Anyone who has worked in broadcasting for at least 10 years, remembers the age before social media. I’m talking when social accounts strictly belonged to people and not police departments or  non-profits.

Finding story ideas would come from poaching items from newspapers, press releases or conversations with friends and family.

Sara Maslar-Donar is the anchor of WKOW’s Wake Up Wisconsin Weekend morning show and reports for the weekday morning show. She was also recipient of the WBA’s ‘Best Online Personality” award, placing second.

She explains how journalists can use social media to their advantage.

Sometimes we take for granted how lucky we are to live in the age of technology! Thanks to social media, sources and story ideas are just a click away most of the time. My job is easier because I can reach out to sources via social media if I don't have their phone number, I can find story ideas through community Facebook groups, or I can get visual content of, say, a major storm because someone posted a video on Twitter. So much of what we need to do our jobs can be found on a social media platform, and I certainly couldn't live without that! 

Heather Poltrock
WSAW-TV, Wausau