What is interesting is the power and the impact of social media... So we must try to use social media in a good way.
Malala Yousafzai
Social media is often criticized for being shallow. Though it is true that it can be used as a means to mask our true experiences, I firmly believe that it is one of the most powerful tools we have to communicate and engage with different communities.
It is also a tremendous vehicle for change. Every second, billions of posts are shared to illustrate ideas, challenges and accomplishments. Social media is not only transforming the way in which people communicate with one another, but also the way in which news is acquired. Thus, as journalists, we must utilize these networks responsibly for the purpose of informing society. We must incorporate modern technology into our reporting to not only engage with readers, but to also promote greater transparency and hold leaders accountable.
At The Observer, I was lead social media strategist. The Social Media Department was created in 2019, and, through trial and error, we demonstrated that social media can enhance our coverage and bring people together. Since its inception, we have increased our following across all platforms and, thus, our readership.
Here are some of the projects I have worked on during my time.
Tri-Campus Tuesday
Amid the coronavirus global crisis, the daily flood of devastating headlines seemed unescapable. Though informing the community about the pandemic was necessary, I realized that it was overwhelming our audience. Thus, I spearheaded the "Tri-campus Tuesday" initiative, which focused on sharing stories of hope and goodness coming from the tri-campus community of the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College and Holy Cross College. My hope was to show that hard times have the tendency to bring out the best in people.
To me, this project gives insight into Notre Dame's essence and its student body's bountiful creativity during times of crisis. My goal with Tri-Campus Tuesday is to find interesting stories, inform readers about initiatives and events, and seek opportunities to implement mixed-media into our reporting.
Yet, with last year's social justice reckoning, Tri-Campus Tuesday became much more than sharing hopeful content. Rather,it became a mechanism to highlight the oftentimes overlooked diversity within Notre Dame. Thus, when I became The Observer's Talent and Inclusion manager, the project became a cornerstone of my strategy.
Since April 14, 2020 we featured these stories throughout our platforms, and they proved to be some of the most shared and viewed. Up until August 2020, I was tasked with finding stories, conducting interviews, writing social media captions and the accompanying article and creating graphics. Then, I worked closely with the Instagram Manager in order to support our new visual rebranding.
These are a few examples, but you can find all of them published in The Observer's Instagram account.
This #TriCampusTuesday features a student-led initiative to aid students who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seniors Joseph Staud and Hunter Urrea launched the “Student Emergency Relief Fund,” through which students can choose to give back a percentage or all of their room and board rebates to be allocated towards disadvantaged Notre Dame families. Those wishing to participate need to contact Amy Schell, senior director of annual fund marketing and operations, at aschell@nd.edu. According to Urrea, the university will determine who qualifies to receive this aid. Students who wish to benefit must reach out to the Office of Financial Aid.
Both Staud and Urrea said they decided to initiate this campaign after reflecting upon the pandemic’s economic effects. “Millions of people have lost their jobs and there is a lot of uncertainty with regard to economic normalcy. We realize that some students and families may be in a position to donate their room & board rebates to assist the vulnerable members of the ND community,” Urrea said.
According to Staud, they were inspired to set the “Student Emergency Relief Fund” into motion by the generosity they have received during their time at Notre Dame. “We’ve been blessed to experience the incredible loyalty and generosity of the Notre Dame family over our past four years, and we felt that this initiative was a small way that ourselves and our fellow classmates could give back to the people most in need during these trying times,” Staud said.
Today’s #TriCampusTuesday is all about a student’s efforts to help vulnerable communities in Honduras in the midst of COVID-19. Antonella Wing, a rising senior, realized that her country’s strict lockdown was not only slowing the spread of coronavirus. The ban on transportation prevented food from reaching small towns. Moreover, not being allowed to work meant that people from low-income households had no means to acquire food, especially since the majority of Hondurans live on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis.
“There’s people who can’t even go the supermarkets and stock up on food because they have no income. Coronavirus is a global problem but it’s affecting countries differently – there’s third world countries with a huge social gap and total lack of resources,” Wing said. Due to these issues, Wing and a group of other Honduran young adults created “Operación Frijol.” Named after the spanish word for bean, Operación Frijol is an organization that raises funds to buy food baskets for vulnerable communities. Donations are used to purchase items such as beans, flour, rice, pasta and coffee. These are then given to Catholic priests from different parishes, who then distribute the baskets among families.
The organization is the product of a conversation between two friends who wished to help their country despite the fact that they are studying in the US, Diana Mourra, Operacion Frijol’s founder said. In a matter of days, a plethora of other students reached out to say they wanted to help. Nowadays, the initiative counts with more than 200 ambassadors, who all aim to spread the word about the organization’s mission.
According to Wing, Operación Frijol’s efforts have been incredibly successful. The day they launched, the group raised 100,000 lempiras (equivalent to about $4,000). Nowadays, they have raised more than 1,000,000 lempiras (or $40,000) and provided baskets to more than 3,000 families. Operación Frijol is accepting donations via abrassos.org – a local online fundraiser platform similar to GoFundMe. The site works with Honduran lempiras, but accepts all credit cards. Wing said that 350 lempiras (or $14) is enough to feed one whole family.
In times of uncertainty and despair, hope can come in many ways, even through music. Today’s #TriCampusTuesday features a trailblazer who is utilizing his melodious voice to uplift spirits and enact change.
Emorja Roberson has led a groundbreaking trajectory at Notre Dame, being the first African American to graduate with a Master of Sacred Music in Vocal Performance and to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting. He also serves as a Graduate Assistant and vocalist for the ND Folk Choir.
“My mission at ND is to be the bridge between the predominantly white community and the black community, or any other community that is not associated with gospel music and has a desire,” he said.
During the pandemic, Roberson provided a much-needed dose of encouragement with his song, “He’ll Be With You.” The song was recorded prior to the country’s shutdown due to COVID-19. Yet, the message behind it is one that he hopes will uplift people’s spirit: “we are never alone, God is always with us,” Roberson said.
Graduate student writes music to inspire people, call for change //
“Stop killin’ me and you’ll see that I am more than you think…”
Graduate student Emorja Roberson’s baritone voice is packed with sentiment as he sings “Stop Killin’ Me,” a 42-second-long song he penned in face of the ongoing protests that began after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In 2017, the Florida-native became the first African American to graduate with a master of sacred music in vocal performance and to pursue a doctor of musical arts in choral conducting at Notre Dame. Rob
As a strategist, one of my main responsibilities was to create, publish and manage original content. For me, the job encompassed giving life to our reporting. In this way, I strived to show rather than tell, mixing video, photos and written work to engage our readers.
One of the main ways in which I did this was through Instagram, where I often used the Stories feature to pique our audience's interest and provide greater insight into articles.
Below are some examples of my work.
Students react to Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court
Two groups of students rallied following Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation: one in support of Barrett and another in opposition. While one of my peers covered the protest, I reported on the pro-Barrett event, and then we collaborated to produce a video depicting both events.
I then utilized the media elements from the simultaneously-held events to promote our coverage on The Observer's Instagram account.
October 30, 2020
Notre Dame Ten and supporters gather in conversation on anniversary of 1969 protest
In 1969, ten students were suspended for protesting the Vietnam War on campus. November 18, 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of this event, and the former students and faculty gathered on campus to reflect on the legacy of their demonstration.
I worked closely with fellow reporter, Mary Steurer, to share her article in The Observer's social media platforms.
November 19, 2019
University cuts coal use one year ahead of schedule
When Notre Dame announced it was cutting its use of coal, I approached reporting in a socially-minded way. I attended the press conference, and made sure to take photos and videos while it was happening in order to promote the story in social media.
October 15, 2019
National news with a local angle
I find that one of the most effective ways to foster engagement is to show the connections between our reporting and our audience. In this way, news becomes personal, interesting and important. Despite the scope of national events, I always enjoy finding local relationships. Here, I share two examples: the 54th Super Bowl and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
