Covering Local Events via Social Media: A Case Study of The 2012 Texas Water Safari

Fazia Rizvi, Writer, Actor and former webmaster and technology support specialist for Texas State University @faziarizvi; Will Brown, Sports Reporter for the Victoria Advocate, @wwbrown19

For those who did not know about the Texas Water Safari in San Marcos will definitely know now. Fazia Rizvi has been supporting the water race event for a few years now but she noticed a big problem - nobody was tweeting! There was no social media hype about the Water Safari event and Fazia, (a non-journalist) decided to cover the event for people to follow live. 

Fazia had no prior experience of journalism, but little did she know she was the main person to give information to the public. All she needed was a camera, her phone, and cell phone reception to cover and interview people at the event. 

Unfortunately, for the first time in 50 years since the event, a racer died. When tragedy hit, Fazia covered the story. It gave people up to the minute information on the status of the racer and the race itself. It was heart breaking to the whole community that a fellow racer and friend had passed away. 

The point Fazia emphasized is that we are all journalists. We all have the ability to voice and cover an arrange of topics. Fazia encouraged students to start a blog now or start their journalism career now and not wait until after you graduate. The news will never end because there is always something the public should be informed about. If it wasn't for social media, Fazia would have found a different way, but as a journalist you use everything you can work with to share a story.

Will Brown also spoke with students in this panel to motivate students to be enthusiastic about writing. Brown said, "If you are enthusiastic about what you cover then people will follow." Brown explained that when you are covering an event, tweeting, blogging, etc.. keep your choice of words and body language upbeat. People will hear you if you say it right and say it loud. As a sports reporter for the Victoria Advocate, Brown knows that without enthusiasm he would make people bored. (Nobody wants that.) Brown said people can tell how excited you are by the choice of words you display on twitter and social media network sites. He said, "Social Media does not make up for old-fashioned reporting." 

So no matter where you are or what you do; we all have the power to be a journalist. The news is what makes the world go round and if there is nobody there to capture it or report it, then we will all be lost. When you report, report with confidence and enthusiasm. When you write, write consistently and choose your words wisely.