Estefanía Esteban is social media manager and coordinator of programs of the well-known Spanish communication company Telemadrid. As for her professional background, she was a news editor and TV presenter. She also wrote a children's book: "Cebricornio". She is in charge of informing through Instagram, Twitter and website of Telemadrid, with the help of her digital communication team.
Lola Pérez
Estefanía Esteban the 20 of March at her Telemadrid office in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid.
As society changes, so does journalism to adapt to the circumstances or at least that is what the social media manager of Telemadrid thinks. "There is no media that can compete with the internet and social networks”, she told us, they are now a tool today in communication, to expand in record time because nowadays immediacy prevails.
What are the main advantages of online journalism in social networks compared to other media such as radio or TV?
Digital journalism is free, fast and reaches everyone. It can be consumed at any time, anywhere, at the consumer's demand. And it will always be there, it is not perishable. These are its great advantages over other media that are also struggling to adapt 'in their own way', such as television or radio.
We live adapting ourselves to this digital era, how does the media do that?
Being in a constant state of alert to new developments, and observing a lot. Constantly reviewing Google algorithm changes and social networks. Of course, looking at what the rest of the digital media is doing (we all, absolutely all of us, do it). But, above all, observing the behavior of our audience and adapting as much as possible to their demands.
For example, our next goal is to launch an 'A la carte' video application, a 'Netflix' or an 'HBO' for Telemadrid, so that you understand me, something that other TV channels have already had for some time. A la carte' consumption is the most important thing right now.
What tools or technologies do you use?
We use our own web manager, which adapts to our needs. We also use a video editing system called Hive, with which we send the videos of news and programs to the manager to launch them on the web.
How does your newsroom adapt to rapid news dissemination?
We have implemented a system to launch 'last hours'. In this way, we only need to put a headline and press the publish button. Automatically, from our manager, that news will be published as 'Last hour', also on social networks. In this way, we call Google as quickly as possible to index the news. On the Internet, journalists 'fight a battle with Google': we all seek to be the first. But it is not enough to be the first. Then you have to complete the news, because Google now values (more and more) quality.
The rapid dissemination of technologies is undoubtedly a drawback for the veracity of the news. Nowadays it is very easy to quickly reach a wide audience, which means that fake news is already part of our daily lives. How does the newsroom filter all the information that is published on social networks generated by users?
Not only fake news, but also the mistakes of an unverified news or letting ourselves be carried away by what many people tell us on social networks... The truth is that it is a constant battle between immediacy and veracity, and there is a fine line that can lead us to make big mistakes. And although these mistakes can be corrected quickly on the web, social networks are very cruel... and unforgiving. Hence the need for extreme caution.
When the news is very delicate, we prefer to wait a little longer and check it out. We call Emergencias Madrid or 112 Comunidad de Madrid, the National Police...
When other colleagues (from other media) give a news item, we verify it beforehand. Not long ago, another television station reported the death of someone very well known and we decided to wait... Thank goodness we did, because the person in question had not died.
"The truth is that it is a constant battle between immediacy and veracity, and there is a fine line that can lead us to make big mistakes. "
Audience participation is becoming more and more fundamental in digital media. How does this digital media interact with the audience?
Until recently, we did conduct surveys and polls on controversial or topical issues. Now we observe the consumption of our news, the behavior of our audience, and we know, for example, that our audience is more interested in news and events in our community than in what is happening in the rest of the country.
Tell us what a typical workflow looks like, from story conception to news writing and publication?
We use agency news a lot, because we are a very small newsroom. We do occasionally publish our own reports, which take us more time, and interviews. We also publish native videos, a different way of telling the news, more focused on social networks.
If it is a news item that comes from an agency's teletype (EFE, Europa Press...) it is very fast. It is supervised, the text is adapted a bit, related news is added, a text for social networks, a photograph, and it is launched.
We also receive news through social networks. We were among the first media to report the news of the fire in a restaurant in Manuel Becerra in which 3 people died. A girl sent us a video at 12 o'clock at night. We quickly sent an editor to that place:
They say that young people come prepared for the digital world, but what advice or tips would you give to a future journalist in training?
First of all, do not get carried away by social networks. What is said on them is NOT the news. It is the place where most people manipulate and lie, where most fake news circulate. Immediacy cannot make us lose our heads. The first thing is to contrast, as much as possible. Of course, write well. Each time we write less and less and worse… And of course, never lose the ability to keep learning.
But not only is it easy to generate fake news, more and more users are appearing who use platforms such as tik tok or instagram to give exclusives or tell news, how should a media outlet differentiate itself from that?
Social networks are not our enemies; they are our allies. We can feed off each other, as long as the news is filtered well. We publish a lot of news that is born in social networks. Undoubtedly, they are a very interesting new source of communication. With its risks, of course. But an interviewee can also lie... We are never safe from deception.
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