2026 - Summer

Search and Social Media Skills for Journalists (ONLINE) (Session 1) (2-credit)

Course Number: SS1: JOUR-UA 25

Day & Time: Mon/Wed 6:00-9:00 pm

Location: Online

Instructor: Kenneth Paulsen

For many, TikTok is the new evening news. And Google allows users to get the news on their own specific terms.

Social media and search have transformed the dynamics of mass media. Journalists must embrace social media and search as they aim to reach the masses. One reason: 40% of Americans get their news often from search or social media, more than television or news websites and apps, according to the nonprofit/nonpartisan Pew Foundation.

This course places you where the career paths and eyeballs are. We seize opportunities to connect with the digital audience. Social media skills, for example, are in-demand by every news operation; those skills go far beyond what you know from everyday posting and scrolling. And while you know the basics of how Google search works, we’ll explore how newsrooms strategize their headlines, story choices, photos and video for maximum reach. We’ll cover the following:

  • Reporting with social media: How journalists bypass traditional routes and reach the masses through creative, aggressive news reporting on social media platforms. With emphasis on Instagram and TikTok, we’ll deliver the news for a 2026 audience.
  • Researching with social media: How journalists use social media to find ideas, track down sources, and research and verify information.
  • Expanding your definition of news.
  • SEO basics: How the wording of a headline can make the difference between success or failure of a post. Writing multiple headlines for a single story. Why the night of the Super Bowl you might want to write about next year’s big game.
  • How traditional Google Search competes with (and is losing ground to) AI.
  • Google Discover — the platform that serves the content you didn’t know you were looking for, with pinpoint accuracy. Why it’s delivering more traffic than search.

 

Note: Counts as an elective for the journalism major and both journalism minors.