The #UseTheNews initiative aims to make news more tangible and constructive. Together with the daily News The aim is to get young people even more excited about news on the social web and counteract disinformation.
The young journalists look around in amazement as they enter the news center daily News enter. Large rows of tables arranged randomly in the room, a circle in the middle with round screens hanging on a steel frame above. CNN, BBC, various German news channels and the latest access figures run there for 24 hours – the same amount of time as the newsroom is occupied.
Editors are busy calling each other information for the next broadcast. Is the piece from Kiev already there? Has Washington already come forward about the primary? Is the line to Berlin for the next switch? Impressive if you’re not used to this kind of activity.
Daphne Sagner is with seven other colleagues daily News to guest. As part of the #UseTheNews project, they produce together with the experienced social media editors daily News Content for the youngest target groups of 14 to 24 year olds.
This means that it has daily News Experience – last year the news brand’s TikTok channel got the “Digital Media Award” from the German Federal Society for Digital Media.
Don’t be afraid of difficult topics
At the editorial conference, the young colleagues give feedback on the company’s social media channels daily News. There was a good mix the day before, but many topics were negative. They wanted a more positive approach, more prospects for possible solutions.
The young #UseTheNews team soon wants to prove for themselves how this can work. “I think the problem is that a lot of news simply doesn’t appeal to the younger generation because it’s so negative or because they don’t know: What is my connection to this news?” says Sagner. The team wants to counteract this – with explanatory pieces, news and positive approaches to get young people more excited about news again.
In the “Year of News” proclaimed by the project team, young talents will show professionals how to attract young people between the ages of 14 and 24 – on the channels they already use: TikTok and Instagram.
What is #UseTheNews?
The #UseTheNews initiative gets to the bottom of young people’s news usage and skills and develops new information and educational offerings. For the format, a team of young media professionals and content creators produces news content for social media from Monday to Friday that sustainably reaches 14 to 24 year olds in their everyday lives.
“Social News Daily” (SND) is supported and accompanied by the broad partner network of #UseTheNews, for example from daily News. Young talent from editorial offices, universities and other training centers work together with the SND team on the content of the respective theme weeks.
“We want to use the ‘Year of News’ to reach even more young communities on the social web with trustworthy, reputable information,” says Isabella David-Zagratzki, head of the daily News-Social media editorial team.
“If TikTok becomes WarTok, targeted disinformation campaigns are used on
The first week of editorial work will focus on the war against Ukraine. February 24 marks the second anniversary of the attack by the Russian army. In terms of content they have daily NewsEditors Melina Gramsch and Lisa Posorske set up the project within the social media editorial team.
A team of young journalists from the “Social News Desk” at tagesschau.
Into the studio with your smartphone
It starts for Daphne Sagner in the studio daily Newswhere Susanne Daubner usually reads the 8 p.m. news or Jessy Wellmer reads it daily topics moderated. Here she is allowed to speak to Vassili Golod, the head of the ARD-Studios in Kyiv.
A colleague explains the studio to her and where she has to stand and shows her which camera she is presenting into. Sagner is a little nervous, and her colleagues in the direction notice this. She doesn’t leave enough space between the questions for the image to change, for the recut.
“It’s going to be a bit tight, but we’ll manage it,” says one of the editors responsible for the editing. “Will someone give me a go?” asks Sagner in the direction of the director. There’s a quick confirmation via the small headphones in her ear and then she gives a thumbs up. Ready to go.
Instead of the usual paper cards, she has her smartphone in her hand to read the questions: How does Vassili Golod see his job as a correspondent daily News in Kyiv? He reports on many nights with air raid alarms, daily attacks on civilians, deaths on the front line and how this can be taken up editorially for the German news.
How life is affected: Supermarkets are deserted, films stop in the cinema when there is an air raid alarm. When asked whether he has a work-life balance, he answers: “The lives of correspondents in Ukraine are primarily characterized by work.” The war is shaping Ukraine and it is the task to report what is happening. “This is very much.” He doesn’t manage to switch off often. His hobby of fencing helps a lot, but is only possible to a limited extent due to time constraints.
Big project starts
The visit to the daily News is the starting signal for the ambitious project. “With ‘Social News Daily’, together with our #UseTheNews partners, we want to make journalism visible as a craft. Our goal is to teach young people in an interesting and playful way what is behind news journalism and why it is important for our society and democracy is,” says Vanessa Bitter, project manager for the “Year of News” from #UseTheNews.
Further projects with other media partners will follow. Already now are on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Posts published every working day.