From friending, to blogging to social networking and computer intelligence.  What are the innovations and where are the traps in the quest to capture the attention of today’s consumers?  Is it possible to partner with the growing number of citizens who are reporting and blogging news online, taking part in the social responsibility trend and evaluating brands in new ways?  Learn about the insights and needs of these citizens from the point of view of professional journalist who is developing best practices for successful civic reporter partnerships.

 

As a network news television producer, Melissa Cornick has received numerous awards for her groundbreaking original reports, including the Mongerson Prize for Ethics in journalism and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting. Cornick is one of the few journalists whose career spans the three broadcast news networks primetime shows, including 60 Minutes, Dateline, 20/20, and Nightline.  Her philosophy is that her powerful original concepts should always be credited to regular people who are the sources of news reports. These people have brought lead stories, high ratings and lucrative advertising dollars to the new network coffers through her work. 

 

Cornick today is developing new pathways for people to participate in digital platforms.   She calls consumers, “The Hand in the Brand,” because of the power regular people now 

have to control their relationship with the media and with brands. While marketers are finding new ways to capture the attention of demographic segments, Cornick has her finger on the pulse of consumer attitudes as she trains people of all ages in civic journalism, writing, video production, blogging and web site development.  Cornick was selected for several Fellowship programs, including at the Poynter Institute, to develop new ways for journalism to thrive online.  To this end, she is developing case studies while pursuing her Master’s Degree in Strategic Communications atColumbia University.