Start the New Year by learning about how to use social media in the newsroom

Social media has become a crucial element in the journalist’s daily work today. Do you know how to set up an account? How do you maximize your time when using social media? How can you engage with the community through social media channels? Robert Quigley can help journalists answer these questions and more with his upcoming distance learning course, “Social Media for Journalists” which is being offered for a second time in English by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.

Journalists can start the new year by applying for an online course with the Knight Center on “Social Media for Journalists” that will run from Jan. 16 to Feb. 12. Applications are now being accepted until Jan. 5.

The course will be conducted entirely online and is divided into weekly modules containing video and text lectures, links to online resources and will feature class exercises, quizzes and discussions. Students will be able to study at their own pace but will be expected to complete assignments on deadline. The course is intensive and requires about 10-15 hours of dedication a week.

Journalists who are interested in applying for the course have until 12 a.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT- Austin, Texas) on Jan. 5. For more details, the course information sheet can be found here. There will be a $60 fee for applicants who are accepted into the course. The fee will cover administrative costs for the distance learning program. Those who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate from the Knight Center.

Quigley, who joined the University of Texas’ School of Journalism as a multimedia professor, used his social media know-how to cover the shooting at Fort Hood in 2010. Judges from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors awarded him first prize for covering breaking news, highlighting his use of social media in covering the story. Previously, he has also been the Internet editor, editor for letters to the newspaper, assistant editor of news and designer for the Statesman’s website.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas was founded by Professor Rosental Alves of the University of Texas’ School of Journalism in August 2002, thanks to a generous donation from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Knight Center also receives contributions from other donors including the Open Society Foundations and the University of Texas at Austin. The Center’s principle objective is to help journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean who are interested in improving the quality of journalism in their country.