless Twitter comments and Facebook posts about Donald Sterling, and it all relates to radio and media and what we do. The first thing is how the initial news got out. I didn't hear it on the radio, and it wasn't on TV or even on websites. It started with social media spreading the TMZ story, specifically, Twitter. And what was interesting about that wasn't the way it spread so much as it was that I noted the mainstream, go-to websites for news and sports didn't have it for hours after it had already caught fire in social media. While Twitter was melting down, the other media was silent. There's a good reason for that, in one area: If you're striving to be media of record, you have to confirm your stories. But we're rapidly becoming a pre-confirmation world. That's not necessarily healthy, and poses the danger of allowing falsehoods to gain traction, but it is, as the horrific cliché goes, what it is. We're just about there. Your audience is there. The world is TMZ.

So, what do we do with that? On the air, and in your social media posts, you have to recognize what's being spread while maintaining distance in a way. If your timeline is suddenly engulfed by "DID YOU HEAR WHAT THE CLIPPERS OWNER SAID zOMG" posts, you have to address it, although it's wise to attribute and leave room in case it's not true -- "TMZ Reporting Tape Shows Sterling Making Racial Comments," with a link, rather than reporting it as if you've confirmed it when you haven't. Just because everyone else is jumping to conclusions doesn't mean you have to; you can acknowledge the story and let listeners talk about it and tweet about it and do whatever they want with it, as long as you don't go out on a limb with a story that might not be accurate. It's awkward for those of us who were raised on the idea of verifying everything before you report, I know, and that should still be the standard for your own reporting. But when Twitter's awash with a story, and Facebook is, too, it's impossible to completely ignore it. If you're doing talk radio -- ANY radio -- your job is to be talking about what your listeners are talking about. And if they're tweeting and posting and calling their friends about it, that's your topic, too.

But there's one pitfall I want to note, and it's the unfortunate side-effect of the times and technology. I saw one large talk radio station post an item about the Sterling case on Facebook, a straight-ahead news item, all facts, and then I looked at the comments.

Oy.

I assume I don't have to tell you about the nature of Internet comments, especially anonymous ones. The mere mention of YouTube's pre-login comments sections will cause a lot of people to shiver in fear. But even non-anonymous comments on Facebook can be trouble. In this case, practically all the comments were in support of Sterling. And everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course, but it struck me that if someone wanted to compile a dossier to reinforce stereotypes of talk radio listeners, copying and pasting those comments would do the trick. Nobody needs to tell you that talk radio has been under the gun with national advertisers; the comments I read would not help matters. And that's why someone needs to be moderating whatever CAN be moderated. Your fans' comments DO reflect on your image. And if the comments are like that, perhaps you need to work on your image a little.

Finally, about getting followers in social media, one minor request, prompted by one radio/TV group's recent addition to their websites: If I go to your website and immediately get interrupted by a popup blocking the content and insisting that I "like" you on Facebook, I will not like you on Facebook. I will not like you, period. STOP THAT.

All right, then, everybody can unfreeze themselves. I'm done.

=============================

Wait, not quite done. There's the usual plug for All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics, with hundreds of items and ideas for segments on your shows, plus kicker stories you won't see anywhere else. Find it by clicking here. And the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics has every story individually linked to the appropriate item.

And follow my personal Twitter account at @pmsimon, find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pmsimon, and visit the other site I edit, Nerdist.com. And pmsimon.com, too.

=============================

Again, Revlon Run/Walk for Women's Cancer in Los Angeles, May 10th, click here and donate. Come on, radio, let's get this done. And thanks!

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports
AllAccess.com
psimon@allaccess.com
www.facebook.com/pmsimon
www.twitter.com/pmsimon