Panelists dissect social media trends, predict future focus

When a blue-star panel of Kansas City media notables gets together, a lively conversation is inevitable. That’s exactly what happened when Kansas City IABC, in conjunction with the Social Media Club of Kansas City, co-sponsored a lunch meeting attended by about 100. The topic was “Reaching Your Audience in the Digital Shift.”

Panel moderator was Kris Ketz, co-anchor at KMBC 9; panelists were:

• Rob Carson, talk show host on KCMO 710 AM
• Christa Dubill, award-winning anchor on KSHB 41
• Greg Farmer, managing editor at The Kansas City Star
• Angee Simmons, vice president of TV production and creative services at KCPT public television

Here are a few panel highlights about the status quo in digital media:

Simmons: “Since we serve all audiences for free, we have to be incredibly valuable on all platforms. We segment our programs into multiple pieces for all media.”

Farmer: In the past, editors decided what got covered. “Now, you decide. We know in real time what you’re reading and that helps drive the news in real time.”

Dubill: “Our mission is to present the news in a concise, precise and somewhat entertaining way. That certainly applies to social media. Direct communication with our viewers is so powerful. While media ‘trending’ is important, that’s not what drives our decisions. It’s our responsibility to deliver the news.”

Carson: “Connection (with listeners) is as important as content. If you can connect on a humorous, profound or human level, they’ll follow you forever. It’s connection on a personal level, even if it’s to a massive audience.”

Simmons: KCPT looks for gaps in news coverage in the viewing area and focuses on what’s not being covered. The station’s two-year focus is education and veterans’ issues.

Ketz: Daily news meetings for the editorial team used to focus on ‘What’s the news today?’ Now we focus on ‘What are people talking about today?’”

 Farmer: “We look at how to drive the community conversation about what’s important – things that really matter. Social media is built around entertainment, but we need a more serious focus. We don’t produce content for any particular platform. Our job is to tell the story.”

Dubill: “Facebook is no longer driven by people’s response to a post, but by Facebook’s algorithms.” Facebook is trying to manipulate viral sharing for the sake of its own bottom line. “I want genuine, organic engagement with viewers and you can’t do that with Facebook anymore.” The station’s mission is to “give the people the news where they are, in real time. We seek respect, not attention. We keep the attention focused on the people we serve, not on ourselves.”

Simmons: “Since we present an uncommon viewpoint, we focus on quality content and don’t worry about likes, shares and clicks.”

About the future of social media – the next big thing:

Dubill: “We see a resurgence of conversation; genuine face-to-face conversation, instead of just relying on social media.”

Farmer: “People seek a feeling of belonging to something bigger than ourselves. We seek to create communities of people. “

Carson: “Motivating people to do good is the next big thing; creating a collective sub-conscience for good. Generation Z is driving that movement.”